If there is one ingredient you should always have in your pantry, it is coconut milk. It can switch up any meal and add a unique flavor to transform a dish. It is versatile and always easy to use; from curries to pottages to stews, and even drinks. Coconut milk is fantastic, here are 3 delicious ways you can use coconut milk in your cooking:
Coconut Pasta
Ingredients
1 Teaspoon Paprika
2 Large Green Bell Pepper
3 Tablespoons tomato puree
3 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
1 medium-sized Onion, chopped
2 Scotch Bonnets, chopped
1 clove Garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon chopped Ginger
2 Coconuts/3 cups Coconut milk
1 Cup Chicken Stock
1 lb Chicken Breast
Salt to taste
Preparation
If you’re using fresh coconuts, get a small pestle and slam it on the coconut – it will crack open and then you can separate the softer inner part from the hard shell using a small knife.
Chop the coconuts into tiny bits, add some water, and blend till it gives out enough milk. Pour the contents of the blender into a small sieve and drain the milk. Exert pressure to make sure most of the milk is drained.
Add pasta to a pot of boiling water, add some salt, and allow boiling, while stirring frequently to avoid clumping. However, do not let it cook through, leave 2 more minutes. Transfer to a colander and drain.
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Heat a pan, and add coconut oil. When it is hot, add seasoned chicken breast and brown on each side for 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Next, add onions, sauté, add green bell pepper, chopped scotch bonnet, ginger, and garlic. Add tomato purée and fry till the sour taste is gone (about 4 minutes)
Next, add coconut milk, add chicken stock, and allow boiling and reduce. Add cooked pasta and combine. Allow to cook till al dente.
Garnish with cilantro
Coconut Potato Pottage
Ingredients
4 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 Teaspoon Curry Powder
1 Teaspoon Thyme
3 Scotch bonnet Pepper, chopped
½ Teaspoon ginger, chopped
2 Paprika
2 large red Onions (For blending and another chopped)
1Teaspoon Salt
1 Bouillon Cube
3 Cups Coconut milk
½ Cup Chicken Stock
6 Big Irish Potatoes
1 Sweet Red Bell Pepper
1 Sweet Green Bell Pepper
1 Carrot Sliced thinly
1 Spring Onions
1 lb Chicken Breast, boneless and skinless
Preparation
Prepare potatoes by peeling the skin and chopping them into big cubes. After slicing it into cubes, wash it with water and leave it in the water till later on for cooking.
Wash red bell pepper, scotch bonnet, and onions. Blend till smooth.
Slice Red and Green Pepper into strips, it will be added at the end of cooking. Smash the coconut, take the white part out, and chop it into little bits for easy blending. Blend with some water and sieve all the milk. Repeat this step till you get enough milk. If this process is too tedious, you can buy coconut milk from the supermarkets.
Slice chicken breasts thinly so that it cooks quickly, season with some salt, paprika, and set aside.
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Cooking
In a pan, add vegetable oil and allow to heat up. When the pan is hot, add onions, ginger, curry powder, thyme, and fry till it is soft and translucent.
Next, add pepper blend, and fry till the oil floats to the top of the sauce and begins to clump together.
Add salt and seasoning, stir together, and keep frying for a few minutes.
Next, add deboned fish and keep frying till the oil floats to the top.
Add coconut milk to the pot, the chicken stock, and add potatoes. Make sure the milk is enough to cook the potatoes thoroughly. Cover and cook for 30 minutes.
While the potatoes are cooking, in a pan, spray some vegetable oil and stir-fry sliced bell peppers and carrots till fragrant and almost translucent.
In the same pan, add sliced chicken breast and fry on both sides till lightly browned, till should take about 4 minutes.
When the potatoes are cooked, add stir-fry peppers and chicken, then mix everything, mashing some potato in the process.
Sprinkle the spring onions for garnishing and extra flavor.
Coconut curry
Ingredients
1 lb chicken breasts
2 Tablespoons groundnut oil
2 Tablespoons curry powder
1 White Onion, chopped
1 Green Bell Pepper
1 Teaspoon chopped ginger
2 Cloves garlic, crushed
2 Cups coconut milk
3 Tablespoons Tomato puree
Salt to taste
Chicken stock cube to taste
Instructions
Season chicken breasts with salt, onion powder, and paprika then set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons of groundnut oil in a pan and transfer chicken breast to brown on each side for 2 minutes. Remove from pan.
Add onions to the pan and cook for 1 minute till translucent, add green bell pepper, chopped ginger, and minced garlic, curry, thyme and cook for another minute. Add tomato puree and fry for 5 minutes.
Next, pour coconut milk into the pan, of chicken breasts and stir to combine. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for approximately 10 minutes
Serve with rice, yam, or potatoes.
