How To Make Latik With Coconut Milk

Make latik (crispy coconut curds) with a can of coconut milk. The great thing about this recipe is that you bet both latik and coconut oil!

What is Latik?

There are actually two different kinds of Latik depending on where you are from in the Philippines. If you are in the northern part like Luzon Latik are the crispy coconut curds that results from overcooking coconut milk.

It is used in toppings in several Kakanin dishes like Biko, Sapin Sapin and Ube Halaya.

If you are from the Visayas Latik is the sweet and smooth mixture of cooked down coconut milk and sugar.

What we are going to make is the crispy version with just a can of coconut milk.

Ingredients

Simply a can of coconut milk. You can also use a can of coconut cream. The difference will just vary in cooking time. The coconut cream will need less time to bring to a boil as there is less water in it.

How to Make it

Pour the can of coconut milk into a shallow pan.

With the heat on medium high bring up the coconut milk to a running boil. This will take about 5 minutes. It should look like this.

Now it's just a matter of letting it cook down until the coconut fat separates from the oil.

Once it has come up to a boil, turn the heat down to medium and let it boil for a further 14 minutes. Stir it occasionally.

After about 18 minutes you can see that the coconut fat is starting to separate. This is when you will grab a bowl and put a strainer over it, so you are ready to strain it when ready.

At the 20 minute mark you can start to see the formation of latik. This is when you have to keep watching it so it doesn't get over cooked as at the 23 minute mark it really starts to get brown.

At the 24 minute mark the Latik is now golden and crispy. Turn of the heat at this point so that it doesn't burn. Pour it through the strainer to separate the crispy curds from the coconut oil.

How to Store Latik and Coconut Oil

Cool down both the latik and coconut oil and use the latik right away as toppings for your kakanin.

Store the bonus home made coconut oil in a small clean jar. Use as needed. Can be kept in the pantry for 1 month.

If you have some left over crispy latik you can store it in a separate jar and leave on the counter for up to 2 days. It's really best to eat it up right away.

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