Coconut Mango Salsa with Thai Basil

You have to duck when you walk by this place or you might get knocked in the head by a flying coconut.

Joez Coconut shop - hidden inside a small, dingy, Penang shophouse – is filled with surprises, and at sunset, filled with coconuts. Hundreds of them. Green coconuts, dwarf (pandan) coconuts, brown husk coconuts. Every evening, a truck pulls over on busy Dato Keramat Road, and two workers jump on top of the mountain of coconuts and immediately toss them one by one to the workers standing below, who spin and toss them into a metal enclosure that occupies half the shophouse floor.

This is the place where the people of Penang go for coconut. Coconut everything – whole coconuts, coconut water, coconut milk to cook with curries, shredded coconut for desserts or savory delicacies, the famous coconut jelly for an afternoon snack, coconut husks for prayers or decorations, and anything else you can do with a coconut.

Mark & I stop here once a week to sit back, sip on a coconut, and watch the guys chop the head-shaped fruits in half with machetes. When we’re done drinking the fresh coconut water, we lob the fruit back to the worker and he’ll catch it in the air with his machete, split it, and cut out a slab of husk so you can devour the sweet coconut flesh with the organic "spoon".

Aside from the usual green and brown coconuts, Joez Coconut also sells the sweeter-tasting pandan coconuts, which come from the dwarf coconut tree (a very short palm tree that definitely doesn't have a ‘Beware of Falling Coconuts’ sign next to it). The pandan coconut has no direct relation to pandan spice (a local herb), but the fragrance of the coconut water and flesh is so similar, the nickname was an obvious choice.

The warm, tropical, nutty flavor of pandan coconut flesh accents many dishes, and pairs especially well with ripened sweet mango. I made a relish with the two, added a twist of lime, and gave the sweetness a minty-licorice kick with the refreshing aroma of Thai basil leaves.

I can only explain the combination of flavors as mood changing.  A feel good salsa.

Try the coconut and mango salsa with grilled calamari and tomato rice. Or with any grilled seafood. I promise the taste will give you tropical visions of white sand, blue water, and falling coconuts.

Coconut Mango Salsa by Season with Spice

What you'll need:
2 medium-sized, ripe, sweet mangoes - diced
1 pandan coconut (or young coconut) - flesh cut in one inch strips
Large fresh green chili (and/or red chili) - minced
Handful of fresh Thai basil leaves (or cilantro leaves)
Lime wedge

How:
Combine the mango, coconut flesh, minced chili pepper and Thai basil in your serving bowl (or coconut shell). Give them just a slight mix, so as not to mush them. Squeeze lime juice over salsa.