Two Empty Ends of Coconuts...

In a display of superior turnaround time, the pictures in this entry were taken (drum roll please...) last night!  In a widely publicized and highly anticipated experiment in the kitchen involving sharp knives, fish flanks and coconuts, I spent the better part of yesterday evening preparing a rather large helping of Coconut Fried Fish.  I took the liberty of putting together a picture compilation of the procedure as well, starting with the extraction of the coconut juice and meat:

After draining the coconut water into the container on the left,
I broke the shell into two halves by dropping it on the floor (no kidding!)

Using a rather simpleminded technique of scraping out the meat with a knife,
I managed to produce enough coconut shavings for my recipe.

Before and After of the knifing-the-meat-out method before resorting to
prying the meat off of the shell with a spoon.

The final collection of coconut meat; all of those good
coconut shavings!  I'm going to have to find another one.

The process took a little longer than I expected; getting all of the meat out of the coconut took about an hour.  And during it all I felt like quite the historian, finding myself in a situation where countless other humans thousands of years ago found themselves: upon being presented with a fruit not before experienced, having to decide how on earth to extract the delicious contents locked within.  I was pleased, therefore, to succeed in my attempts, though not without the help of a simple tool and a tile floor.  Progressing at last to the cooking portion, I populated the line in preparation of frying the fish fillets:

Dousing the fish fillets in coconut milk and egg whites before coating with
flour and a breadcrumb-coconut blend ensured superior coconut frying goodness.

The final product, after adding the flash-fried fish to a pan of fresh
vegetables simmering in coconut milk and citrus juices.

And look - a novelty cup to boot!  A souvenir from my uniquely island experience.

It was a fun experiment, though much more demanding than any of my previous cooking ventures.  Perhaps, in the future, purchasing pre-shredded sweetened coconut is the way to go?  On the other hand, I wouldn't get to add to my collection of awesome island drinkware.  I'm shooting for a set before the end!

P.S. Don't be the guy that asks, "What about the other half?  Don't you already have a set?"  It has a hole in it, silly!