Karem: No-Machine Coconut Ice Cream/Froyo Recipe

This is a popular street food item. Vendors with modified orange coolers strapped to their motorcycle carriages often serve this in cups or as sandwiches with yellow sweet bread. There are coconut and a “chocolate” flavor (which is really just coconut with a bit of Milo drink powder mixed in) and it’s served with chopped toasted peanuts and a drizzle of non-dairy condensed milk. These vendors often also sell bubble teas, made from powdered tea-mixes, which are shaken in cocktail shakers.

Often called “dirty ice-cream”, our local ice-cream man didn’t have much access to ice-cream machines or expensive imported dairy products. Most of us are lactose intolerant anyway. The result is a simple and delicious creation you can replicate at home. Start it before dinner and it should be ready for dessert.

Recipe Note:

Be wary, not all coconut milks are the same. We’ve chosen this one because it is the most similar in taste and composition to local freshly-squeezed coconut milk in Cambodian markets. There are no extra ingredients that screw up its many uses. Just make sure to shake the carton vigorously before use. We’ve also included a dried mix as well (which we’ve tested too) that has a long shelf life for you to always be able to whip out something deliciously Cambodian at your leisure.

If you want a healthier version or just stretch out the coconut milk a bit, you can add whole fat greek yogurt and cut the amount of condensed milk. A whole-fat Greek style yogurt (like coconut milk) is low in water, so it won’t crystalize too much when you freeze it, so you don’t need an ice cream machine to prevent the ice crystals from forming. (Also, it’s better for you than the non-fat versions, because all that fat is replaced by bad sugars and thickening agents. Non-fat yogurt is a lie and made by people who don’t care about you.) Blending it later yields a creamy final product, rather than a smoothie which would come from a higher water content.

Feel free to modify and add to this recipe as you like, it’s a beautiful canvas to play around with.