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Family Money: How Much Time?
By Leslie
Wright,
Managing director of Westminster Portfolio Services (Thailand) Ltd.
I am often asked how much time I spend each week on
managing my discretionary clients’ portfolios. Also, how much time I
might devote to researching the individual component funds, and how I
might make those selections. (Now if I told you my trade secrets, you
wouldn’t need me any more, would you?)
Many fund managers are perceived by cynics as making
their stock selections by throwing a dart into a dartboard, like sticking
the tail on the donkey - and judging by the less-than-stellar performance
of many funds, this method could well be just as valid as any other.
Keynes showed us the way
Interestingly, one of the most famous and influential
economists, John Maynard Keynes, as part of his duties as Bursar of King’s
College, Cambridge, spent just 10 minutes each morning over breakfast
running the college’s investment fund. The results, apparently, were
quite satisfactory. The tale may be apocryphal, but it does prompt the
thought: how much time should you - or your portfolio manager - spend
running your portfolio?
Certainly Keynes believed that there was no positive
correlation between the time spent managing a sum of capital and the
returns thereon. In other words, there was no guarantee that devoting
extra time to the task would bring superior returns.
Anyone who doubts this only needs to look at the
returns posted by professional investors - especially those wise men who
run multi-million pound unit trusts, pension funds and the like - who are
on the task full time, 40-50 hours a week. If time alone brought results,
they would lead the pack. Yet we know that their performance is nothing
special. On average, and before their costs, their funds return what the
market returns. Mathematically this must be so since, in aggregate,
institutional investors pretty well comprise the market and the market can’t
beat itself.
Still, the intriguing thought remains that this means
investment is not like other pursuits, where time and effort must bring
better performance. Maybe investment is truly an activity where you can be
busy doing nothing and not be penalised.
Interest begets interest
However, those readers who mull over how much time they
should devote to their portfolio each week should consider correlations
between time and two other variables in the investment equation - in
particular, the link between time and your interest in the subject.
Clearly the more interested you are in an activity, the more you want to
practise it and this is as true of investment as it is of golf or tennis.
But there are good ways to practise and bad ways to
practise. The bad way consists of dealing in shares like a lapsed
alcoholic: always desperate for another. Practising in that way might add
up to learning by experience, but it’s also likely to confirm Oscar
Wilde’s quip that "experience is the name everyone gives to their
mistakes." The good way consists of hours spent over text books,
spreadsheets, annual reports and the like. It’s the investment
equivalent of honing the perfect golf swing - you do it by repetition. It
also gives rise to a paradox: in the long run, the more time you spend on
investment, the less time you need to spend on investment. Put in enough
hours of practise and tasks that once looked forbidding - tinkering with a
Black-Scholes pricing model, tweaking a discounted cash-flow valuation -
become easy. Just don’t expect the effort to translate into better
investment returns, though. But by the time you’re expert, you’ll know
that.
The value of time
Then there is the correlation between the time and
money spent running a portfolio. The more you spend the more resources you
have to cut wasted time. The difficulty is that much of your costs will be
fixed. So, while spending £1,000 or so a year will buy enough data and
internet access to fill many productive investment hours, that level of
cost might be prohibitive to some; peanuts to others. The wonders of the
internet mean that much valuable source material is available cheaply -
but still takes a considerable devotion of time to sort the wheat from the
chaff. And when there are over 400 funds in the European Equities’
sector alone, how does one decide which ones to select? By what critera?
Most amateur investors will immediately say "Performance!"
without defining the period (typically the past 12 months).
In fact, to select, say, 3 or 4 above-average
performing funds in a chosen sector over several time frames (6, 12, 36
months, for instance) is a safer bet that they will perform above average
over the coming 6-12 months also - if the manager doesn’t change in the
meantime!
But, if none of the foregoing is much help, readers can
always resort to the Keynes stock-picking method, which comprised a
combination of doing nothing (that we know) and - presumably - buying
those shares on whose names the marmalade landed.
