I can answer a bit about what Coconut Milk (Cream) is. The raw coconut meat is ground and compressed and the juice from it is the Coconut Milk. (The locals (Samoans, Tongans, other Polynesians, etc.) call it Coconut Cream.) The first pressing is the best, of course. (Think of the different types of Olive Oil.) Then the coconut meat is run through the pressing machine again, this time adding some water ... and that product is labeled Coconut Milk. Most all the Coconut Milk we can purchase now is from SE Asia, where tin is cheap, so the product can be produced, canned, exported and sold very reasonably. The Coconut "Cream" is not allowed to be labeled such in the US, because of the USDA definition of what constitutes "cream", so it's called milk. Many companies have two or more different products or labels, indicating the quality, the fat content, the amount of water added, etc. You probably have a favorite brand, and you might prefer a more expensive brand and that's probably because it has less water added, so the flavor is more intense. Incidentally, there's a youtube video showing a Samoan fellow gathering, cracking, and grating a coconut, then squeezing the cream out of the grated meat. (You'll notice he has a New Zealand accent, as most Samoans from Western Samoa do -- because up until the early 1960s the country was a NZ protectorate, and that's the English they were taught. American Samoans speak with an American accent.) In 1997 Western Samoa changed their name back to Samoa, kind of regaining their original status prior to 1914 when it was renamed. My father's Cannery in Apia had men and women husking and peeling the coconuts much the same as the fellow on the video. The fellows used machetes to chop the husks off (which were saved and sold as copra), they used the same machetes to hack off the brown coconut shells (which were saved and sold for charcoal), and the women peeled the dark skin off the coconuts. Buckets of the white coconut meat was carried to the machines and dumped into them, and the coconut cream was squeezed out, and the cans were filled. Then the meat was run through a second time with water, and cans were filled -- and these were labeled differently. Now you know more than you ever wanted to know about Coconut Milk/Cream. Sorry, but I rarely ever get to tell anyone about my experiences there! My father's been gone 5 years now, and he sold the company to the workers, which pleases me. The people in that country have so little -- so this is something big for them. Kathy in Washington Here is a link that might be useful: A Samoan fellow showing How to Make Coconut Cream

I also do not like coconut milk in curry dishes and always ask at Thai restaurants if any of the dishes contain it. I don't like the sweetness. I've made Thai curry dishes that call for coconut milk, and I simply leave it out. If it needs the liquid, I add a bit of water. A better solution is to find recipes that do not use coconut milk. I've found plenty of Thai curry recipes that do not have it. I improvise lot in curry recipes, and I used to make my own curry paste (when I had lemongrass in the yard), and I would always omit cinnamon in the curry paste, as I do not like it in curry. The result is a dish that I love instead of something that I can only just barely tolerate. Don't feel like you have to be a purist or follow recipes slavishly. Use ingredients that you and your husband like and leave out the ones you don't. Often, you don't need to replace what you omit. IMO, a lot of recipes have too many ingredients and are improved when some of them are left out. Lars

Here's another good Thai curry recipe - I've also used shrimp in this instead of chicken. Becky * Exported from MasterCook * Panang Chicken Curry with Basil Recipe By : Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 1 can light coconut milk -- (14-ounce) 2 tablespoons panang curry paste (1.75-ounce package) 1 tablespoon , plus 2 teaspoons, fish sauce 1 tablespoon , plus 2 teaspoons, dark brown sugar 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice 2 medium red bell peppers -- seeded and sliced into 1/4-inch wide strips 1 red onion -- peeled and cut in 1/4-inch wedges 1 rotisserie chicken -- skin removed, shredded (about 3 cups) 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil 4 cups cooked jasmine or basmati rice 1. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add coconut milk, curry paste, fish sauce, brown sugar, peanut butter and lime juice; whisk well. Add red pepper and onion; stir to coat. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat, and cook, uncovered, until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 8 minutes. 2. Add chicken, cover, and simmer until thoroughly warm, about 5 minutes. Stir in basil; simmer 2 minutes. Serve over rice. Serves 8. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Here is the recipe for vegetable coconut rice. 2 cups of washed, uncooked basmati rice. Soak the above rice for 1/2 hr -1 hr in 2 cups of water and 2 cups of coconut milk. For the vegetables, you can use 8 oz of mixed vegetables, 1 cup of thin sliced onions. 3 garlic clove minced small piece of ginger minced 1 green chillie sliced For seasoning, cinnamon piece 1/2", 2 cardamom, 2 cloves, 2 bay leaves, 2-3 black peppers In a pan, pour 6-7 teaspoons of oil. When it is hot, put the onions, garlic, ginger, chillie and the seasonings. Fry till the onions are golden brown. Now add the vegetables and fry them for 5-7 mins. Add the above to the rice and add salt to taste. Put it in an electric cooker and let it cook. Once it is done, garnish with chopped cilantro. I prepare this very often and it tastes really good. For Flavor, you can also use minced mint along with the vegetables. Thanks Chunnu