Ingredient Name: Coconut

Traditional Chinese Name: 椰子 (yē zi)

Nature: The coconut water is cooling, while the coconut flesh is neutral to slightly warming

Targets: Heart, Spleen, Stomach, Kidney, Large Intestine

The coconut is an amazing and versatile fruit when it comes to using them in Chinese soups!   

The coconut meat is slightly warming and sweet.  It targets the heart, spleen, stomach, and lungs, while nourishing the blood and tonifying your qi and yin.  It helps strengthen muscles, supports digestion and heart health, and can help regulate blood pressure.

Coconuts are an amazing source of fiber (although can be difficult to digest if you eat too much!) and has a good amount of good fats!  Coconut flesh adds a rich, buttery taste to the soup and the coconut water is sweet and helps boost those overall flavours in the soup!

And I know, when you see a coconut at the supermarket, you’re like… UH… NICE, but… how?

LOL, that’s totally how I started this coconut battle adventure, but the story ends well.  You can literally crack this story.

Here’s how you can prepare and use coconut in your Chinese soups!  You’ll just need to be sure you can hammer the coconut in a safe place without destroying your countertop or kitchen floor!  I ended up doing it outside on my balcony or garage.  I’ll rinse the coconut afterwards anyways to be sure I remove all the dirt, dust, and whatever else I’ve picked up off the floor!

What are coconuts?

A fruit!  Did you know coconuts are fruits?  My kids showed me the coconut song… that’s basically what sealed my understanding of what a coconut is.

There are various types of coconuts you can find in the supermarkets, but the ones with the sweetest coconut water and flesh are the little round brown ones that literally look like a brown baseball (slightly bigger).  They have a bit of a hairy exterior in dark brown and white flesh on the inside and are usually a thicker and denser flesh than the coconuts you find in Thailand on the sides of the streets where they chop it for you to drink.

Where can I buy it and cost?

• The prices of the coconuts don’t vary too much depending on variety, especially if they are sold whole and fresh at the supermarket.
• In Canada, I was able to find these brown coconuts for $3.99 CAD each (not on sale) at time of posting
• Any Asian supermarkets will carry these coconuts in the vegetable and fridge sections.  They are usually sold chilled and marketed as a beverage!  They even come with straws!! LOL.

Any benefits?

• Coconut meat is slightly warming and sweet. 
• It targets the heart, spleen, stomach, and lungs, while nourishing the blood and tonifying your qi and yin. 
• It helps strengthen muscles, supports digestion and heart health, and can help regulate blood pressure.

Looking to build your basic Chinese Soup Pantry?

Check it out in my video to learn more!