Sorry, no alcohol - this ain't the DC thread!
Went to Jungle Jim's International Market for the first time a couple weekends ago, and found coconut powder - not coconut milk powder, but the coconut meat very finely shredded and dehydrated. Picked up a bag of it, and thought I'd figure something to do with it. So here goes:
Yes, as the title suggests, meatballs. Used ground pork, coconut powder, crushed pineapple, lime juice, jalapenos, eggs, ginger, sea salt, allspice, mace, garlic, thai curry paste, and more ginger. Did I mention I used ginger??? Note I used crushed pineapple in pineapple juice, with no sugar added - I wasn't going for sweet with this, even though the title may suggest otherwise.
In researching how to use coconut powder, I learned a) that it can be used somewhat as a flour substitute, but also b) it has no binding agent. So you can substitute part or all of the flour in many recipes with it, but you need to use more eggs than you would if you were using flour. Also, don't bother trying to make a sauce with it, unless you are strictly using it for flavor or texture - NO binding means NO sauce otherwise.
Finished cooking:
There you go - you've seen one meatball, you've seen them all! Yeah, yeah, here's one cut open:
Decided to leave these "plain", with no sauce, to see if I liked the texture and flavor, which I generally did. Although I liked the flavor, but still felt something was missing. My son agreed, and grabbed the jar of cinnamon, after which he pronounced them "perfect." Hmmm - I was thinking something green, but to each his own. I also think they could have used a bit of fat mixed in - maybe coconut oil. I'll definitely make these again, and tweak it a bit.
Sauce? I'm used to doing the final cooking of meatballs in a sauce, and have been thinking about what I might use that wouldn't overwhelm the flavor of the meatballs. Any suggestions are welcome. Something in my head is saying "almond", or maybe "ginger" - we'll see. Did I mention that I like ginger?
Went to Jungle Jim's International Market for the first time a couple weekends ago, and found coconut powder - not coconut milk powder, but the coconut meat very finely shredded and dehydrated. Picked up a bag of it, and thought I'd figure something to do with it. So here goes:
Yes, as the title suggests, meatballs. Used ground pork, coconut powder, crushed pineapple, lime juice, jalapenos, eggs, ginger, sea salt, allspice, mace, garlic, thai curry paste, and more ginger. Did I mention I used ginger??? Note I used crushed pineapple in pineapple juice, with no sugar added - I wasn't going for sweet with this, even though the title may suggest otherwise.
In researching how to use coconut powder, I learned a) that it can be used somewhat as a flour substitute, but also b) it has no binding agent. So you can substitute part or all of the flour in many recipes with it, but you need to use more eggs than you would if you were using flour. Also, don't bother trying to make a sauce with it, unless you are strictly using it for flavor or texture - NO binding means NO sauce otherwise.
Finished cooking:
There you go - you've seen one meatball, you've seen them all! Yeah, yeah, here's one cut open:
Decided to leave these "plain", with no sauce, to see if I liked the texture and flavor, which I generally did. Although I liked the flavor, but still felt something was missing. My son agreed, and grabbed the jar of cinnamon, after which he pronounced them "perfect." Hmmm - I was thinking something green, but to each his own. I also think they could have used a bit of fat mixed in - maybe coconut oil. I'll definitely make these again, and tweak it a bit.
Sauce? I'm used to doing the final cooking of meatballs in a sauce, and have been thinking about what I might use that wouldn't overwhelm the flavor of the meatballs. Any suggestions are welcome. Something in my head is saying "almond", or maybe "ginger" - we'll see. Did I mention that I like ginger?