Snap Shot: Selecting the lens
by Harry Flashman
Just what is a camera? Sounds too simple, but in actual
fact, no matter what you pay for a camera, the basics are all the same.
There is a light-tight box with film in it, and there is a piece of glass
at the front that can be focussed onto the film. The rest is fancy stuff
to work out exposures, but the simple light through glass to film is the
same for every camera. Even with digital cameras, you still have the glass
at the front, focussing onto "electronic" film. It’s just the
same.
One of the questions professional photographers often
get asked is, "What lens would you use to shoot a (insert the
subject)?" However, the lens a pro selects depends upon many factors,
and the subject being shot is only one of them!
In some instances, you can almost get the identical
looking shot of the subject with a 28 mm lens, a 50 mm or a 135 mm. By now
you are saying, why have all these different lenses if the shots look all
the same? The essential word here was "almost" the same. There
will be telltale differences and it is these differences that make or
break your photographs. By using the differences you can manipulate the
shot to produce the effects you want.
Right then, let’s get down to some examples. You are
on a tropical beach, Jomtien will do, and you want the blue skies over the
sea type of picture. Unfortunately, the sky is only pale blue. What to do?
The lens to use to increase the blue colour of the sky is the widest-angle
lens you have got in the bag. How does this work? Simple, you are taking
an enormous area of sky with the wide angle and compressing it into the
small 35 mm negative. Compressing all that sky increases the depth of the
colour and makes it more blue than it really was!
Another example, you have just bought a car and want to
send a photo of it to your relatives at home. You want them to be jealous.
You want it to appear as imposing as possible. What to do? Leave the
wide-angle lens on and get down low and close to the car. Look through the
viewfinder and the car suddenly looms large and powerful above you. The
closer you get, the more it looms above you. Click! It is in the bag and
on its way to impress the rellies.
This time you want to take a photograph of your house.
Unfortunately there is a rubbish dump at the back, and no matter what
angle you take it from there are piles of rubbish in the background. This
one is even easier to get over. Use a long lens (135 mm and upwards) and
take the shot. With the short depth of field available with the longer
lenses, the rubbish dump will turn into a nice blurry, soft, out of focus
background, and no one will ever know you are living in Soi Garbage.
What about a nice close up of your favourite painting
you bought? Another "genuine" Sunflowers by Van Gogh. Will you
use a close-up lens, the wide angle setting on the zoom lens? No, you
should use the telephoto long lens and stand back. If you go in close with
the wide angle you will get distortions at the edges and strange shadows
across the canvas because you physically get in the way of the light. With
the long lens there is less distortion and the light will fall evenly
across the picture.
Mind you, there are times when the subject being shot
does dictate the lens you would use. Let me assure you that when
photographing rampaging lions I would use the longest lens in the world. A
close up lens to photograph its dental work would not be my idea of fun!
So there you are, think about the effect you want, as well as the
subject matter when deciding what lens to choose.
Modern Medicine: Slipped discs -
a very painful problem
by Dr Iain Corness, Consultant
Back pain is one of the commonest orthopaedic problems,
and the often used terms such as lumbago, sciatica and slipped disc get
bandied about at the dinner table. However, an acute bad back is not the
sort of condition that you want to chat about over desserts. The condition
can be crippling and not "cute" in any way.
Let’s begin this week with the "slipped
disc" problem. First thing - discs do not "slip". They do
not shoot out of the spaces between the vertebrae (the tower of cotton
reels that makes up your spine) and produce pain that way. The disc
actually stays exactly where it is, but the centre of the disc (called the
nucleus) pops out through the edge of the disc and hits the nerve root.
When this happens you have a very painful condition, as anyone who has had
a disc prolapse (our fancy name for the "popping out" bit) will
tell you. Think of the pain when the dentist starts drilling close to the
tiny nerve in your tooth. Well, this is a large nerve! When the nucleus of
the disc hits the sciatic nerve, this produces the condition known as
Sciatica - an acute searing pain which can run from the buttocks, down the
legs, even all the way through to the toes.
