Coconut Milk

Coconut milk has become an iconic ingredient of cooking in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and, to a lesser extent, Vietnam. It is a rich and creamy cooking liquid that forms the base for many sauces, soups, and stews. Coconut milk is made by combining water (not milk as many books suggest) with grated coconut meat. The mixture is squeezed through mesh to yield the creamy milk. It’s pleasingly unctuous texture and sweet undertones can be decadent (in a good way) in desserts, such as when it’s used as a topping for Thai Sticky Rice with Mangos mamuang khao Nieo. Thai: nam gla ti; Malay: santan; Vietnamese: nước cốt dừa