Absolutely essential for Thai cooking, we buy canned coconut milk by the case in our household. However, it may not be readily available to you, in which case it’s relatively easy to make.
Open a coconut, putting the liquid inside into a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add enough milk or light cream to bring make the total volume of liquid 1 ℓ.
Grate the meat finely, and put it into the saucepan. Stir the mixture well, and slowly heat to a boil, stirring constantly. Allow it to cool to room temperature. Pour the liquid through cheesecloth and squeeze to extract as much liquid as possible. Keep refrigerated until use.