Unfortunately, just to make diagnosis a little
difficult (if it were all so easy why would we go to Medical School for
six years!) you can get sciatica from other reasons as well as prolapsing
discs. It may just be soft tissue swelling from strain of the ligaments
between the discs, or it could even be a form of arthritis. Another
complicating fact is that a strain may only produce enough tissue swelling
in around 12 hours after the heavy lifting, so you go to bed OK and wake
the next morning incapacitated.
To accurately work out just what is happening requires
bringing in those specialist doctors who can carry out extremely intricate
forms of X-Rays called CT Scans, Spiral CT’s or MRI that will sort out
whether it is a disc prolapse, arthritis or a soft tissue problem. The
equipment to do these procedures costs millions of baht, and the expertise
to use them takes years of practice and experience. This is one reason why
some of these investigations can be expensive.
After the definitive diagnosis of your back condition
has been made, then appropriate treatment can be instituted. The forms of
treatment can be just simply rest and some analgesics (pain killers),
physiotherapy, operative intervention or anti-inflammatories and traction.
Now perhaps you can see why it is important to find the
real cause for your aching back. The treatment for some causes can be
totally the wrong form of therapy for some of the other causes. You can
see the danger of "self diagnosis" here. Beware!
So what do you do when you get a bad back? Rest and
paracetamol is a safe way to begin. If it settles quickly, then just be a
little careful with lifting and twisting for a couple of weeks and get on
with your life as normal. If, however, you are still in trouble after a
couple of days rest, then it is time to see your doctor and get that
definitive diagnosis. You have been warned!
 Heart to Heart with Hillary
Dear Hillary,
Regarding the Irish geezer Caring Chris and the other chap,
Not Anon, who expressed some kind of sorrow for him (four weeks ago and two
weeks ago). Caring Chris has nobody to blame, only himself. Serves him right.
What was an old geezer like him expecting anyway? I wonder if he’s learned
his lesson? I’m sure he’ll be back again for more punishment and then
writing to you for more sympathy. Not that you gave him a lot. OK, reading his
letter was amusing, and in view of the way he was treated, or should I say
mistreated by this woman, he must have a wonderful sense of humour, but then he’d
been so stupid he’d need to have a good sense of humour. Had it been me, I’d
have done me nut. I say, "Well done girls from the Land of Smiles"
and I’m sure there will be many more Caring Chris’s with more money than
sense to take his place. Good luck to all the girls up-country who are reaping
the benefits in Udon and all the Nakhons and tough for Caring Chris who’s
probably washing his wounds in Galway Bay.
The Crafty Cockney
Dear Crafty Cockney,
Petal! I was not sure if I should publish your caring
letter to Caring Chris, in case I incited the knee cappers into sectarian
violence. However, I do thank you for helping to point out the obvious. Girls
you find on the streets are best left there, unless you are looking for a
short-time partner. Lifetime partners are generally not found in bars.
Dear Hillary,
This request for information may sound kinda silly, but for
me it’s a big thing right now. Hubby and I have only been here a short time
(he’s on an 18 month contract), so I am a bit at sea getting around. Hubby
has a car and driver with this job, and the driver takes me around too,
shopping and such. I have just joined a couple of clubs and organizations and
know that soon I will need to go all over town and want to do this by myself.
Hubby says I’m loco as that’s what the driver is there for, but I value my
independence too. Another point - is it safe for women to drive here? Do you
drive? A little bit of sorority advice, please.
Dollie Driver
Dear Dollie Driver,
To begin at the end, do I drive? Yes, but I’ve been
driving here for many years. Your other point, is it safe for women to drive
here? The correct answer is that it is just as safe for women as it is for men.
Or put another way, it is just as dangerous for both. Motorcycles don’t care
what is the driver’s sex. If you have to demonstrate your independence in
this way, well go and do it, but Hillary knows what I’d rather do. It’s the
back seat for me and the front seat for the chauffeur, Petal. Think about it.
You are here for 18 months - how often have you had your own driver? I’d sit
back and enjoy and let Jeeves face the traffic.
