How to Make Coconut Milk at Home | Easy Budget Friendly Vegan Milk
Let's check step by step preparation of fresh homemade coconut milk recipe from scratch. A healthy, dairy-free and budget-friendly vegan milk recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh coconut pieces
- 1 ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Break open a fresh mature coconut and collect the water in a glass. You can drink it later or use it for other purposes.
- You can either grate the white flesh of the coconut with a hand grater or a food processor. Or you can chop it into small pieces. You should get about 2 cups of grated coconut from one medium-sized coconut.
- Transfer 1 cup of fresh coconut slices to a blender and add 1 cup of room temperature water. Blend for a few minutes until smooth and frothy. Don't continuously run blender, wait for few seconds and then continue.
- Strain the mixture through a cheesecloth, a nut milk bag, or a fine-mesh sieve over a large bowl. Squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the pulp. This is your first extract of coconut milk, which is thick and creamy. You can use it for making rich sauces, gravies, or desserts.
- If you want thin consistency of the milk, return the pulp to the blender and add another 1 cup of water. Blend again for a few minutes and strain as before. This is your second extract of coconut milk, which is thinner and lighter. You can use it for making soups, stews, rice dishes, or smoothies.
- Store the coconut milk in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
1. You will need a mature brown coconut, not a young green one, to make coconut milk. Mature coconuts have more flesh and less water, which will give you a richer and thicker milk. You can find them easily in most grocery stores. Look for coconuts that are heavy for their size and have no cracks or mold on the shell.
2. Crack the coconut and remove flesh from the shell carefully.
3. Wash it nicely and then cut into pieces.
4. Use room temperature water to make this coconut milk.
5. Don't run the mixer continuously, take a break for few seconds and then continue.
6. Strain the milk and keep it in a sterlized bottle or jar and store in the refrigerator till needed.