Thai-Inspired Recipe: Winged Bean Salad

We sometimes find salads good, but not really good enough for a whole lunch and we’re happy to say that this Winged Bean Salad is not one of those. It’s not too spicy, because there’s the creamy coconut milk to counteract the chilies, and the beans add the necessary and refreshing crunch. Whether or not you even like salads, this one is great because of all the different flavors that come together without overpowering one another. This tasty salad might warrant a visit to your closest Asian market, but that’s fine because it’s delicious and worth it!

Thai Winged Bean Salad

(Serves 4) 

Ingredients 

• 2 cups winged beans, about 2/3 lb.
• 1 cup minced pork, about 1/2 lb.
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons dried shrimp, chopped
• 2 tablespoons shallots, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2-3 medium, dried chilies, seeded and chopped
• 2 tablespoons roasted peanuts, chopped
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 1/4 teaspoon palm sugar or brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• Canola or vegetable oil, frying

Directions

1. Rinse your winged beans and chop off both ends. Cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Set a pot of water to boil.
2. While waiting, heat enough oil in a medium frying pan to cover the shallots and stir often until they’re golden, but not too brown. Remove shallots. Add dried shrimp to the pan and fry them until crispy. Remove and set aside.
3. Then add garlic and chilies and brown them.
4. Once cool, pound half of your shallots, garlic and chilies into a semi-smooth paste.
5. When your water is salted and boiling, blanch your winged beans for 20-30 seconds. Remove them and place them immediately in ice water to stop them from cooking. Reserve the water.
6. Add your finely-minced pork to the water and cook for 5-7 minutes.
7. In a saucepan, boil the coconut milk, take off heat and add sugar, chili/shallot paste, lime juice, fish sauce and peanuts. Mix well.
8. Add dressing to winged beans and minced pork, toss and serve. Garnish with crispy dried shrimp and shallots.

Creative Dessert Recipe: Golden Coconut Pumpkin Cake

It’s possible that people have been on the pumpkin/coconut bandwagon for a while now, but it’s a new one for us. That being said, it’s a fantastic combination that we should have been whipping up ages ago! The pumpkin lends sweetness to this cake without being overpowering and the addition of sweetened and unsweetened coconut makes this duo a winning pair. Whether or not you’ve dipped your toes in the (coconut) water, this is certainly a recipe you’ll want to try!

Coconut Pumpkin Cake

(Yields 1 cake)

Ingredients

Cake:

• 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin purée
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 cup coconut oil (or oil or butter)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 

Topping:

• 6-8 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup evaporated milk

Directions

1. Grease a 9-inch spring form pan (a rectangular baking dish is also fine) and preheat the oven to 350º F.
2. In a large bowl, mix the pumpkin, sugars, coconut oil and eggs together.
3. Mix in all other “Cake” ingredients and beat until well combined.
4. Pour into baking dish and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cake should be springy to the touch.
5. While the cake is baking, mix all “Topping” ingredients in a small bowl.
6. When cake is just about finished, remove from oven and evenly pour on the topping. Then place under broiler for 2-3 minutes, or until the topping is bubble and golden.
7. Remove and enjoy.

Homemade Samoas Recipe: Chocolate Coconut Girl Scout Cookies

Girl Scout Cookies are the best and we are always looking forward to that time of year—however, sometimes we get cravings for those cookies when they’re not sold in stores yet…. Now some people feel very passionately about choosing sides (generally Thin Mints vs. Samoas), but we don’t discriminate; we love all cookies equally. Here, we decided to try our hand at making homemade versions of the beloved Samoas—and trust us, they’re amazing. Chocolate. Coconut. Say no more.

Chocolate Coconut Cookies

(Yields approx. 2 dozen)

Ingredients

Cookies:

1/2 cup (1 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup white sugar

1 cups flour; plus enough for flouring surfaces

1 tablespoons milk

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Coconut Topping:

1 1/2 cups sweetened coconut

1/2 (14 oz.) can dulce de leche

4 oz. dark chocolate chips

1 1/2 tablespoons milk

1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

 Cookies:

1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. Using a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until airy and fluffy.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together your flour, baking powder and salt.
4. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and the milk and vanilla extract, beginning and ending with the flour. Dough should come together without being too sticky.
5. Divide dough in half and wrap each half, flattening into discs, in plastic wrap. Then refrigerate or freeze until firm.
6. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each chilled disc until it is 1/8-inch thick. Cut out as many cookies as possible using a circular cookie cutter. (If dough starts to get warm, place it back in the freezer for 10 minutes.) Then cut out the centers of each cookie. You can use the open side of a piping tip for this.
7. Place cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes (rotating half way through), or until bottoms are just slightly browned. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool fully.

