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Substitutions · 49 dishes here use it
Fat that carries chili and spice further than water can, with a sweetness underneath. Do not boil it hard; it splits, and the split is not a flavor problem so much as a texture one.
Everything below is judged against that job. A swap that covers it is a swap; one that only looks similar is not.
3 of the 49 dishes here that mention coconut milk list it as optional — 6% of them. In those, the correct substitution is nothing.
Functional substitution system
For coconut milk, the page's working definition is: Fat that carries chili and spice further than water can, with a sweetness underneath. Do not boil it hard; it splits, and the split is not a flavor problem so much as a texture one. The swap cards below are judged against that job rather than visual resemblance.
Job → candidate → side effects → small test → correct.
1 · Job
What is the missing ingredient doing?
2 · Candidate
Choose the shelf item that replaces that function.
3 · Side effects
Check water, fat, salt, acid, sweetness, and texture.
4 · Small test
Change a spoonful or small portion first when possible.
5 · Correct
Taste again and move only the axis that is still wrong.
Instead · 1
one for one
Instead · 2
one cup of cashews soaked and blended with a cup of water per can
Instead · 3
the block or the thick cream, thinned to the volume the recipe wants
These dishes list coconut milk as optional. They were written to work without it, so no ratio is needed and nothing has to be bought.
These need it and are short enough that nothing hides: 4 required ingredients or fewer. Make the swap a decision rather than a repair.
The company coconut milk keeps in this library, counted off required ingredients. A swap that argues with the top two is the wrong swap, whatever a chart says.