Powdered coconut milk and thai/indian dishes

[Kevin Burton]

I've been enamored with spicy cooking for a while, especially when out doors.

I made a thai red curry with trout meal last month which was AMAZING.

Anyway. I was using ground coconut but that wasn't idea. Now I've found powdered coconut milk and it is AWESOME!

With some warm water it almost instantly dissolves and becomes coconut milk.

If I pack this in along with some peanut butter I can make an AMAZING red thai curry.

The final problems I'm having are:

– smell.. the curry, fish sauce, etc are VERY pungent and I"m worried about attracting bears so I'm going to keep my food far away from my tent and cook far away and use a odor sealing bag.

– I need more recipes and substitutes. Making Red Thai Curry is easy.. just take the paste and mix it with water, coconut milk, and maybe some lemon, etc. But dishes like Tom Kah Gai are also possible and they are amazing. Basically it's Thai noodle soup … and yummy as hell!

Do any of you guys cook like this? It really helps preserve my sanity while out there.

[Harrison Carpenter]

Yeah, I've used that stuff for years– awesome curries, but also dee-lish rice pudding!

[Will Webster]

I modified Sarah's recipe for Salmon Craisin Couscous Pilaf (it's in her book) by replacing the bouillon and parsley with coconut milk powder, Thai basil, and freeze-dried red jalapenos. Fantastic.

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

Yeah, I've been cooking with curries. I buy any kind that says to add coconut milk. I have brought coconut manna with me for this. I recently purchased coconut cream powder but haven't tried it to make curry yet. I keep my curry pastes in an OP sack so the smell doesn't infiltrate all my other food.

[Bill Segraves]

I tend to keep things simple, but this sounds tasty!

For those (if any) who work from a mix plus powdered cocounut milk, any recs for the mix?

For those who make it from scratch, what do you do for basil? In my experience, dried basil doesn't cut it. You manage to bring fresh, somehow? Or have found dried that's decent?

Thanks!

Best,

Bill

[Charles P]

i'd love to see some full recipes if you feel like compiling them. i love curry in general, itd be great to take it out on the trail.

[David Thomas]

That's nice to know about – the powder cocnut milk. My wife is always trying to cook gourmet food in the wilderness and she'll appreciate it.

On the pugent odors: I note that every time I saw a black bear went for one pack over another in the Sierra, it was the one with the salami in it. But they are only black bears, so I'd grab a stick and run at it, yelling and waving the stick.

In grizzly country, we do the 100-meter triangle – cook, sleep and store food at least 100 meters from each other. Better yet, cook early, clean up, and move on before setting up camp. One of the beauties of the bear canisters which we all love to hate, is that you toss them far from camp and it is probably GOOD if they smell more than you do, so the critters spend the night batting around the canister and not you.

[Curry]

I love powdered coconut milk. I took some with me on my JMT hike last month and used it in my instant potatoes, Thai noodle dishes and then in my morning "sludge" drink of instant coffee and meal replacement drink. So delicious and so versatile!

At home, when I make curries from scratch, I use actual coconut milk, and I am a bit more careful about getting the ratio of ingredients right. However, on the trail and using the powdered coconut milk, I just go by taste. A small pouch actually lasts a long time.

Dave,

You'll be happy to know the "bear ate my salami" thread in this forum has been reinvigorated!

Susan

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