11 recipes that use coconut milk, with photos, step-by-step instructions and cook times. The quickest, Pineapple soda, takes 10 minutes. It is most often cooked with french beans, carrot and coriander.
Run out of coconut milk? Single cream, same amount.
Got a few things in the fridge? Search by everything you have
A weeknight green curry that tastes like a takeaway. Frying the paste in the thick top layer of coconut milk wakes up the lemongrass and chilli, and a last-minute balance of fish sauce, lime and a little sugar makes it sing.
A creamy, fizzy pineapple drink: pineapple juice, coconut milk and vanilla ice cream blended with fresh pineapple, then topped up with sparkling water. It tastes like a light, alcohol-free piña colada. Serve straight away, with straws.
Pasta and crisp green vegetables in a light coconut milk sauce flavoured with coriander-chilli paste, lemon and fresh basil. Fresh, gently spicy and dairy free.
Chunks of fresh corn on the cob cooked in coconut milk, then simmered in a thick, nutty gravy of roasted peanuts, tomato, ginger and fresh coconut. It's mildly sweet, lightly spiced and best eaten with your hands, gnawing the kernels off the cob. Serve hot as a main curry with rotlis or rice.
A mild, creamy biryani: rice and husked green gram roasted in ghee, then cooked in coconut milk with peas, carrots, potatoes, peanuts and cashews, and finished with soft fried paneer and a fresh coriander yogurt. Serve hot, garnished with more fried cashews and paneer.
A colourful, mildly spiced rice cooked in puréed tomatoes and coconut milk with carrots, peas and french beans. Creamy coconut softens the tang of the tomatoes. Garnish with coriander, tomato slices and coconut, and serve with masala yogurt.
A rich, fragrant Thai soup: tofu strips, small aubergines, French beans and broccoli simmered in vegetable stock and coconut milk flavoured with red curry paste, lime leaves, lemongrass, galangal, lime rind, garlic and fresh basil. Garnished with slit chillies and served hot. Cook it close to serving time, as Thai dishes don't reheat well. You can use a ready-made red curry paste (check it is free of shrimp paste) or make the paste ahead and freeze it.
A mild, fragrant Thai green curry made with a fresh paste of green chillies, garlic, lemongrass, coriander and lemon, simmered with coconut milk, a big mix of vegetables and soft cubes of paneer. The sauce is creamy and herby rather than fiery, and the vegetables keep a little bite. Serve hot with plain steamed rice or jasmine rice.
A sweet-and-savoury Thai fruit salad: crisp apple, banana, semi-ripe papaya and mango tossed in a coconut milk dressing sharpened with lime and warmed with fresh red chilli and a little red curry paste. Fresh coriander lifts it, and it is served chilled on lettuce leaves. Good as a starter, with a curry, or on its own on a hot day.
A quick Thai red curry with a home-made paste of soaked red chillies, onion, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, coriander, cumin and white pepper. Crunchy baby corn, broccoli, carrot and mushrooms simmer in coconut milk with basil until the sauce is creamy and gently thickened. The paste is also used in several other Thai recipes in this collection. Serve warm with rice.
Aubergine, French beans, cauliflower and carrots are simmered gently in coconut milk until tender, then coated in a thick gravy of coconut cream, a fresh paste of spring onion, coriander root, red chilli, lemongrass, galangal and lime peel, and a finish of roasted peanuts and tamarind. Rich, tangy and fragrant. Serve hot with steamed rice.
