While buying a coconut the other day, I thought it would be a cool idea to steam vegetables and fish inside it. After a few experiments, I came up with this. It is super easy to do and you are left with delicately steamed vegetables and fish that just melts in your mouth.
The most important part is to pick the right coconut. If you want to use the coconut water it needs to be a good coconut otherwise it will taste bad. When you shake the coconut you should hear a lot of sloshing around. The MOST IMPORTANT thing is to make sure there is absolutely no mold or black bits near the three indents. This area of the coconut is very thin, and that mold goes right through. If you can’t find a perfect one, try again another time or just don’t use the juice if it tastes bad. It should taste fresh and clean with very little taste. Even if the water tastes off, the meat is usually fine. The water spoils faster than the meat, so just use the coconut but use filtered water for the recipe. You can also use a young coconut, but be very sure there are no signs of mold. You wont get sick, but it wont taste as good.
If you’ve never opened a coconut before, here is a simple way to do it. Use a drill, sharp object, or a strong paring knife to poke a hole in one of the indents at the bottom of the shell. This part is usually pretty soft, so this is fairly easy to do. Then drain the juice in a cup. Now place the coconut on a solid surface and use the back of a butcher knife or hammer and hit the coconut on the side all the way around. Hit it once, turn it, then hit it again, etch. It should take a few whacks until it starts to crack.
Recipe for 2 servings:
- 1 coconut
- 1\2 pound talapia fillets (or any white fish)
- 2 handfulls of chopped baby bok choy
- 2 handfulls of sugar snap peas
- thumb size piece of ginger
- touch of curry powder
- After opening the coconut, pry some coconut out by poking and twisting a paring knife into the meat.
- Add chopped baby bok choy and sugar snap peas
- Add reserved coconut water. If the water doesn’t taste as good as it should just use water.
- Top with Talapia fillets. Cut them in half diagonally and twist 180 degrees so they fit better.
- Add minced ginger and a touch of curry powder. Salt and pepper as you like.
- Double wrap with aluminum foil first from the top then from the bottom. Bake for 25 minutes at 350.