Dear Hillary,
It has often been said that farangs should not learn Thai,
because you will eventually learn too much and too many secrets. This is the
situation I am in now. I do frequent the bar scene and know many of the
mamasans and know where they have been and what bar they’re off to next. I
also know the real ‘professional’ girls who stay in the oldest profession
because they can make big money out of it, by playing the suckers. Some of
these girls are milking three or four farangs, all sending cash to their sweet
adorable faithful darling! So that is their problem, not mine, but that’s not
quite the case. Because I can speak Thai (Lao really), many of these guys are
asking me to relay messages to their girls and I have got to the stage that I
don’t want to know any more. How do I tell them that they are being scammed,
but at the same time be able to go back to the bars and just sit and chat to
the girls, something I enjoy too? Should I just come clean and lose the farang
friends and my Thai ones, or what? Over to you, Hillary.
Poot Lao
Dear Poot Lao,
You certainly do have a problem, don’t you! But it isn’t
all that impossible to fathom. I think you’ve got too close to the problem to
be able to see the big picture. If someone asks you a direct question about
someone else, the answer is surely to tell that person to go and ask the
question themselves. Stay out of it. You are not going to do much for anyone by
proffering unsolicited advice. Your farang ‘friends’ won’t thank you, and
neither will your bar girl ‘friends’. I really think that what is happening
is that you have grown out of the bar scene. Start looking for real friends,
away from the ‘entertainment’ industry.
A Slice of Thai History: The air war over Thailand, 1941-1945
Part one: Japan moves into Thailand, December 1941
by Duncan Stearn
The battle for control of Thai air space during the
Second World War basically falls into three sections. The first is the
Japanese invasion of Thailand on 8 December 1941 and the brief Thai
resistance. The second is Japan’s move to take control and upgrade vital
airfields within Thailand, as well as building new aerodromes, for use in
the invasion of Burma. The third is the Allied counter-offensive and
aerial bombardment of strategic targets within Thailand.
The Japanese attack on 8 December 1941 saw the Thai air
force go into action at two specific points. The first was Prachuap Kiri
Khan where three Thai planes were shot down by the Japanese. Three Thai
planes also flew out of Don Muang airfield in Bangkok to intercept a force
of nine Japanese bombers and 11 fighters that had crossed the eastern
border in support of a ground invasion. All three Thai fighters were shot
down in an unequal battle.
A few hours later, the Thai government surrendered to
Japan and permitted the Japanese to quickly move its air force into the
country in strength.
This meant that the Japanese could support those air
wings already harassing the British in Malaya and launch attacks into
Burma. On 9 December, a Japanese air group was moved into central Thailand
and tasked with attacking Mergui, Tavoy and Moulmein in Burma. At that
time they were unable to reach Rangoon.
Japanese engineers began construction of an airfield in
northern Thailand for use in the invasion of Burma. They also began
developing Lopburi as a fighter base and took over the telephone line from
Bangkok as well as the local radio station.
On 17 December, Japanese reconnaissance planes
operating from Thailand noted that Allied air strength inside Burma had
been increased and they decided to build up their air forces and then
launch a series of attacks designed to weaken the British air defences.
Over the course of the next five days, approximately 35
aircraft were dispatched to Bangkok.
With orders to begin attacks almost straight away, the
Japanese air commander in Thailand, General Hiroda, ordered the
construction at airfields in Bangkok, Lopburi, and Raheng (just outside
Tak) to be hurried.
The signing of an alliance with Japan on 21 December
led to Japan providing military hardware to Thailand over the next couple
of years. This included 24 fighters, nine bombers, a number of training
aircraft and some planes confiscated from the Vichy French.
The first major strike into Burma came on 23 December
when between 68 and 72 Japanese planes struck the Mingaladon airfield in
Rangoon. They were opposed by 20 Royal Air Force fighters and 16 modern
P-40’s operated by the American Volunteer Group (AVG), known as the
Flying Tigers, on loan from China’s Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek.
A full-scale battle developed in which the Japanese
lost six bombers and 10 fighters. One bomber crash landed on its return to
Bangkok. The British lost six planes and the Americans four and the raid
set fire to the Rangoon docks, causing much of the Indian labour force to
melt away, thus reducing work on the defences.
