What to use instead of coconut milk
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
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Rich liquid body in a curry, stew or soup
Full-fat tins run 17-20% fat, which carries the chilli and spice compounds that water cannot, and thickens the sauce as it reduces.
Heavy creamRan out
1:1, added off the boil
Dairy-sweet instead of coconut. Splits if it hard-boils in an acidic curry, so keep it at a bare simmer.
Cashew creamPlant-based
1 cup raw cashews soaked 2 hr, blended with 1 cup water, used 1:1
Thicker and neutral with no coconut perfume. It scorches on the bottom faster, so drop the heat and stir.
Coconut cream thinnedRan out
1 part coconut cream + 1 part water
The same thing with the richness under your control. Whisk it properly or the fat sits in lumps.
Evaporated milkRan out
1:1
Thinner and noticeably sweeter, and it browns fast against the side of the pan.
Full-fat yogurt stabilised with cornstarchRan out
1 cup yogurt whisked with 1 tsp cornstarch, stirred in off the heat
Sharper and tangier. The starch buys you some protection but it will still split above a bare simmer.
What doesn't work: Coconut water. Same nut, no fat at all. It thins the curry to a watery broth and brings a sour note that reads as spoiled.
Fat that cracks and fries the curry paste
The cream separates on heat and the released oil fries the paste. That frying stage is where the depth in a Thai curry comes from.
Coconut oil + thinner coconut milkRan out
2 tbsp oil to fry the paste, then the milk
Nothing you will taste. You are doing by hand what the cream does on its own.
Neutral oilRan out
2 tbsp to bloom the paste before the liquid goes in
No coconut in the fry, so the finished curry tastes flatter. Add another teaspoon of paste to make up the difference.
What doesn't work: Light or reduced-fat coconut milk. There is not enough fat to break, so the paste stews in liquid instead of frying and the curry keeps a raw, dusty spice taste all the way through.
Shake the tin before opening or you get cream first and water later, which changes how the dish reduces.