Coconut Milk

Extracted by grinding the white albumen of the coconut with water, it is a natural and unstable emulsion of plant oil in water, very rich in saturated fats (lauric acid). Without stabilizers, it "splits" (the oil separates from the water) if boiled vigorously. Asian chefs exploit this separation by reducing coconut cream until its pure oil is extracted, in which the curry paste is then "fried" to release its fat-soluble aromas.