Greetings.
I like Thai cooking, but coconut milk has a high calorie and high fat content. Could I substitute low fat Soya milk, with added coconut essence ??
In the Womens Weekly there is a delicious recipe for Thai Chicken Balls, requiring coconut milk. Would love to try them, but Calories, fat and cholestrol scare me. (I am trying to lose weight, but I love exotic food; who dosen't)
What do you think of the coconut essence addition ?
Thanks in anticipation. Ray
― Ray Bubb, Sunday, 28 May 2006 12:52 (nineteen years ago)
reduced fat coconut milk is available, and it's much lower in calories. it's right along side the regular high-fat stuff in grocery stores.
― lauren (laurenp), Sunday, 28 May 2006 18:49 (nineteen years ago)
It's a legitimate concern, which I share. Can soy milk be boiled/simmered without breaking down?
― The Jazz Guide to Penguins on Compact Disc (Rock Hardy), Sunday, 28 May 2006 20:27 (nineteen years ago)
isnt the reduced fat coco milk just cut with water?
i think you might be able to get by with using less coco milk than a given recipe calls for as well.
― AaronK (AaronK), Monday, 29 May 2006 16:34 (nineteen years ago)
A little of what you fancy does you good. Just eat a normal-sized portion and quit worrying.
― Mädchen (Madchen), Tuesday, 30 May 2006 09:00 (nineteen years ago)
What amazed me was that there are like seven servings in a can of coconut milk- at best I eat two or three servings worth everytime I use it.
― laurence kansas (lawrence kansas), Tuesday, 30 May 2006 15:12 (nineteen years ago)
two weeks pass...
hi ray---a good question, as I love coconut milk also (and Thai recipes calling for it)!
but it's difficult to know, as one day you hear coconut is unhealthy, the next day you hear it is healthy. (personally, i doubt it's very good to eat too much of it, as it is very fat-- even if it is a natural non-tran-fat kind of fat, i think it's best to limit fat intake overall).
it's also difficult from your posted question, to know what else you do/eat (you give no other info about your health/nutrition)
if you're a couch potato type who eats chips/doritos regularly, of course coconut milk will only add to your fat/cholesteral woes. if you're very physically active, and generally avoid junk food, you could probably pig out on heavy full-fat rich Thai coconut meals twice a week and live until 100!
I wouldn't bother with wasting time with soy milk/coconut essence combinations. It just sounds unpleasant and too difficult, and, if you're going to be paranoid about the potential risks of coconut, you should be just as paranoid about the potential risks of soy! (Google "soy"..."potentially unhealthy?" "messes with hormones...")! Don't think relying on soy with leave you with a completely perfect bill of health !!!
But, back to coconut, if you really crave it but want to restrain your intake of it, looks for powdered coconut milk. I've never had problems finding it in large supermarkets or Asian foodstores--usually sold right next to regular canned coconut milk. You add water to it to make coconut milk. Just add in a little of it with a lot of water if you like, (decide how "strong" you want it to be) and you can easily control the fat from coconut in your meal.
the chef in brussels
― the chef in brussels, Friday, 16 June 2006 23:41 (nineteen years ago)
I heard most of the anti-soy stuff is published by a couple of (extremely anti-soy) organisations, and isn't quite as widely-researched as you might think.
Then again, "I heard" isn't the most convincing start to that sentence, is it?
― hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 14:19 (nineteen years ago)