Curried Prawns Get Silky Richness From Coconut Milk

Baan Taling Naam means “house on the cliff” in Thai. But the hotel’s name might just as well have been something like the Coconut Palace.

This posh new resort on the picturesque island of Koh Samui in the Gulf of Siam - the latest link in the Oriental Hotel chain - sits high on a hill on a former coconut plantation. Towering coconut palms line the hotel’s broad beach and steep driveways, including a particularly stately colonnade leading to the pool.

Arriving guests are offered a refreshing drink in a freshly sheared open coconut. Dishes made with coconut milk figure prominently on the menu. Even the massages are done with coconut oil.

Samui is the Thai word for “coconut.” Despite the inroads of tourism, coconut remains the island’s main industry.

Coconut plantations carpet the hilly island. Smoke rises from a hundred coconut shell fires, used to dry the coconut meat to make copra. Coconut oil is a prime ingredient in local suntan oils and cosmetics.

Coconut water turns up as a refreshing drink at poolside bars and beach huts. Coconut milk is an essential ingredient in such local delicacies as shark and coconut milk soup, coconut curried prawns and custard-like desserts called kanom.

According to the “Guide to Koh Samui and Environs” (Asia Books), Samui ships a staggering 24 million coconuts to Bangkok each year. When you pause to consider that a typical tree produces an average of 75 coconuts annually, you get an idea of the vast number of coconut palms that grow on the island.

Much of the harvest is done by specially trained monkeys who scamper up the long, slender tree trunks and toss the ripe coconuts to the ground. Every year a few unfortunate Samuians are killed by the flying fruits.

For Americans, the prized part of the coconut is the milk-white, tooth-squeakingly crisp flesh. Thais tend to see coconut meat not as a food in itself, but as a means of making coconut milk. Coconut milk is the lifeblood of Thai cooking and takes the place of milk and cream in countries throughout the tropics.

Coconut milk isn’t the clearish liquid inside the coconut. That’s coconut water, a refreshing quaff cherished by Thais as a blood coolant and cure for hangovers and heartburn.

Coconut milk is made by blending freshly grated coconut with boiling water. The creamy white liquid that results indeed behaves like a dairy product. Unlike milk and cream, which spoil quickly in the tropical heat, coconut milk can be stored in its natural form (inside a whole coconut) until virtually the moment you need it.

As I learned from the chef of Baan Taling Naam, the first trick to “milking” a coconut is to buy a nut with plenty of “water” inside. Shake the nut and you should be able to hear liquid slosh around; a dry coconut is past its prime.

To open a coconut, poke holes in two of the eyes using a hammer and slender screwdriver. Invert the coconut over a measuring cup lined with a strainer and drain out the water. Drink this water as is (it makes a great pick-me-up) or mix it with a little sugar, rum and lime juice.

The next step is to break the coconut into three or four pieces by whacking it with a hammer or rolling pin. Cover it with a dish towel to keep pieces of shell from flying. Pry the white flesh away from the hard shell using a stiff-bladed paring knife. (This may require a little practice.)

You can facilitate separating the meat from the shell by baking the pieces at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Peel off the brown skin, using a vegetable peeler or paring knife.

You’re now ready to make coconut milk. Place the pieces of coconut in a blender with two to three cups boiling water. Two cups water will give you a lovely, thick, creamy coconut milk; use three cups for a more normal coconut milk. Blend the mixture, tightly covered, until the coconut is finely shredded.

Let the mixture stand for about 10 minutes, then pour it through a fine-meshed strainer or colander lined with cheesecloth. Twist the cheesecloth tightly to extract as much milk as possible. You should have two to three cups.

This sounds more complicated than it actually is. With a little practice, you’ll be making coconut milk like a Thai.

But in these time-starved ‘90s, it’s nice to know that you can buy canned coconut milk in stores that’s almost as good as the homemade. There’s even a reduced-fat “lite” coconut milk made by A Taste of Thai. Be sure to shake the cans well before using.

One other caution: Coconut milk is not the same as coconut cream. The latter is a sweet coconut product used by bartenders for making drinks like pina coladas. If you do buy canned coconut milk, make sure it’s unsweetened.

Baan Taling Naam’s Coconut Curried Prawns

The chef at Baan Taling Naam uses coconut milk to give his dishes a silky richness one normally associates with French cuisine. The following recipe is often made with whole fried fish, but is equally tasty with prawns. Fish sauce is a salty condiment made with pickled anchovies; if unavailable, use soy sauce. Thai red curry paste is available at Asian markets, gourmet shops and many supermarkets. If you can’t find it, use 1 tablespoon curry powder; the result will be somewhat different, but delectable nonetheless.

1 1/2 pounds shrimp

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 shallot, thinly sliced

2 to 3 teaspoons Thai red curry paste

1 1/2 cups coconut milk

1 tablespoon fish or soy sauce, or to taste

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or tops of green onions

Peel and devein shrimp. Heat wok over medium-high heat. Swirl in oil. Add garlic and shallot and stir-fry until fragrant but not brown, about 20 seconds. Add curry paste and stir-fry about 20 seconds. Stir in coconut milk. Bring to boil. Simmer sauce until thickened, like heavy cream, about 5 minutes.

Stir in shrimp and fish sauce and simmer until shrimp is cooked (it will be firm and pink), about 2 minutes. Correct seasonings, adding fish sauce to taste. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve at once with rice.

Yield: 4 to 5 servings.

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