[Guy N'wah]

dragonbird said:

Help!

I've accidentally found myself with a rather large quantity of freshly-grated coconut. I'm freezing most of it, but I need some recipe ideas (Most of the ones found while googling might SAY "fresh coconut" in the title, but they turn out to be coconut milk, coconut cream, anything except the meat.)

It cost me less than a dollar, so I'm prepared to throw it away if necessary, but I really would like to use it. And it's stupid - 20 years in the tropics and I have no idea what to do with it. In Singapore we mainly had young coconuts, sold for drinking, not eating. ›››

I know there's a big variety of coconut preparations in the Philippines, but I guess you mean this stuff:


To use a lot of grated coconut, make coconut macaroons.

You can use coconut as a topping for cakes, or mix some into the batter. If you make a white boiled icing for your cake, then garnish it with coconut, you have a "snowball cake".

A little coconut goes well in green salads or fruit salads.

If you find it's worth the freezer space, it freezes well.

[▫ Dona ▫]

@dragonbird
You can use it as fry coating! I made 'eggplant fries' once and they were soooo delicious. I know it says 'coconut flour', but ground coconut will work, too. You can always experiment and try something other than eggplant, of course

http://www.ibreathei...nt-fries-2.html

Or make delicious, delicious Russian Hats!

[dragonbird]

Yup, Guy, that's the stuff, except that I have about 15x that quantity. I can't believe how much came out of two coconuts. And I think a lot of it's going into the freezer. But some is going into macaroons and definitely into the eggplant fries - by coincidence, I also bought eggplant today

For now, I've frozen one third, toasted another third (but haven't decided what to do with it) and left the rest for my original planned rendang and for whatever ideas you came up with. I think I can use the toasted coconut for the macaroons.

[monotoy]

@ dragonbird: you can also use it to make coconut milk & coconut cream. In fact, many recipes I have insist on not using canned coconut milk/cream, but rather prepare it from grated coconut.

or this, lovely (does easily scale, too):

green chutney with coconut:
50g fresh coriander
1 tbsp fresh peppermint
60g fresh coconut
2 green chilies
1 (or 2) clove garlic
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp powdered sugar

blend all with a hand held blender to a nice smooth paste. put in a bowl and stir in 2 tsp fresh lime juice.

yum! (goes well with indian curries that use coconut, hell I use it for barbecued meat too or anything really /> )

[dragonbird]

That sounds good, and everything's readily available, and you can never have too many condiments in the fridge.

[~Fandango~]

Ok, so I know this doesn't look particularly appetising, but (for soup lovers) it's a real winner:



75g somen noodles
2 tablespoons veg oil
75g cubed tofu
1 red onion
1 red chilli
1 green chilli
1 carott
200ml chicken stock
200ml water
30g (basically a squirt) white miso paste
2 spring onion

Prepare somen noodles and run under cold water so they don’t stick. Fry off tofu in 1 tablespoon of veg oil until golden and place on kitchen paper. Deseed and finely chop both chillies, finely slice the onion, grate the carrot and fry off in 1 tablespoon of veg oil for 1 minute. Add the water, stock, tofu and miso paste and bring to the boil for 5 mins. Divide up the noodles and pour the soup over each portion. Top with spring onion to serve.

[monotoy]

looks nice, never tried miso with chicken stock though, I always use niban dashi (sometimes strong ichiban dashi) for miso soups, does it go well with it?


hmmm soups, I love soups!

[~Fandango~]

monotoy said:

looks nice, never tried miso with chicken stock though, I always use niban dashi (sometimes strong ichiban dashi) for miso soups, does it go well with it?


hmmm soups, I love soups! ›››

I would recommend white miso paste, but I actually used red today and all was well. Niban Dashi is a new one on me - you'll have to try and let us know.

[monotoy]

~Fandango~ said:

I would recommend white miso paste, but I actually used red today and all was well. Niban Dashi is a new one on me - you'll have to try and let us know. ›››

yea I normally use white miso too (sometimes red), but as soup base, I use dashi, not chicken stock, I'll have to try that some day then. (ichiban/niban dashi means primary/secondary dashi, secondary is stronger and less subtle in taste and better to use for miso soups, whereas ichiban dashi is better for clear soups)

[~Fandango~]

monotoy said:

yea I normally use white miso too (sometimes red), but as soup base, I use dashi, not chicken stock, I'll have to try that some day then. (ichiban/niban dashi means primary/secondary dashi, secondary is stronger and less subtle in taste and better to use for miso soups, whereas ichiban dashi is better for clear soups) ›››

Good to know - i'll be sure to pick some up the next time I pop into the local oriental wholesaler.

[monotoy]

~Fandango~ said:

Good to know - i'll be sure to pick some up the next time I pop into the local oriental wholesaler. ›››

don't buy pre-made dashi if you can avoid it if you want I'll post how to make dashi and what you need for it.

[~Fandango~]

monotoy said:

don't buy pre-made dashi if you can avoid it /> if you want I'll post how to make dashi and what you need for it. ›››

Yes please!

[monotoy]

~Fandango~ said:

Yes please! ›››

alright then!

don't know where you live and how well stocked your Asian grocery stores are, if you have one specializing in Japanese food, use that one (here surprisingly we can even get both konbu and bonito shavings in shopping malls that have a foodie kind of food department)! Dashi is the basic cooking stock for Japanese cooking. Soups, simmered foods, dipping and salad sauces, etc. The better the dashi the better the food! While there is instant dashi etc, if at all possible I'd try to make it yourself.

you'll need Konbu and kezurikatsuo.