A second major attack was launched against Rangoon on
25 December after Japanese reconnaissance had determined that the British
air force had not retreated. Japanese planes were brought across from
Phnom Penh to Bangkok and, with a group from Raheng and Lopburi, the
attack force numbered around 155 planes.
The Japanese were under the impression, following the
first Rangoon raid, that the British air defences consisted of the
much-vaunted Spitfire as well as Tomahawks and Buffaloes. In reality, the
British had no Spitfires and their fighters were outnumbered by the
Japanese. Nevertheless, the British succeeded in shooting down at least
three bombers and caused the Japanese to break formation, thereby limiting
the effectiveness of the bombing mission. A fourth Japanese bomber was
lost on the return journey while a fifth crash-landed at Don Muang. Two
Japanese fighters were also shot down by the Allied pilots.
The day after the second raid against Rangoon, the
Japanese bombers were moved from Don Muang to Sungai Pattani to prepare
for the impending Japanese assault against Singapore.
Three AVG fighters became the first to hit a target in
Thailand when they strafed the Raheng airfield on 3 January 1942. One of
the American pilots also managed to shoot down two Japanese fighters.
Personal Directions: Success is a matter of choice
and not chance
by Christina Dodd
Managing director of Westminster Portfolio Services (Thailand) Ltd.
Recently I was talking to some students from China
concerning the subject of "success" and how to achieve one’s
goals in life. They offered some very interesting opinions and ideas
including the element of "luck and good fortune" as playing a
hand in their fate. Some were definite that their whole lives are
determined this way while others insisted that personal effort plays a
major part.
I found some thoughts on this subject by Shiv Khera, an
educator, business consultant and much sought-after speaker as well as a
successful entrepreneur. His writings from "You Can Win" offer a
straight and common sense approach as to how we conduct our lives and
succeed in those lives. He also has some comments on the role
"luck" has to play.
"Success is not an accident. It is the result of
our attitude and our attitude is a choice. Hence success is a matter of
choice and not chance.
Most crackpots keep waiting for a jackpot. But can that
bring success?
A priest was driving by and saw an exceptionally
beautiful farm. He stopped his car to appreciate the bountiful crop. The
farmer was riding on his tractor and saw the priest at the corner. He
drove toward the priest and when he got there the priest said, "God
has blessed you with a beautiful farm. You should be grateful for
it." The farmer replied, "Yes, God has blessed me with a
beautiful farm and I am grateful for it, but you should have seen this
farm when God had the whole farm to himself!"
How come one person moves forward with one success
after another, and yet some are still getting ready?
How come one man goes through life crossing one hurdle
after another, accomplishing his goals while another struggles and gets
nowhere?
If the answer to these two questions can become part of
the curriculum, it could revolutionize the educational system. The
uncommon man seeks opportunity, whereas the common man seeks security. We
need to keep our minds on what we want, not on what we don’t want.
What is success?
A lot of research has gone into the subject of success
and failure. All that we need to do is learn our lessons from history.
When we study the life histories of successful people, we find that they
have certain qualities in common no matter which period of history they
lived in. Success leaves clues and if we identify and adopt the qualities
of successful people, we shall be successful.
Similarly, there are characteristics common in all
failures. If we avoid those characteristics then we shall not be failures.
Success is no mystery, but simply the result of consistently applying some
basic principles. The reverse is just as true; Failure is simply a result
of making a few mistakes repeatedly.
One of the many reasons for failure - A Fatalistic Attitude
A fatalistic attitude prevents people from accepting
responsibility for their position in life. They attribute success and
failure to luck. They resign themselves to their fate. They believe and
accept the predestined future written in their horoscope or stars, that
regardless of their effort whatever has to happen will happen. Hence they
never put in any effort and complacency becomes a way of life. They wait
for things to happen rather than make them happen. Success is a matter of
luck, ask any failure.
Weak-minded people fall easy prey to fortune-tellers,
horoscopes and self-proclaimed God’s men who are sometimes conmen. They
become superstitious and ritualistic.
