From eem@cs.dal.ca Sun Nov 24 23:02:21 2002

http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/features/crackcoc.html

To Crack a Coconut

See Also: Purchasing a Coconut

Some people try to get into a coconut by banging on it with a
hammer. Others suggest poking holes in the eyes to drain the liquid
before hammering. This sounds like a good idea, but if you have tried
it before, you may have discovered it isn't quite so easy. The eyes
are small and the surrounding shell quite thick and hard. After much
effort to jab them with a sharp object or puncture them with a nail,
you may end up with a slow trickle, taking a lot longer to drain all
the liquid out than you may have patience for.

A quick and easy, no-nonsense way to crack a coconut is to use a
cleaver. Holding it with one hand such that the "midriff" rests in the
middle of your palm, with the tip on one end and the eyes on the
other, whack the coconut with the back of the cleaver a few times all
around the center until it cracks open cleanly into two nearly equal
halves. Make sure you use the blunt side of the cleaver. Do this over
a bowl in the sink to catch the juice as it drains from the cracks. If
the juice tastes fresh and sweet, enjoy it as a refreshment by itself
or reserve for use in extracting cream from the flesh.

After the coconut is cracked in two round halves, the white flesh can
be scraped out in long thin shreds using a small implement with a row
of sharp teeth, available from Southeast Asian markets. (My little
niece and nephew, Toey and Baitoey, find this activity to be great
fun. Whenever they come to visit and want to help in the kitchen, I
keep them out of trouble by asking them to shred coconut. That usually
is worth half an hour of silence and undivided attention. Later, when
I incorporate the fruit of their effort into a simple appetizer or
dessert, they feel so proud to have contributed; they have learned
that cooking is fun and a way to give of themselves to their loved
ones.)

Alternatively, you can first remove coconut meat from the shell and
then grate or shred it in the food processor. (See the next section
"Preparing a Coconut For Pressing Milk," for tips on how to de-shell
coconut meat.)

In Thailand, there are shredders that are attached to wooden stools,
so that you can shred coconut while sitting down. If you have one, sit
on the stool with the flat round shredder head sticking out in front
of you and between your legs. Simply hold the coconut half with the
white meat on the sharp-toothed head and move your hands swiftly up
and down, scraping it out in fine shreds. With practice, you may find
that a whole coconut shreds up in no time at all. You may also develop
strong wrists from the exercise!

In olden days, the wooden stools were carved into elaborate animal
shapes (such graters are called gkra-dtai, meaning "rabbit"). The
National Museum in the southern city of Nakon Si Thammarat and the
extensive Institute of Southern Thailand Studies in Songkla display
interesting collections of antique coconut shredders among their folk
exhibits. Some are people-shaped, with the shredder sticking out of
the mouth, or more comically, out of the rear end. These artfully
carved stools make fascinating decorative pieces and have become
collector's items. Look for them in Bangkok's enormous Chatuchak
Weekend Market -- a bustling bazaar where almost everything imaginable
is available -- or in antique shops.

Aside from hand scrapers and stool graters, there are a number of
mechanical contraptions for grating coconut. Many of these can reduce
the pulpy meat of old coconuts into very fine, snow-like flakes,
perfect for extracting coconut milk and for making chewy
sweetmeats. Along with the wooden, boxlike machine mentioned earlier,
another common device used by vendors in marketplaces consists of a
large round aluminum basin with a torch-like shredder head sticking
out through a hole in the center. With the basin tilted on its side,
the shredder head is hooked on the back to a machine which powers it
to turn like an osterizer. The sides of the basin catch the grated
coconut so it doesn't fly all over the place.

Long, thin coconut shreds are sprinkled over various snacks and
desserts, used as an ingredient in the fillings of crispy crepes and
dumplings, and rolled into sweetmeats. For my niece and nephew, I
sometimes toss toasted sesame seeds, some sugar and a little bit of
salt with the coconut shreds they have helped scrape out of the shells
and serve the mixture to them for a snack or light dessert. Cooked
sweet corn kernels added to such a mixture also make a very nutritious
snack food.

Along the streets of Thai cities and in snack shops, a tasty coconut
cake called Kanom Paeng Jee is a popular treat. Made primarily of
finely grated fresh coconut with rice flour, sugar and flavorings, it
is shaped into little flat round pancakes and grilled. Some street
vendors fill the sweet coconut mixture in tiny metal rings atop a hot
griddle to make uniform little round bites -- reminiscent of chewy
coconut macaroons.