Konbu is some sort of sea kelp (not to be confused with nori or wakame). it should look like this: sometimes it is sold in wider, sometimes thinner strips, but it shold preferably be somewhat thick and dark and have some whiteish particles on the surface. often sold in packages like this

kezurikatsuo are shavings from dried katsuobushi, dried and fermented tuna (bonito) filets. katsuobushi blocks and the wood plane kind of thing needed to shave it can only found in japan, so go for shavings that are sold in packages, like eg. this. if you have the choice, don't choose too fine shavings (hanakatsuo, which are used as a spice).

aaanyway />

ichiban (primary) dashi:

1 liter cold water
30g konbu
30g bonito shavings

lightly clean the konbu with a damp cloth (you don't want to remove the white stuff) and put the konbu in water and heat slowly, so that in about 10 minutes it is just before boiling point. right before it boils, remove the konbu to a plate. (if you let it boil, it becomes slightly bitter.) bring konbu-water to a full boil, bring temperature down with a small glass of cold water, add the shavings, and bring again to a boil. as soon as it boils, remove from heat immediately and let the flakes settle down to the bottom of the pan. remove the foam at the surface, strain through a sieve with a cheesecloth. now you have ichiban dashi, which is very subtle and delicious and a great base for clear soups, sauces etc (and also miso soups).

niban (secondary) dashi:

leftovers from ichiban dashi
1.5l cold water
10-15g bonito shavings

add the leftover konbu and the leftover shavings from the primary dashi and the water into a pan and bring to boiling point, when reduce the heat and let simmer for 15-20min, or until the liquid is reduced by 1/3 - 1/2, depending on how strong you want it to be. add the fresh shavings and remove from heat. let settle, strain, and discard konbu and shavings. now you got delicious niban dashi, for simmering, thick soups, miso soups and what not. />

sorry for the slight wall of text, but it's really quick and easy to do if you can get the ingredients! and opens the door to all kinds of amazing Japanese food.

(btw scales easily, so you can do 500ml water, 15g konbu & kezurikatsuo for only 1-2 persons, or double for more, etc)

[~Fandango~]

Much appreciated.

[monotoy]

most welcome. Btw, to check if the konbu is cooked enough, pinch it between your fingernails where it is at its thickest and see if it feels soft. if yes, it's good, if no, add a bit of cold water to bring the heat down a notch and simmer some more.

Also, you can put in the konbu together with the cold water the evening before or in the morning and let it sit for at least 8h, then it doesn't have to be cooked at all (just remove the konbu, bring to a boil, add cold water, add the shavings and proceed). some people prefer it that way, this is also how you make pure konbu dashi.

[cmdr_silverbolt]

My favorite recipe: toasted bagel with roast beef, swiss cheese, and red onions. Prep time: how ever fast you can sandwich.

[~Fandango~]

cmdr_flashheart said:

My favorite recipe: toasted bagel with roast beef, swiss cheese, and red onions. Prep time: how ever fast you can sandwich. ›››

V important question: how do you like your roast beef?

[cmdr_silverbolt]

~Fandango~ said:

V important question: how do you like your roast beef? ›››

On the rare side with just a touch of roasting, but I have also had this sandwich with well done roast beef, and that was good too. I prefer my meat on the bloody side, but if something tastes good in the context of the recipe, then who cares.

[gryphonosiris]

Key Lime Pie

Graham Cracker Crust:

1 paper-wrapped package graham crackers (1/3 of a 1 4pound box) or 1 cup plus 2 1/2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs

5 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

1/3 cup sugar

Filling: 3 egg yolks

2 limes, zest grated (about 1 1/2 teaspoons)

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

2/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (if you get Key limes, use them: otherwise use regular limes)

Topping: 1 cup heavy or whipping cream, chilled 3 tablespoons of confectioners’ sugar

For the graham cracker crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch pie pan. Break up the graham crackers: place in a food processor and process to crumbs. (If you don’t have a food processor, place the crackers in a large plastic bag: seal and then crush the crackers with a rolling pin.) Add the melted butter and sugar and pulse or stir until combined. Press the mixture into the bottom and sides of the pan, forming a neat border around the edge. Bake the crust until set and golden, 8 minutes. Set aside on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the filling: Meanwhile, in an electric mixer with the wire whisk attachment, beat the egg yolks and lime zest at a high speed until very fluffy, about 5 minutes. Gradually add the condensed milk and continue to beat until thick, 3 or 4 minutes longer. Lower the mixer speed and slowly add the lime juice, mixing just until combined, no longer. Pour mixture into the pie crust. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the filling has set. Cool on a wire rack, then refrigerate. Freeze for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

For the topping: Whip the cream and the confectioners’ sugar until nearly stiff. Cut the pie in wedges and serve very cold, topping each wedge with a large dollop of whipped cream.

[Guy N'wah]

gryphonosiris said:

Key Lime Pie
(snip) ›››

This is luscious. gryphonosiris mentioned the key point, which is to use very fresh lime juice; the flavor is not the same with bottled juice or even carefully frozen juice.

The Lasagna Queen did not believe it would set up when I made a Key Lime pie for her while we were still dating. You have to trust the makers of this pie who have gone before you, not your instincts when you read the recipe.

Digestive biscuits can be substituted for American "Graham crackers", but they will not give so crisp a crust.