Thai cooking 101 continued: Coconut milk is another ingredient to have in your Thai cooking arsenal. When you think about it, Thai cooking is pretty healthy in a sense it doesn't utilize a lot of braising, where fatty meats are seared and then cooked to melt all fat and soften tissues and muscle, and all that is led to a sauce that one will consume. But Thai's utilize a lot of coconut milk for such things as curries, or gravies.
There's nothing like fresh coconut milk, made with fresh coconuts and its natural juices. But let us be real here guys, it's difficult to go pick a coconut off of a 50 foot tree, climb back down and hatchet that sucker open to scrape out the meat. Personally yours truly would rather have someone else do that, or simply........... DUN DUN DUN DUN......... buy it.
So how is coconut milk incoporated into a Thai dish? Usually when I'm cooking a Thai dish, the coconut milk is added in to the pan when there's seasonings already at the cooking stage. For example. Making a red curry for a pork chop. First the pork chop is cooked in oil and then removed. And then returning that same pan to the heat, I'll add in red curry paste, maybe some fish sauce, some ginger and garlic, maybe some minced lemongrass, and maybe some red chiles that's chopped up, and some other herb or sauce. As it cooks I'll add in a cup or so of coconut milk, and cook it until it reduces a little bit to thicken. Usually a cup will reduce pretty quick in a pan or wok that is going hot at medium high heat.
As far as reducing coconut milk, it will thicken as the liquid reduces, but I've seen chefs that don't reduce it much, but have it shall I say on the wet side, meaning the sauce or curry is usually on the thin or runny side. There's really no right or wrong way to make a sauce, some people just don't like thick sauces. If you don't want to wait for a sauce to reduce, simply add in a some cornstarch and water mixture to the coconut milk to thicken it.
Below is some different brands of coconut milk.
Chaokoh brand coconut milk
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Mae Ploy brand coconut milk
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TCC brand coconut milk
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Coconut milk adds richness and flavor to lots of curries, gravies, sauces, and also desserts. Try using these brands that can be found in most Asian marts, and is not expensive, you'll spend a few dollars on a can, and if you're cooking for just 2 or 4 people, one can can be enough depending on the dish you'll be preparing.
There's nothing like fresh coconut milk, made with fresh coconuts and its natural juices. But let us be real here guys, it's difficult to go pick a coconut off of a 50 foot tree, climb back down and hatchet that sucker open to scrape out the meat. Personally yours truly would rather have someone else do that, or simply........... DUN DUN DUN DUN......... buy it.
So how is coconut milk incoporated into a Thai dish? Usually when I'm cooking a Thai dish, the coconut milk is added in to the pan when there's seasonings already at the cooking stage. For example. Making a red curry for a pork chop. First the pork chop is cooked in oil and then removed. And then returning that same pan to the heat, I'll add in red curry paste, maybe some fish sauce, some ginger and garlic, maybe some minced lemongrass, and maybe some red chiles that's chopped up, and some other herb or sauce. As it cooks I'll add in a cup or so of coconut milk, and cook it until it reduces a little bit to thicken. Usually a cup will reduce pretty quick in a pan or wok that is going hot at medium high heat.
As far as reducing coconut milk, it will thicken as the liquid reduces, but I've seen chefs that don't reduce it much, but have it shall I say on the wet side, meaning the sauce or curry is usually on the thin or runny side. There's really no right or wrong way to make a sauce, some people just don't like thick sauces. If you don't want to wait for a sauce to reduce, simply add in a some cornstarch and water mixture to the coconut milk to thicken it.
Below is some different brands of coconut milk.
Chaokoh brand coconut milk
Mae Ploy brand coconut milk
TCC brand coconut milk
Coconut milk adds richness and flavor to lots of curries, gravies, sauces, and also desserts. Try using these brands that can be found in most Asian marts, and is not expensive, you'll spend a few dollars on a can, and if you're cooking for just 2 or 4 people, one can can be enough depending on the dish you'll be preparing.
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