Coconut Milk

Coconut milk is one of the most important ingredients in Thai cooking, featuring in all types of dishes. You can buy coconut milk in cans, from oriental stores and this is by far the easiest to use. Make sure it is unsweetened. Otherwise, coconut milk is made by soaking the flesh of fresh coconut in boiling water or milk, then extracting the liquid. It is also possible to use dried, unsweetened (desiccated) coconut available from health food shops. Use ordinary silver-top milk to make the coconut milk rather than water – it will produce a much richer, creamier result. It will also produce the heavier coconut cream that will rise to the surface and can be skimmed off to use in various recipes.