Shallow people believe in luck. People with strength
and determination believe in cause and effect. Some people consider a
rabbit’s foot lucky; but it wasn’t lucky for the rabbit, was it?
Some people think they are just unlucky. This breeds a
fatalistic attitude. People who get involved half-heartedly say things
like: "I will give it a try", "I will see if it
works", "I will give it a shot", "I have nothing to
lose", I haven’t put much into it anyway".
These people guarantee failure because they get into a
project with no determination or dedication. They lack courage, commitment
and confidence. They are starting with complacence and call themselves
unlucky.
Effort does it. Life without vision courage and depth
is simply a blind experience. Small, lazy and weak minds always take the
easiest way, the path of least resistance.
Athletes train 15 years for 15 seconds of performance.
Ask them if they got lucky. Ask an athlete how he feels after a good
workout. He will tell you that he feels spent. If he doesn’t feel that
way, it means he hasn’t worked out to his maximum ability.
Losers think life is unfair. They think only of their
bad breaks. They don’t consider that the person who is prepared and
playing well still got the same bad breaks but overcame them. That is the
difference.
Luck favors those who help themselves. A flood was
threatening a small town and everyone was leaving for safety except one
man who said, "God will save me. I have faith." As the water
level rose a jeep came to rescue him, the man refused, saying, "God
will save me. I have faith." As the water level rose further, he went
up to the second storey, and a boat came to help him. Again he refused to
go, saying, "God will save me. I have faith." The water kept
rising and the man climbed on to the roof. A helicopter came to rescue
him, but he said, "God will save me. I have faith." Well,
finally he drowned. When he reached his Maker he angrily questioned,
"I had complete faith in you. Why did you ignore my prayers and let
me drown?" The Lord replied, "Who do you think sent you the
jeep, the boat and the helicopter?"
The only way to overcome the fatalistic attitude is to
accept responsibility and believe in the law of cause and effect rather
than luck. It takes action, preparation and planning rather than waiting,
wondering or wishing, to accomplish anything in life."
Have a great week and if you need any information on
personal and professional training matters, please contact me at
[email protected]
Social Commentary by Khai Khem
Gangs, thugs, guns
and crime
Pattaya is one of the world’s most famous tourist
resort towns. An incredible amount of money, time and ingenuity has gone
into improving our city to make it a better place for tourists and
residents alike. Through the years, city officials, the business community
and residents have for the most part, come together and made impressive
strides toward positive progress. From the humble beginnings of a sleepy
fishing village, Pattaya and its surrounding areas have grown into a
thriving cosmopolitan town and a flourishing holiday destination.
But there is an element of destructive forces which
threatens this hard-won advancement more than the current SARS health
scare which will eventually recede into the distance. Like corruption,
drugs and mafia-style rule which has tarred Chonburi Province with a very
black brush, guns and gangs are our newest plague.
Where do they come from? Crime reports and statistics
reveal they come from every part of Thailand. So why here? Could it be
that the reputation of some provinces are more respectable than others?
Bad news travels fast. Lax law enforcement sends the message that the
criminal element is welcome. I think it’s time we delivered a different
message: "Lawlessness is not tolerated in Chonburi Province
anymore."
Let’s get practical for a moment. The good people who
have made this region their home make up the sector of the population that
will contribute to our quality of life. Decent citizens outnumber the
thugs and criminals who will make no contribution to society except
increased misery. Law abiding residents deserve support and protection.
Thailand’s prisons and correction facilities release
convicted criminals when they have served their sentence. I’m guessing
that Chonburi Province is high on their list of destinations once they get
out because of its longstanding reputation as a lawless region of the
nation. They have NOT been rehabilitated before they are turned out into
society and come here to continue their life of crime because they smell
money and opportunity.
So what can we do to turn the tide? Zero tolerance
towards crime means that stiffer penalties must be introduced and longer
sentences for convicted offenders should be considered.
