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Coconut (maprao)

by Kasma Loha-unchit
Text Copyright © 1995 & 2000 Kasma Loha-unchit.

Also Available:  Links to Information on this site about the coconut   |  includes: Coconut Milk   |  How To Crack a Coconut   |  Coconut Oil – A Good Oil  

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See below for Recipes with Coconut.

Coconut (Maprao): The coconut palm is one of the most useful of all trees in the tropics, providing not only food but raw materials for making all sorts of useful furnishings, household supplies and even recreational equipment. The fruit or nut is eaten at different stages of development; for the recipes in this book we are primarily interested in the flesh of the mature coconut, which is shredded and roasted to add a rich, nutty flavor to certain dishes and pressed to make coconut milk and cream for curries and soups.

For the handful of recipes that call for roasted shredded coconut, it is not essential to go through the laborious process of removing the flesh from a fresh whole coconut. Simply use the dried, unsweetened shredded coconut sold in well-stocked Asian markets, natural food stores or gourmet supermarkets. Make sure it has not been sweetened. Store extras in an airtight jar or plastic bag in a cool place in the pantry.

To roast, spread the shredded coconut in a dry pan over moderate heat. Stir frequently until the coconut turns a rich and even golden brown color and very fragrant. Remove from pan and set aside to cool before using. Roasted coconut shreds keep for a couple of months in a sealed jar in the pantry.

Also of interest is a discussion on coconut cream and milk. Aside from the food value of the fruit, the coconut palm yields a sweet sap for making sugar (see palm sugar) and tender, edible shoots (unopened new leaves atop the palm, called "palm heart") which make a delectable crisp vegetable.

Text Copyright © 2000 Kasma Loha-unchit in Dancing Shrimp: Favorite Thai Recipes for Seafood. See pages 54 & 55.

This is just one of many listings in the "Alphabetical List of Ingredients" in chapter four (pages 49 to 73) of Dancing Shrimp: Favorite Thai Recipes for Seafood.

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Coconut - A Natural Food-and-Refreshment Package In the west, most people know coconuts primarily in the sweetened, shredded form they've had in such desserts as coconut cake or coconut macaroons, or as sweetened milk for making pina coladas. Neither is a fair representation of what fresh coconuts really are like and the many different ways they can be used in cooking. Whenever I've had new cooking students who insist that they do not like coconuts, they always seem surprised by how delicious Thai curries, coconut soups and desserts tasted. Almost invariably, their prior gastronomical experiences with coconuts have been limited to the highly processed and sweetened products.

In tropical Asia, coconuts are eaten in different stages of ripeness. When they are young and green, the clear juice inside some varieties is sweet and refreshing, sometimes naturally fragrant with a subtle hint of flowers. Not only is it a good thirst quencher, the juice is also good for reducing heat in the body. On hot days in the tropics when you feel sluggish and overheated, drink lots of young coconut juice. It will revive you and replenish your energies. In folk medicine, the fresh juice of young coconuts is also recommended for reducing fevers and relieving headaches, stomach upsets, diarrhea and dysentery, for strengthening the heart and for restoring energy to weakened bodies recovering from illness. It is believed that expectant mothers who regularly drink young coconut juice will help the fetus grow stronger and with greater vitality.

Not all young coconuts have juice that is sweet and fragrant. In some varieties the juice can be rather bland, sour and uninteresting. The mature fruits of these varieties are more delectable; as they ripen, the meat inside becomes thicker and richer, firmer and more pulpy. Its oil content increases, and it becomes a closer approximation of a nut. Most coconuts are grown for their mature fruits, which yield shredded coconut meat for making desserts and snacks; coconut milk for curries, soups and desserts; and coconut oil for cooking and for making soaps, candles, protective skin lotions and cosmetics. Copra, the dried meat of matured coconuts, is one of Thailand's major exports, providing an important source of food and raw material to other parts of Asia and the world.

Purchasing a Coconut

Unlike nuts such as almonds and walnuts, coconuts are more delicate than most people realize and do not have a long shelf life, especially after the outer husks have been removed. The fibrous husks are nature's protective cushion and are integral parts of coconuts, but because of their bulkiness, they usually have been pulled off and discarded. If stores do carry coconuts with husks still on, they may have trouble selling them. The dried, brown husks of matured coconuts aren't particularly attractive, and how would consumers here figure out how to get inside of one? It seems difficult enough to deal with the hard shell.

Without the outer husks, the shells bang against each other in transport and often crack or develop leaks. The eyes on one end are also exposed and subject to puncture and air seepage or mold growing inward. Air and mold entering the coconut will make the rich meat spoil quickly. That's why when purchasing a coconut at the store, be careful to choose one that is still heavy with juice. Shake it and if it seems dry, chances are there is a crack or leak in the shell; or it may have sat on the shelf too long, the juice having all but evaporated through the eyes. Check the eyes, they shouldn't look dark or moldy. Though often sealed with wax to prevent leakage, this does not guarantee that leakage has not occurred.

When looking for a coconut to buy, search first for a batch whose overall appearance suggests freshness. If there are several that are moldy and cracked, try another store. From a fresh-looking batch, choose the best-looking one, and if you wish to be doubly sure, take home an extra as back-up. If the market carries more than one kind of coconuts, select from those with rich brown shells if you wish to press fresh milk. Inside, the thick flesh should be a pure white color; if it has started to yellow, it most probably is rancid. Besides the thickness of the flesh, you can usually tell whether a coconut is old enough to yield creamy milk by looking at a cross-section of the shell. A well-matured one would have developed a very hard, chocolate-brown inner shell; this is the shell that can be carved to make implements and decorative items.

Coconuts with lighter brown shells generally are not as fully matured; the meat is delicious as a snack in itself, or shredded to make fillings and toppings for snack foods, appetizers and desserts. Milk pressed from these coconuts may be less creamy than good brands of canned coconut milk but its flavor can be fresher and tastier if you happened to have chosen coconuts from a shipment just off the boat from Asia. And although this milk is not quite creamy enough for curries and certain kinds of desserts, it adds a fragrant nuttiness to coconut soups that makes them heavenly!

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Recipes with Coconut : 
    Appetizers
       Tasty Leaf-wrapped Tidbits (Miang Kam)
    Desserts
       Grilled Coconut Cakes (Kanom Paeng Jee)
       Sweet and Savory Grilled Coconut-Rice Hotcakes (Kanom Krok)

Also Available:  Links to Information on this site about the coconut   |  includes: Coconut Milk   |  How To Crack a Coconut   |  Coconut Oil – A Good Oil  

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See our Online Markets page for online sources of Thai ingredients. If they do not have the product you wish, inquire by email if they will order it for you.

About this site
Text Copyright © Kasma Loha-unchit, 1995 in It Rains Fishes, and 2000 in Dancing Shrimp. All rights reserved.
Drawings Copyright © 1995 Margaret DeJong. All rights reserved.
All material on this website is Copyright © 1995 to 2008 Kasma Loha-unchit. All rights reserved.
For comments, feedback or questions, contact Kasma.
Last updated 29 May 2005.