Back in Europe I always regarded Coconut milk as something super fancy and difficult to get. Honestly, 10 years ago you would literally have to hunt down a can of coconut milk and the best place to find a lonely can of coconut milk is in an Asian grocery shop. Those are still rather a rarity in the Austrian alpine villages but at least common super markets tend to have those in display. However, commercially available coconut milk in Europe kind of tastes strange and my mum agrees and so it came that we had a skype session where I tried to teach her how to make homemade coconut milk. After that I figured it was about time to just simply post it here because what’s the point otherwise of writing a food blog, right?
I confess, posting mini recipes, such as coconut milk or ginger garlic paste, isn’t really my thing. I kind of feel guilty of just sharing basic recipes, which are often commercially available products, but on the other hand those recipes are required if you want to cook and eat more healthy. By the way, how would you call such basic homemade recipes? I thought it would be nice to have them all in one place but I am not sure how you guys would call them. Maybe DIY recipes, basic recipes, primary recipes, any of those titles sound attractive? Anyway, a few months back I created a pinterest board called Basic recipes where I keep these recipes such as homemade ricotta cheese, vanilla sugar, almond milk, homemade butter, homemade rosewater and so on. The board should give you an idea what I mean.
Back to the Coconut milk…. Did you know making homemade coconut milk is super easy? The only thing that you will need is an electric blender/mixer and fresh coconuts. Most of the people own a blender nowadays so that’s not the problem. To find a fresh coconut on the other hand might be a challenge for some. Of course living in a city is a good thing in this case because you will most probably have a choice of different coconuts but mountain village folks will have to just keep an eye out for the next coconut delivery in the local stores.
Once you have your coconut you will have to split it into 2 pieces and the easiest way to do this is with a big chopper (not kidding!). Locals in Goa sit on a special coconut scraping stool with a chopper/knife thing attached to one end so to scrape out the coconut easily. That’s how they do it here in the tropics, but I figured you might not be able to do that at home. Here you will find useful coconut breaking and scraping tips.
Now, how to make coconut milk from scratch? Once you have scraped your fresh coconut into small pieces, you will be able to make your coconut milk by blending it with some water to a milk consistency. Strain the precious homemade coconut milk and place the strained coconut mash back into the mixer with some more water so that you don’t waist anything and repeat the straining process once more. After that you can discard what is left from the coconut and either use your coconut milk straight away or store it in the fridge for further use. Easy right?
Coconut milk is often used in curries and sweet dishes but it can also be used in beverages. Sometimes I just mix some sugar into the coconut milk and drink it plain or I add a pinch of cinnamon powder to it which transforms the homemade coconut milk into a special indulgence.
- 200 grams freshly scraped Coconut (about 1 coconut, depends on the size)
- 500 milliliter Water
- Place all the freshly scraped coconut into a big blender jar and add first only 400 milliliter water to the jar, the remaining water will be required for the second round.
- Blend the whole content to a smooth milk.
- Grab a big strainer and bowl and press the coconut mash so that all the juice falls into the bowl.
- Take the coconut mash back to the blender jar and add now the remaining 100 milliliter of water and blend it once more just like the first time.
- Strain again for the last time so that all the coconut milk is collected in the bowl and separated from the mash.
- Discard the mash and either use the coconut milk or store it in a airtight bottle/container in the fridge.
Recipes with Coconut Milk
- Virgin Pina Colada
- Strawberry Banana Smoothie without yogurt
- Easy Indian Chicken Curry
- Tom Kha Gai – Thai Coconut Chicken Soup
- Vegan Potato Curry
- Rasta Pasta
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Never thought I could make a post out of making coconut milk. Guess its everyday food for us. Love the detailed instructions you have here.
You have a lovely list of things to be thankful for.
Good recipe. I’ve never made coconut milk – but although I love coconut, I don’t use it much in savory cooking, just in desserts (weird, because I love curries – just not with coconut in them). I think if you wanted a different category for these recipes, I’d call them something like pantry staples. Just because something is “basic” doesn’t mean people actually make it. There’s nothing more basic in western cuisines than butter, for example, and even though it’s simple to make, no one ever does. I posted a recipe for this about a a year ago, and now it’s #7 on the list of all time most viewed recipes! You just never know what people will find interesting.
I’ve never made coconut milk but I’ve certainly bought a heap of it. We have coconut palms in our garden but we always have the coconuts chopped off as babies because we don’t want to get bonked on the head when they fall. 🙂
Nothing beats the quality of coconut milk extracted at home. Gorgeous photos there and the tutorial is very helpful.
never thought to do this myself! Great idea
You make it seem so easy! Great way to get Fresh coconut milk!
Man if I still lived in Sierra Leone I would be doing this always….
Don’t feel bad about posting a “simple” recipe… it may be simple to you, but to many people it’s super useful! I saw this some time before… I just can’t remember where, but seeing your post now has really brought it to the front of my mind so I’m determined to try and make it myself.
I never tried “home-made” coconut milk, but I do think that some brands of coconut milk have a slightly funky taste… almost like cooked plastic or something. Tell me, does it have the same thickness as the stuff you can buy in cans?
I really want to try this, because coconut milk is SO expensive, but whole coconuts are ridiculously cheap!
I never used canned coconut milk before coming to US, and I still make it from scratch when I am running short and have some frozen coconut in my freezer. But cans are simply more efficient.
This brings me back to my childhood. My mother would do this.. I love it. 🙂
Thanks for sharing 🙂
You are welcome 🙂
Regarding your posting for coconut milk I would recommend ::
1. After dehusking the coconut, there is always some coir left on the hardshell. Try to place the coconut on the burner. The heat of the flame dislocates/dislodges the pulp from the shell and even sometimes cracks the shell due to the heat . After removing the brown skin, the coconut can be cut in pieces and go straight to blender.
2. Use warm water to extract more the precious oil from the kernel.
Hi Carlos,
Great tips there Carlos, especially that with the flame should come super handy, and yes we want more essential oils on our food! 🙂