Red Ruby Chestnut Morsels in Sweet Coconut
Tab Tim Grob

1 cup (200 g) diced water chestnut morsels

Few drops red food coloring (optional)

¹/₂ cup (60 g) tapioca starch (tapioca flour)

5 cups (1¹/₄ liters) water

Crushed ice

Sweet Coconut Milk

¹/₂ cup (100 g) sugar

³/₄ cup (180 ml) water

³/₄ cup (180 ml) thick coconut milk

Serves 4-6 Preparation time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 8 mins

1 Sprinkle the water chestnut morsels with a few drops of red food coloring and toss until bright red. Put the tapioca starch in a plastic bag, add water chestnuts and shake until thoroughly coated.

2 Put the water chestnut morsels and tapioca starch in a colander or sieve and shake until excess flour falls away. Bring 5 cups water to a boil in a pot. Add the water chestnut morsels and simmer for 3 minutes. Drain water chestnuts and plunge into cold water. Drain again and set aside.

3 To make the Sweet Coconut Milk, boil the sugar and water in a saucepan over high heat for 3 minutes. Set aside to cool, then add the coconut milk and stir.

4 To serve, put a little of the water chestnut rubies into dessert dishes and add some of the Sweet Coconut Milk and crushed ice. Additional slices of ripe jackfruit or young coconut may be added if these are available.

Bananas in Coconut Milk
Kloey Buad Chee

2 cups (500 ml) thin coconut milk

¹/₂ cup (100 g) sugar

¹/₄ teaspoon salt

8 small or 4 large ripe bananas, cut diagonally in slices

1 Pour the coconut milk into a saucepan, then add the sugar and salt. Bring gently to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly to prevent the coconut milk from separating.

2 Add the bananas, and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve hot or cold.

Serves 4 Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 10 mins

Glutinous Rice Beads in Coconut Milk
Bua Loi

1¹/₂ cups (200 g) glutinous rice flour

³/₄ cup (180 ml) water

Few drops food coloring (optional)

2 cups (500 ml) thick coconut milk

1 cup (200 g) sugar

1 teaspoon salt

Serves 4-6 Preparation time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 10 mins

1 Mix the glutinous rice flour with the water to make a stiff paste. Knead well. If using coloring, divide the dough into two batches, add a few drops of coloring to each batch and mix well. Roll dough into long noodle-like strips. Pinch off bits from the strips and form into pea-sized balls. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, toss in the balls and remove when they float to the surface. Drain.

2 Bring half the coconut milk and sugar to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly to prevent it from separating, then add the cooked rice flour beads. When the mixture returns to a boil, remove from the heat and stir in the remaining coconut milk. Serve in small bowls.

Note: If you cannot obtain glutinous rice flour, you can make the paste directly from glutinous rice. To make the paste, soak 1¹/₂ cups glutinous rice in water for 5 hours. Drain and transfer the rice to a blender. Add ³/₄ cup water and grind till a thick liquid mixture forms. Pour the mixture into a fine muslin cloth and drain until the water is gone. Knead the remaining paste to form a dough, adding small amounts of water if needed. You may add canned sweet corn kernels and cooked, colored diced water chestnut (prepared as for Red Rubies, see above) to this dish for a more varied and colorful dessert.

Steamed Pumpkin Custard
Sangkaya Fak Thong

A visually intriguing dessert where a rich coconut-milk custard is steamed inside a small pumpkin or acorn squashes.

5 eggs (2 of them duck eggs if possible)

1 cup (250 ml) coconut cream

1 cup (150 g) chopped palm sugar or dark brown sugar

1 small pumpkin, about 8 in (20 cm) in diameter, or 2 acorn squashes

1 Beat the eggs with coconut cream and sugar until the mixture is frothy.

2 Cut the top off the pumpkin or acorn squashes and carefully scoop out the seeds and any fibers. Pour in the coconut cream mixture, cover with the top of the pumpkin or squashes and place in a steamer. Cover the steamer and place over boiling water.

3 Cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes or until the mixture has set. Leave to cool (preferably refrigerate) and cut in thick slices to serve.

Note: Duck eggs add richness and a firmer texture to the custard. If using palm sugar, strain the custard through a sieve before pouring into the pumpkin to remove any impurities.

Serves 4 Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins

Deep-fried Bananas with Coconut
Khao Mao Tod

These bananas are rolled in a mixture of grated coconut and palm sugar before being dipped in batter and deep-fried.

1 cup (100 g) freshly grated coconut

³/₄ cup (110 g) chopped palm sugar

14 small ripe finger bananas or 5-6 large ripe bananas, sliced into 2-3 sections

5 cups (1¹/₄ liters) oil for deep-frying

Batter

2 cups (300 g) glutinous rice flour

1 cup (250 ml) thin coconut milk

1/₂ cup (125 ml) water

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)

1 Combine the coconut and palm sugar and cook for 15 minutes in a nonstick pan over low heat, stirring frequently. Set aside. Mix the Batter ingredients and let it stand for 3 hours.

2 Just before serving, heat oil in a deep saucepan, roll each banana in the coconut-palm sugar mixture, then dip in the batter and fry in very hot oil until golden brown. Serve hot.

Note: If you cannot obtain glutinous rice flour, substitute with glutinous rice paste that you make directly from glutinous rice grains. To make the paste, soak 2 cups of glutinous rice in water for 5 hours. Drain and transfer the rice to a blender. Add 1 cup of water and grind till a thick liquid forms. Pour the mixture into a fine muslin cloth and strain until the water is gone. Add the remaining rice flour paste to the other Batter ingredients, omitting the water. Mix and set aside to stand for 3 hours.

Serves 6 Preparation time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 50 mins

Steamed Glutinous Rice Cakes with Banana
Kao Tom Mad

1¹/₄ cups (300 g) glutinous rice, soaked in water for 1 hour and drained

2 cups (500 ml) thick coconut milk

4 tablespoons sugar

Pinch of salt

1/₂ cup (3 oz/l00 g) dried red beans, soaked overnight then boiled in 3 cups water until soft

4 small or 2 large ripe bananas, sliced

8 pieces banana leaf or aluminum foil, about 6 x 10 in (12 x 25 cm)

1 Mix the soaked, drained glutinous rice with coconut milk, sugar and salt in a nonstick saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring constantly until the rice is cooked and all the coconut milk absorbed. This should take about 15 minutes. Leave to cool.

2 Take a piece of banana leaf and put a tablespoon of the rice and a teaspoon of red beans on it. Place a slice of banana on top, cover with more rice and red beans, then fold up the banana leaf and secure with a toothpick. Repeat until all bananas are used up.

3 Steam for 25 minutes and set aside to cool.

4 Unwrap the banana leaves and serve.

Serves 8 Preparation time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 70 mins