And what about the guns? Like drugs, this region is
awash with firearms. Where do all of these weapons come from? Not all of
them are homemade and primitive. Authorities recently proved they could
significantly decrease the drug problem with sincere efforts. Teenage
gangs with guns should be their next target.
At the moment Pattaya is suffering from a downturn in
tourist arrivals through no fault of its own. The war in Iraq and the SARS
health scare is a temporary setback. Tourists will return and business
will again thrive. Much effort on the part of the business community will
make that a certainty.
Meanwhile, street crime and other criminal activities
must be quashed. All the efforts of the hardworking business community to
rescue the tourist industry in Pattaya will be thwarted if our crime rate
continues to rise. To repeat myself, bad news travels fast. If we must
sacrifice one thing to accomplish another, let the bad apples in our midst
take the fall.
Woman's World: The magic of the coconut
by Lesley Warner
Not very prepossessing to look at but this hard, round
hairy ball is so versatile you will never look at it the same way again
after reading this column.
When I was young and the sun seemed safe, or maybe they
just didn’t tell us it wasn’t, I used to be considered ‘lucky’
because I tanned so quickly. To aid me with this quick tanning procedure I
used pure coconut oil. It used to come in a small jar and was white and
hard; as soon as it touched the skin it melted and was easy to apply. Of
course there was no protection from the suns rays at all and I probably
fried like a chip! What I didn’t realize was that the coconut I was
applying to my skin was really good for it, shame about the sun.
First I shall explain about coconut milk: we have all
used it at sometime in our cooking. Contrary to what many people think
coconut milk (gkati) is not the juice found inside a coconut, but the
diluted cream pressed out from the thick, white flesh of a well-matured
coconut. To make coconut milk commercially the flesh is grated and then
pressed by machinery. But you can do it yourself if you have the time by
finely grating the coconut meat and placing it in hot water until it is
cool enough to handle. Then squeeze it dry, and strain the white fluid to
remove all the pulp. When allowed to sit for a while, the coconut cream
rises to the top. You can change the density of the milk by repeating the
process and adding more hot water. An average mature coconut should give
you about one cup of milk.
If you do not have the benefit of living in a country
where you can just go and shimmy up a tree in the garden to pick a
coconut, search carefully for a good one in the shops. It should still be
brown - it’s so annoying to start cooking and discover a mouldy coconut
- unlike nuts such as almonds and walnuts, coconuts do not have a long
shelf life, especially after the outer husks have been removed.
Here is a sample of the recipes I found in this great
book the ‘Dancing Shrimp’ which has a wealth of wonderful Thai recipes
making full use of coconut milk. It’s published by Simon & Schuster
and written by Kasma Loha-unchit.
Kanom Paeng Jee
Ingredients
1 cup glutinous rice flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1 cup palm sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 large egg
2-1/2 cups fresh shredded fresh coconut
1/8 to 1/4 cup pink limestone water (see notes below)
or substitute coconut milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 to 1/2 cup peanut, palm or coconut oil
Incense candle (tien ohb) for adding smoky flavor -
optional (see notes below)
Knead the two rice flours with the palm sugar, salt,
egg and fresh shredded coconut. Slowly add the limestone water and
continue to knead until the mixture is moist and the cream from the
coconut meat is pressed out and mixed in with the flours. The consistency
should be that of a very thick cake batter. Add a teaspoon of vanilla and
stir well into the mixture. Generously grease the heated surface of a flat
griddle with peanut or palm oil. Drop the coconut mixture with a spoon
onto the hot griddle, making small, round, flat pancakes about 1 1/2
inches across. Fry over low to medium heat until golden brown, turn over
and brown the second side, dribbling in more oil into the pan as needed to
brown the cakes evenly. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Serve warm. Makes 3 to 4 dozen small pancakes.
Some of the other recipes you will find in the book
are:
* Tasty leaf-wrapped tidbits (miang kam)
* Coconut seafood soup with galanga (dtom kah talay)
* Roast duck and "pumpkin" curry (gkaeng ped
bped)
* Easy green curry with pork (gkaeng kiow wahn moo)
* Grilled coconut cakes (kanom paeng jee)
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