unsweetened coconut milk

Weeknight cooking doesn't get any easier than this endlessly adaptable five-ingredient, 30-minute curry from Mark Bittman. Sauté a pile of chopped onions in a little oil, then stir in curry powder (or red curry paste for Thai flavors). Pour in a can of coconut milk and swirl to combine. Add chicken, simmer until it's cooked through and finish with some chopped tomatoes. And dinner is served! This recipe lends itself to experimentation, so change it up. Be generous with spices. Toss in chopped bell pepper or carrots with the onions. Add a can of drained chickpeas or a generous handful of fresh spinach with the tomatoes. Instead of chicken, try shrimp, duck, turkey, firm fish, tofu, lump crab meat or beef. Just watch the cooking time: Fish, shrimp and crab cook faster than other meats. Also, don't forget to season as you go with salt and pepper.

Easy Chicken Curry

canola, corn oil

onions,

Salt and black pepper

curry powder

unsweetened coconut milk (1 1/2 to 2 cups)

shrimp

tomato

basil

Place oil in a large skillet; turn heat to medium-high. A minute later, add onions, along with a generous pinch of salt and some pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are very soft and almost falling apart, 15 minutes or more. Stir in curry powder, and cook, stirring, for another minute or so.

Add coconut milk, and cook until it thickens, about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken, and stir, then cook until done, 3 to 6 minutes. (If you use shrimp, keep in mind that it cooks a little faster than chicken; if you are in doubt about whether chicken is done, cut into a piece.)

Add tomato, and cook another minute; adjust seasonings as necessary. Serve over rice, garnished with basil or mint, if desired.

Coconut-Cardamom Panna Cotta

half-and-half

sugar

cardamom pods, smashed

salt

coconut milk (unsweetened)

gelatin

blackberries

ginger

nectarines

In a small saucepan, warm the half-and-half over medium-low heat. Do not allow to simmer. Add sugar, stir to dissolve, then add cardamom and salt. Turn off heat and let cool. Stir in coconut milk.

Put gelatin in a small bowl and add 2 tablespoons cold water. Let dissolve, about 5 minutes, then add to half-and-half mixture; stir well. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve into a pitcher. Pour mixture into six 4-ounce ramekins or custard cups. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours. (May be made several hours or up to a day in advance.)

Put berries in a bowl and sprinkle with the sugar and grated ginger. Mix gently and macerate 10 minutes. Add slices of nectarine or peach, if desired. To serve, run a knife around edge of ramekin, then invert ramekin over dish. Shake gently to unmold. Surround panna cotta with fruit, or serve in ramekin with fruit on top.

Tofu is light, so I wanted to make the sauce as substantial as possible. Use canned coconut milk with the caramelized onions. Like heavy cream, coconut milk will thicken a sauce, making it luxurious in almost no time. Then, to add contrasting texture, I decided to use nuts as well. Both walnuts and cashews do splendidly here. But the bottom line is the onions: they really must be browned carefully and thoroughly, without burning. (Sam Sifton)

Curried Tofu With Soy Sauce

peanut, canola oil

onion,

curry powder,

walnuts

(12 to 14 ounces) unsweetened coconut milk

soy sauce,

Salt and cayenne pepper

Put oil in a 10- or 12-inch nonstick skillet and turn heat to medium-high. A minute later, add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until edges of onion pieces are well-browned, about 10 minutes (for best flavor, onions must brown but not burn). Add curry powder and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds or so; add nuts and cook, stirring occasionally, for about a minute.

Add coconut milk. Stir, bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Add tofu, stir and let tofu heat through for about 3 minutes. Stir in soy, then taste and adjust seasoning with soy, salt and/or cayenne as necessary. Serve over white rice.

Mark Bittman braises tofu in a curry sauce.

Curried Tofu

This impressive and wonderfully moist layer cake is less sweet than the usual coconut affair, thanks to a tangy cream cheese frosting on top and dose of orange juice in the batter. This is a great dessert to make in advance. You can bake the cake layers up to 3 days ahead and store them, well-wrapped in plastic, in the refrigerator. The frosted cake will keep for 2 days in the fridge as well, either under a cake dome or overturned bowl, or loosely tented with foil. Just make sure to bring the cake to room temperature before serving.

Here are <a href="http://cooking.nytimes.com/68861692/996375-lovely-layer-cakes">more layer cake recipes</a>.

Coconut Layer Cake

unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pans

all-purpose flour,

fine sea salt

10 baking powder

granulated sugar

eggs, separated, plus 3 whites

coconut milk

30 milliliters coconut or dark rum

104 milliliters orange juice

unsweetened shredded coconut

unsalted butter,

cream cheese,

vanilla extract

unsweetened shredded or flaked coconut, toasted

Grease 3 8-inch cake pans and dust with flour. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl and reserve. Place butter and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment and beat until fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add 3 egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl with spatula. Lower speed and gradually add flour mixture. Batter will be thick and pasty.

Whisk together cream of coconut, coconut milk, rum and orange juice. Alternately add shredded coconut and the orange juice mixture to the batter.

In the clean bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip 6 egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold into batter.

Divide batter evenly among prepared pans. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes. Cool in pans on wire rack. Unmold cakes once cool.

Make the cake:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla extract. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar, scraping down sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Mix until combined and fluffy.

Spread 1/4-inch-thick layer of frosting on top of the first layer of cake. Sprinkle with toasted coconut. Place next cake layer on top and repeat with frosting and coconut. Repeat with the third layer, spreading frosting on top and around sides of cake. Hold cake steadily in one hand and use other hand to pat remaining coconut onto edges of cake.

Top 4 unsweetened coconut milk recipes from across the web

The most viewed unsweetened coconut milk recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Easy Chicken Curry

Coconut-Cardamom Panna Cotta

Curried Tofu With Soy Sauce

Coconut Layer Cake

Top 4 unsweetened coconut milk recipes from across the web

The most viewed unsweetened coconut milk recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Easy Chicken Curry

Coconut-Cardamom Panna Cotta

Curried Tofu With Soy Sauce

Coconut Layer Cake

The most viewed unsweetened coconut milk recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine