Substitute for Coconut Milk

Canned coconut milk is mostly a fat-in-water emulsion. USDA lists it at 21.3 g fat per 100 g, and a 226 g cup holds about 48 g of fat. That fat gives curries their body, carries the aromas of spices and curry paste, and lets the sauce simmer for a long time without breaking. The coconut flavor matters too, but a substitute that gets the fat right will make a convincing sauce; one that gets only the flavor right will be thin.

Curries and soups

Thinned coconut cream is the best option because it is the same thing: USDA’s coconut cream has about 35 percent fat, so two parts cream to one part water lands near 23 percent. Without any coconut product, heavy cream with whole milk is the closest match on richness. Half a cup of each comes to about 47 g of fat, against 48 g in a cup of coconut milk. Heavy cream tolerates simmering and lime juice well; whole milk alone would curdle and lacks the fat. For a dairy-free curry, cashew cream gives a similar thickness, with slightly less fat.

When the recipe starts by frying curry paste in the coconut fat, use a tablespoon of oil for that step with any substitute.

Baking and desserts

In cakes, muffins and puddings, coconut milk supplies liquid and fat. The cream and milk mix swaps in directly and gives a slightly finer crumb. Thinned coconut cream works the same way. Add ¼ teaspoon of coconut extract per cup to a dairy substitute if the coconut taste is the point of the bake.

Marinades and Indian-style sauces

Yogurt suits chicken marinades and creamy North Indian sauces, where tang is welcome. It cannot replace coconut milk in Thai or Malaysian dishes, which depend on its sweetness.

When not to substitute

Dishes where coconut is the main flavor, such as tom kha gai, Thai coconut sticky rice, coconut panna cotta or rice cooked in coconut milk, taste of something else with dairy or cashew. Use coconut cream, or make coconut milk by blending unsweetened shredded coconut with hot water and straining it through a cloth.

Coconut milk is often chosen because it is dairy-free. Check before reaching for cream or yogurt when cooking for someone who avoids dairy.

Common mistakes

• Buying cream of coconut. It is heavily sweetened for drinks and makes a savory curry taste like a dessert.
• Using carton coconut milk in a curry. The sauce stays watery.
• Boiling yogurt or plain milk. Both split into curds; only heavy cream holds up at a full boil.
• Measuring without shaking the can. The first cup is mostly fat and the last mostly water.