Topping:

1. Evenly spread coconut flakes on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 350º F for 10 minutes. Stir often so they cook evenly and don’t burn. Remove from oven and let cool.
2. In a saucepan (or in the microwave), warm your dulce de leche and pour in the milk and salt.
3. Toss toasted coconut in a large bowl with 3/4 of the dulce de leche.
4. Spread the rest of the sauce on top of the cooled cookies and then place the coconut/caramel mixture on top. Let the cookies cool.
5. Melt dark chocolate in the microwave and dip the bottoms of cookies in the chocolate. Then drizzle the remaining chocolate on top of all the cookies. Let cool fully before eating.

Zesty Dessert Recipe: Coconut Key Lime Bars

Lemon bars are probably one of my favorite desserts, but I recently started to wonder if I could do something similar with limes. I wanted to enjoy the taste of fresh limes in pastry form, and I was not about to be denied. Naturally, I set to work finding the perfect recipe to fill that craving.

To start off, we took a look at the crust. Many recipes call for graham crackers, but we actually found crunchy gingersnaps were a much better replacement, adding even more complexity to the dish. For the filling, we combined cream cheese, egg yolks, condensed milk, and some lime juice with zest. We also combined it all with a little shredded coconut to finish off these bars. Keep reading below for our favorite recipe...

Coconut Key Lime Bars

(makes 16 bars)

Ingredients

CRUST

• 2 cups finely crushed gingersnap cookies
• 3 tablespoons salted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

FILLING

• 4oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 4 large egg yolks
• 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup finely shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup key lime juice
• 2 teaspoons lime zest
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• confectioners' sugar for dusting

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 9"X9" baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on the sides, and lightly spray with nonstick spray. Mix together the melted butter and brown sugar. Set aside.
2. To make the crust, pulverize the crunchy gingersnap cookies into a fine crumb with a food processor. Pour into a medium sized bowl and mix with melted butter and brown sugar mixture. Press firmly and evenly into the prepared baking pan. Bake the crust for 10 minutes.
3. While the crust is baking, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the egg yolks until incorporated. Beat in the condensed milk, coconut, lime juice, lime zest, and salt until combined. Pour into the warm crust once it's done baking.
4. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the edges of the bars begin to brown. Allow the bars to cool at room temperature in the pan or on a wire rack. Once cooled, place in the fridge to chill completely (at least 2 hours).
5. Once chilled, lift the bars out of the pan using the foil overhang. Cut into squares. Garnish with confectioners' sugar.
6. Enjoy!

One-Pot Recipe: Thai Coconut Chicken Curry

This Coconut Chicken curry is so good, everyone will be shocked when they find out how easy it is to make! That is, if you choose to share your secrets with them. Stir-fries and curries are always a nice option because you get so much bang for your buck and you don’t have to spend an inordinate amount of time over a hot stove; plus you get a sauce that is more than just yummy dressing for the chicken, becoming a soup that pairs beautifully with the chicken. Appetizer and entrée in one—bonus! Really, this dish is a winner that you should all try. One pot. Ready in under 20 minutes. Possible? Yes.

Coconut Chicken Curry

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 can (14.5 oz.) light coconut milk
• 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/3 cup water
• 4 oz. green beans, chopped
• 1 jalapeño chili, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste
• 1 teaspoon lime zest
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger root, grated
• 1-2 red bell peppers, seeded and shopped
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook for 3-4 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink.
2. Add lime zest, ginger root and chili. Continue to stir-fry for 1 minute.
3. Pour in coconut milk, chicken broth and water, and stir in brown sugar, curry paste, green beans and bell peppers.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 5-7 minutes, until vegetables have softened slightly.
5. Serve hot. Optional: serve with jasmine rice.