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Coconut milk is used in many Asian dishes. Its exotic creamy taste is likened to dairy milk. Its application greatly varies from appetizers to desserts. It can be used on soups with vegetables and seafood, various meat recipes and rice-based desserts.

There’s lots of ways to use coconut milk but there are also lots of ways to do it wrong. To ensure that the process of coconut milk extraction is properly executed, it would be essential to know the nature of this additive.

Selecting the Right Coconut

Coconut milk is commercially sold in various forms and packages (canned, powdered or freshly squeezed). But if you want to make coconut milk yourself, or if you ever wonder how many Asians do it, then you should start by selecting the right type of coconut.

A mature and regular-sized coconut is most suitable for coconut milk extraction. The coconut should have dark brown husk and you should be able to hear the sound of splashing water inside the coconut once you shake it. Mature coconuts have less dense water content compared to young coconut.

These two criteria should be met for coconuts that are just beginning to mature have almost the same water content as the mature ones. This type of coconut can used for coconut milk-making but make sure that the meat cannot be scraped easily when using a handheld scraper and the coconut meat should not detach easily from the shell.

You can only extract a little amount of coconut milk from a not fully-matured coconut. The result will be light coconut milk floating above the water.

Grating the Coconut

Break coconut into halves using the blunt side of a cleaver or a metal rod. Gently pound horizontally around the coconut’s center until it breaks. Some uses hammer or pounds the coconut into a hard surface to break the coconut into pieces. Don’t bother about the coconut water for it can’t be any useful and you can’t drink it because it’s bitter and oily.

If you break the coconut into several pieces, you can’t use the traditional method of placing the flesh side of the coconut against a grater’s rasp that is attached to a permanent platform. That’s why you need to totally separate the coconut meat from the shell. Pare the layer of brown skin from the coconut meat and use either a food processor or a regular grater.

Using the traditional method, you should rotate the coconut to give it an even grate and avoid creating patches of coconut meat that is difficult to grate. There is also a machine made especially for coconut grating but you should be careful with your hands because you would need to hold the coconut against the sharp blades.

When grating with the coconut shell intact, some tiny pieces of coconut husks may fall together with the coconut meat. Don’t worry about that. As long as you carefully strain the coconut milk after extracting, there won’t be any problems. It won’t affect the coconut milk’s color or flavor.

Extracting the Coconut Milk

Fresh Coconut

Once you are done grating, place the grated coconut in a fine sieve or cloth. Pour 1 cup of water (hot water is often used) every cup of grated coconut. This will produce coconut milk with a thick consistency that is excellent for recipes that need coconut cream. Just refrigerate the coconut for a while, just to let it set; coconut cream will rise on top, separating from the rest of the coconut milk. You can also add more water to achieve thinner consistency.

Next, squeeze the coconut pulp to extract the coconut milk. Do this until the pulp is almost dry.   

Desiccated Coconut

Though desiccated coconut powder doesn’t yield best results compared to fresh coconut, it can be a great alternative. Place 500 grams of desiccated coconut powder in a bowl and dilute it in 2 ½ cups of water. Let it stand for around 15-20 minutes. Use a fine sieve of muslin cloth to extract the coconut milk. You can also add water to achieve a thinner consistency just wait for another 10-15 minutes before straining.

Storing Coconut Milk

Coconut milk with thick consistencies cannot be stored for a long time. Coconut milk can become sour and will separate from the water, settling above with solidified oils even when refrigerated.

Consume the coconut milk immediately or store grated coconut meat instead.