Coconut in Thai Cooking

Coconut is everywhere in Thai food: young coconuts are sold chilled for their sweet water and soft jelly, and the grated flesh of mature coconuts is squeezed into the coconut cream and milk that make central and southern Thai curries and desserts so rich.

Pronunciation	ma-prao
Flavour	Young: sweet, delicate water and soft jelly. Mature: rich, creamy and nutty
Season	Year-round
Eaten	Drunk fresh; milk and cream in curries, soups and desserts

Young coconuts

Thailand’s nam hom (“fragrant water”) coconuts, grown around Ratchaburi and Samut Sakhon, are famous for their sweet, faintly pandan-scented water. They are sold chilled, trimmed into a point, with a hole punched in the top for a straw. Scoop out the soft jelly-like flesh inside with a spoon when you have finished the water.

Coconut cream and milk

Traditionally, grated mature coconut is mixed with warm water and squeezed by hand. The first, thick pressing is coconut cream (hua kati); the thinner second and third pressings are coconut milk (hang kati). In curries, the cream is fried with the curry paste, and the milk is used to make the sauce.

In cans and cartons, coconut cream is thicker and richer; coconut milk is the same thing with more water. If a recipe calls for both, you can use the thick layer that settles at the top of an unshaken can of milk as cream.

“Cracking” the cream

Thai cooks fry curry paste in coconut cream heated until it bubbles hard and its oil separates, called taek man (“breaking the oil”). This fries the paste properly and gives the finished curry a glossy surface. Cartons and cans with stabilisers do not split easily; brands with only coconut and water, such as Aroy-D and Chaokoh, work best.

In desserts

Salted, lightly sweetened coconut cream is spooned over sticky rice and many Thai sweets. Coconut is the base of khanom krok (coconut pancakes), sangkaya (custard), and countless jellies and puddings.

Cook’s tip
Do not shake the can before opening it if you need coconut cream. Spoon the thick layer off the top for frying the paste, and use the thinner milk below for the sauce.

Recipes with Coconut