Can you slow cook with coconut milk?

Bassfish

In the industrial estate where I work, there's a food market every Thursday. There's a Thai food stall there that does the most amazing beef massaman curry. The beef if delicious and melts in the mouth and it's definitely a stewing cut of beef, chuck or something like that. I was thinking about trying to replicate it at home in the slow cooker.
My question is can you slow cook with coconut milk or will it split??
I don't know if the guy slow cooks the meat first and then adds it to the sauce or slow cooks it in the sauce from the start?

All advice gratefully received

Minder

It will only split if the water content is gone - then the fats split out. With a rendang curry, the point is to cook it until the liquid is gone and the meat fries in the coconut oil. Slow cooker should be fine with a lid on.

monkeysnapper

Jeeeez what is it with coconut this morn, 2 threads on coconut milk and oil, I can't wait for shops to open, I'm gona buy it all and set up my own stall selling it

Padraig Mor

Made some form of a Thai curry a while ago in the slow cooker using coconut milk - split to hell after a few hours. Still tasted good though!

Dinkie

monkeysnapper wrote: »

Jeeeez what is it with coconut this morn, 2 threads on coconut milk and oil, I can't wait for shops to open, I'm gona buy it all and set up my own stall selling it

Mmmm... just had spoonfull of coconut oil. Seemingly is meant to boost metabolism.

Thai chicken curry tonight I think thanks to all this talk

monkeysnapper

Dinkie wrote: »

Mmmm... just had spoonfull of coconut oil. Seemingly is meant to boost metabolism.

Thai chicken curry tonight I think thanks to all this talk

Sorry now can we sort this out... You put a spoon of oil straight into your mouth? Does it taste of oily fat going down no? And how long you been doing this for? And have you if so noticed any differences ?

Aaaaaaaaaalot of questions there sorry:D

Bassfish

Thanks for the replies everyone, think I'll give it a bash. I'll cut the meat into bite size chunks so it won't take more than two hours to cook so it shouldn't split. I'll try to post a pic if it turns out well

Dinkie

monkeysnapper wrote: »

Sorry now can we sort this out... You put a spoon of oil straight into your mouth? Does it taste of oily fat going down no? And how long you been doing this for? And have you if so noticed any differences ?

Aaaaaaaaaalot of questions there sorry:D

You can fry with it or just put it into your mouth. I tried frying with it - but I hated the coconut taste the food (some people say you can't taste it - but you can!!)

I just take a spoonful. I've lost 1 3/4 stone in the past 3 months - but I can't put it all down to the coconut oil I've been trying to eat healthily and I've cut out dairy (i've sinus) and started at the gym. I started taking the coconut oil after reading a thread on health and fitness:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056721735

My hair is definately shinier and the coconut oil is rich enough that I don't want to snack. And its a healthy fat.

I get jars of it in Dunnes.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

the first couple of times you eat a spoonfull of coconut oil it feels *sooooooo* weird, I shotgunned it straight down with some ice cold water but after a couple of days I was just sticking it straight in there and chewing it up for flavour before I swallowed as well as licking the spoon clean.. stuff's delicious

it's solid at roomtemp so it's not like a spoon of oily oil. I've only been taking itfor 3-4 weeks so probably not long enough to notice any real benefits. I have noticed the spots on my back (numerous and irritating) are fewer than before and those that are there are less... I dunno, red and angry looking. my rosacea seems a little better the last few weeks too, whether that's down to the coconut oil helping my skin or me cutting everything but the bare neccesities out of my diet I don't know. the main thing for me, as I'm on a weight loss kick atm, is that I don't snack at all anymore.

I get my calories from the 3 meals during the day but before breakfast and lunch I have a teaspoon of coconut oil and I just don't get hungry for ages. I used to be constantly snacking on fruit during the day or having to pull myself away from bags of gummi bears in aldi... lately though I just saunter on by the sugary sugary goodness without a second glance.


dinkie.. some brands will taste of coconut, some won't if you fry with them. I haven't tasted any coconut at all with the stuff I got from superquinn when I use it for stir fries/omelettes.

loadsofham

Any time I have put coconut milk int he slow cooker it has split, when I am making a massaman curry I get chunks of shin beef from the butchers and rub some of the massaman curry paste into them, place them in the slow cooker with a few table spoons of water and cook until tender,

Then when I am ready to make up the curry I just stir fry more of the paste along with onion and cubed potatoes, add in the coconut milk and beef and simmer until the potatoes cubes are tender

Serve with Jasmine rice and enjoy - one of the best Massamans curry pastes you can buy is sold in Tesco and its called Barts, the yellow is also really good but I don't find the green all that good

And never make massaman with chicken its a western thing, its a northern Thai dish associated with weddings and is typically beef or lamb

Bassfish

loadsofham wrote: »

Any time I have put coconut milk int he slow cooker it has split, when I am making a massaman curry I get chunks of shin beef from the butchers and rub some of the massaman curry paste into them, place them in the slow cooker with a few table spoons of water and cook until tender,

Then when I am ready to make up the curry I just stir fry more of the paste along with onion and cubed potatoes, add in the coconut milk and beef and simmer until the potatoes cubes are tender

Serve with Jasmine rice and enjoy - one of the best Massamans curry pastes you can buy is sold in Tesco and its called Barts, the yellow is also really good but I don't find the green all that good

And never make massaman with chicken its a western thing, its a northern Thai dish associated with weddings and is typically beef or lamb

Thanks for that, I'd say you're right. I made it last night and the coconut milk held up fine but the overall taste wasn't great. I think it was just that the paste wasn't very good. I tried jazzing up the flavour with some extra garlic and ginger and fish sauce but still wasn't great. Tasted nothing like the massaman from good Thai places. Purchase a better paste next time methinks