Ingredients
The coconut
- 1green drinking coconut
- young and heavy for its size
To open
- a heavy knife or machete
- a stable surface
- or a coconut opener
To serve
- a straw, optional
- a spoon, for the flesh
- chilled if you can
Directions
- Discard it entirely if it does. Work on a stable flat surface. Hold the nut firmly and away from your hand. Cut down rather than towards yourself.
- Take your proper time over it. Then you work down until the shell shows. Work slowly if it is new to you. The flesh inside a green nut is soft. Pick one that feels heavy for its size.
- Shake it gently beside your ear. You should hear liquid moving inside. Warm coconut water tastes flat. Set the nut on a stable flat surface.
- Use a board on a solid firm table. Steady it with a cloth if it rolls. Hold the nut firmly at its base. Keep your holding hand well clear.
- Hold it low rather than near the top. Never hold it in your palm to cut. Cut a slice off the pointed top. Cut downwards rather than across. Take one thin slice at a time. Do not try to cut through in one blow.
- Keep shaving thin slices off it. Turn the nut as you work round. Stop shaving once you can see it.
- Cut it in half with the heavy knife. Scoop the soft flesh out with a spoon. It should be soft and translucent.
Technique
- Opening a coconut with a knife causes serious cuts, because the husk is tough and the nut rolls under the blade — it is a real and common injury. Work on a stable flat surface, hold the nut low at its base with your hand well clear, never hold it in your palm, and cut downwards in thin slices rather than trying to go through in one blow. A coconut opener tool is far safer. Market sellers do it in seconds with a machete, but that comes from long practice and is not a technique to copy blind.
- The water inside an unopened nut is sealed and protected by the shell and husk, which is why it is safe to drink straight with no treatment. Once opened it is exposed and ferments slowly, so drink it within a few hours; it should smell clean and faintly sweet and never sour or sharp.
- Coconut water is not coconut milk: the water is the thin clear liquid inside the nut with almost no fat, where milk is pressed from grated mature flesh and is thick and rich. People confuse them constantly.
Substitutions
- A coconut opener punches a clean hole through the top and is worth having if you open them often.
- A sliver cut from the husk makes a natural spoon for the flesh, which is the traditional way and costs nothing.
Variations
- A green coconut is an immature one, full of liquid with soft jelly-like flesh; a mature brown one has little water and thick hard flesh. They are the same fruit at different ages.
- Choose a nut that feels heavy for its size, since weight is a more reliable test than the shake — a very full one barely sloshes.
- Drink the water first and split the nut afterwards, since an empty nut is easier to split and does not spill.
History
Sold at Nuku’alofa’s Talamahu market and drunk at work and after church throughout the day.
Frequently asked questions
What is Niu Mui?
Niu Mui is a drink from Tonga: green drinking coconut, cut open and drunk cold from the nut. Sold at Nuku’alofa’s Talamahu market and drunk at work and after church throughout the day.
How long does Niu Mui take to make?
Niu Mui takes 5 minutes of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes serves 1. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Niu Mui?
Yes, within limits. A coconut opener punches a clean hole through the top and is worth having if you open them often. A sliver cut from the husk makes a natural spoon for the flesh, which is the traditional way and costs nothing.
What is the most important thing to get right in Niu Mui?
Discard it entirely if it does. Work on a stable flat surface. Hold the nut firmly and away from your hand. Cut down rather than towards yourself.
