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Love coconut? Try these recipes

With endless health benefits, check out these recipes that employ this tropical nut in several delightful avatars

Fluffy Coconut Pancakes with Caramelised Bananas
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Makes: 6-8 small pancakes

Ingredients
¼ cup coconut flour
¼ tsp baking soda
2 tbsp peanut or almond
butter
2 eggs slightly beaten
½ tsp maple syrup or honey
½ banana mashed
¼ cup coconut milk (in a carton, not a can)
For the caramelised bananas:
1 banana, sliced
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp coconut oil
Method
In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour and baking soda) and set aside.
In a separate bowl, mix together the nut butter, eggs, honey, banana and coconut milk until smooth and combined.
Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and combine. Add in some milk until smooth (do not be alarmed if it's thick).
Lightly coat a non-stick skillet with coconut oil and place over medium low heat.
Drop 3 tablespoons of batter at a time and cook till bubbles appear on the top and the edges are cooked. Flip and cook until golden brown on the underside, around 2 minutes.
For the caramelised bananas, heat coconut oil in a frying pan. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon brown sugar over each side of the bananas and fry for a couple of minutes until soft and caramelised.
Remove from the pan and spoon on top of the pancakes.
Serve pancakes with a dollop of Greek yoghurt.
Tom Yum with Shrimp and Young Coconut
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 8 mins
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients
1 L coconut water
1 cilantro root, cleaned
3 stalks of lemongrass, cut
into ¼ inch slices
1 (2-inch piece) of galangal
¼ cup cherry tomatoes, cut
in half
85 gm button mushrooms
225 gm large prawns
3 red Thai chillies (or to
taste), bruised
½ cup lime juice
½ cup fish sauce (or to taste)
10 kaffir lime leaves, torn
in half
1 spring cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 scallion, white and green parts, coarsely chopped
4 (1 inch) strips young coconut meat, scooped from a fresh coconut
Method
In a medium saucepan, bring the coconut water to boil over medium heat and then reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer.
Add the cilantro root, lemongrass, galangal, tomatoes and mushrooms, followed by prawns and bruised Thai chillies. Raise the heat to high to bring to boil again, and boil until the prawns are just cooked through, around 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, then add the lime juice and fish sauce; stir.
Add the kaffir lime leaves, cilantro, scallion and coconut meat and stir again.
Spoon into bowls and serve.
Salmon in Coconut Red Curry Sauce
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Serves: 4


Ingredients
1 ½ tbsp coconut or vegetable oil
1 tbsp store-bought red
curry paste
¼ cup coconut cream
½ cup water
2 tsp fish sauce (or to taste)
2 tsp palm sugar or dark brown sugar
4 skinless salmon fillets (170 gm each)
1 fresh red Thai chilli, halved, seeded, cut into long slivers
2 kaffir lime leaves, cut lengthwise into thin strips
Method
In a wok, combine the oil, curry paste and coconut cream over medium-high heat and fry until the paste is fragrant and the coconut fat separates, around 2 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk, water, fish sauce and sugar, then arrange the fish fillets in the pan in a single layer, leaving space between them. Turn down the heat to medium-low, cover and cook the fish for 2 minutes. Turn the fillets over, add the chilli, re-cover and continue to cook until the fish flakes easily with a fork, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle the kaffir lime leaves over the dish.
Serve immediately.
Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango
Rest time: 6 hrs
Cook time: 45 mins
Serves: 4

Ingredients
1 ½ cups uncooked glutinous rice
1 (400 ml) can coconut milk
½ cup white sugar
1 tsp jasmine extract
Pinch of salt
2 sweet ripe mangoes
1 tbsp coconut cream
1 tsp black and white
sesame seeds
Method
Soak the rice in a bowl of room temperature water for at least six hours (or, preferably, overnight).
Prepare a rice steamer or a double boiler with a steamer insert lined with cheesecloth. Add enough water so that it comes up to around 2 inches. Bring the water in the steamer to boil over high heat and add the rice, wrap with the cheesecloth and cover. Lower the heat to medium high and steam for around 15 minutes or until the rice is al dente. Transfer to a large bowl.
Using a small saucepan, combine the coconut milk, sugar, jasmine extract and salt and heat over low heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the warm coconut milk mixture over the rice and fold the liquid into the rice until well combined.
Place cling film directly on top of the rice and let it sit, covered until the rice absorbs most of the coconut milk - this should take around 30 minutes. Keep the remaining coconut milk mixture in a small bowl.
When you're ready to serve, peel, pit and slice the mango as desired. Unwrap the sticky rice and divide amongst the serving plates.
Serve with sliced mango and drizzle the rice with the remaining coconut milk mixtures along with a tablespoon of coconut cream. Top with toasted sesame seeds.