Directions
How to make coconut milk for your cooking shouldn’t be hard, but I’ll show you how. You want to make sure you get a dried coconut. In Barbados you can get one or two from almost anywhere.
If you’re really desperate just ask anyone of the vendors at the roadside.
You want it to have just one ingredient: dried coconut. I like to chip the coconut because it’s awesome for topping curries, stir-fries, salads, stews, etc. and people love it as a snack or good for those sweetbreads. But you can use the smaller, flaked coconut as well.
How to do it
Remove the husk off the coconut, use it in your gardening if you want.
Put the coconut in a blender and pour some very warm water on top. You definitely don’t want the water to be boiling. That would be bad for your blender! You just want it really, really warm or slightly hot. Does that make sense?
Now put the lid on the blender and hold it down to prevent any spills or burns. Blend everything for 5 minutes.
Pour the mixture through a cheesecloth-lined fine mesh sieve or just use a very fine strainer.
Squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Remember be careful if the water you used is still warm! You can use tongs to squeeze out the water to prevent burns.
You could also use a special nut milk bag if you prefer.
If you like, you can save the coconut meat and add a little at a time to smoothies, baked goods, sweetbreads, etc., or just compost. I figure that I’ve already extracted a lot out of the meat, so I just use it or compost.
Well now you have it: extremely easy homemade coconut milk! Enjoy!
