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When making Thai dishes, I’ve found “Grace” brand coconut milk powder. Have you used it? Water to coconut, 2:1. Wondering if you can suggest always using the canned stuff or give this a go?

Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Char Nolan - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Recorded

This event was on May 12, 2026

Join Chef Char Nolan in her virtual office as she welcomes all of your questions. This event was created for you and we encourage you to ask anything – from cooking techniques to course-specific questions, to how to turn your cooking passion into profit or simply hearing the perspective of a professional chef, Chef Nolan is ready to answer them all.

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Question

Hilda P J

When making Thai dishes, I’ve found “Grace” brand coconut milk powder. Have you used it? Water to coconut, 2:1. Wondering if you can suggest always using the canned stuff or give this a go?

Answer

Okay. I don't use any coconut products, but what I do do is I will make homemade oat milk that will make it a little thicker. And then this company, Frontier, makes a really high quality coconut extract, and I will add the coconut extract to taste so that it gives the same sort of coconut flavor that you often see in Thai dishes. And as for the canned stuff, I don't use it because of the fat content. Some of you may know that I worked with the Esselstyns for, oh, maybe a good 10 years, and I was able to learn firsthand the dos and don'ts of what not to eat in terms of foods that are very high in fat, and one of them is coconut milk, and even the low-fat version isn't good. But I had done some recipe testing, oh, maybe about 10 years ago for Rip and Jane, and a recipe that they had given me called for using a plant milk and then using the coconut extract. And that's how I learned to make that. I like to make my own oat milk so that the texture is very similar to what you would find in a coconut milk that you would get in the can. But I'm going to look for the powder. I would love to read the label and see what kind of information it has.

Char Nolan

Chef Instructor

Char Nolan is a serious crusader for plant-based education, armed with a degree in public health from Philadelphia’s Temple University. She teaches nutrition and plant-based cooking throughout Philadelphia, and in many underserved communities. Char holds a certificate in plant-based nutrition from eCornell and completed Rouxbe’s Plant-Based Professional Certification course in 2015. In 2019, Char completed post-graduate course work in social media marketing at the University of the Arts. When she is not cooking or teaching, she manages social media accounts for several plant-based influencers. Char prides herself on learning everything she knows about cooking from growing up in her grandparents’ Italian restaurant. Her favorite vegetables are Brussels sprouts and kale, of course. Char originally hails from Queens, NY, but has lived in Philadelphia most of her adult life. She is a former Peace Corps Volunteer.