This is a dish you will likely never be served in a restaurant and most definitely not something you will cook at home - fresh coconut curry. Not because it's hard to cook, that's the easy part.
The hard part is getting the coconut cream which takes all day and a team of people to create - including our guests. If you want to try this during your stay with us get ready to roll up your sleeves, put on your bathing suit, and get ready to hunt for coconuts.
An icon of paradise, the palm tree not only conjures images of warm weather, peaceful beaches, and great surf, it has got to be one of the most useful trees on the planet of which our favorite use is to make an outrageously delicious creamy curry with it.
Of the 50+ species of palm trees in Panama, we use the Cocos nuciferawhich grows up to 130 ft (40 m) tall, and produces about 75 fruits continuously throughout the year for about 70 years.
Because we aren't very good at climbing these tall skinny trees, we go for the more efficient harvesting method of waiting for them to fall to the ground for collection.
Then we run across the hot sand to get them to our beach kitchen for processing. It takes about 3 full coconuts per person to make a bowl of curry. That's a LOT of coconuts to process which is why it takes all day.
Once we shuttle the coconuts across the beach to our kitchen, we get to the hard part - the husking and extracting of the fruit. You'll need to sharpen your machete, and practice your safety-with-knives rules to avoid bloody accidents.
Blood, sweat and tears of laughter, it's totally worth it! Creamy delicious curry sauce made with fresh ginger, turmeric, lime, and lemon grass from our gardens, veggies from our local farmer Ray, over a bed of organic quinoa, and handmade roasted garlic naan made with our homemade yogurt, the depth of flavor is impossible to explain and the experience will be an unforgettable travel memory.
Join us for a day of jungle harvesting and helping us create an incredible dinner to power your adventures with us here in Morrillo!
Your Friends in Morrillo,
Cari and Ryan Mackey
Owners and Hosts
Morrillo Beach Eco Resort