I rarely use a whole tin of coconut milk in one go. What can I do with the leftovers?
Happily, the warming sweetness of coconut milk is welcome in all the things you want to eat right now, sitting at home in your thermals (Curry! Soup!), meaning leftovers are no bad thing. When Mandy Yin, chef-owner of Sambal Shiok in north London, is faced with this same predicament, it usually means coconut rice: “It’s so straightforward, too: just replace half the water you’d need to cook the rice with coconut milk.” Otherwise, the excess milk could make an appearance in stews, even bolognese, or creamed spinach, she adds: “Replace the cream with coconut milk and a dash of fish sauce, and that’s really delicious.”
Coconut milk is, of course, a fundamental ingredient in Sri Lankan cooking. “You’ll find kiri hodi, a coconut milk-based sauce infused with garlic, turmeric and pandan leaf, in 90% of kitchens in Sri Lanka,” says Eroshan Meewella, co-founder of Kolamba in London, and he recommends you do the same. “The turmeric and garlic balance the quite creamy, quite sweet coconut milk, and it pairs beautifully with rice or crusty bread.”
