Haw Mok (Fish Custard)

I have vague memories of first making these when I was just discovering Thai food aged about 15 or 16. I don't even remember where I managed to get hold of the banana leaves or if they even turned out okay. Two decades later, it's high time I paid a return visit to Haw Mok.

Fish custard isn't the most appealing sounding name, perhaps a better way to describe haw mok is to say red curry flavoured savoury mousse. You end up with a bouncy textured dense mousse, that is rich with coconut milk and the banana leaf cups adds a hint of smoky fragrance.

I strongly suggest that you spend a bit of time fiddling around with the banana leaves first, learning how to form them into cups. The classic way to hold them together is with cocktail sticks but this wasn't working for me so I've used a trusty stapler to hold them together- if you do this; please be aware of them when serving to others as there is a risk of loose staples getting into the mousse mixture. The banana leaf cups are just to cook and serve in, they aren't edible.

Aim to make about 6-8 cups. To form them, I cut out 4 identical circles of banana leaf about 10cm in diameter each (trim off the the tough edges of the leaf first) before overlapping the centre of all four circles and folding and stapling them until I had a flat bottomed cup. It takes some practice sorry!

However, once you've mastered making the cups, the rest is incredibly easy to do.

This recipe makes 6-8 haw mok, using:

• 3-4 banana leaves (prepared as above)- you can often get them frozen in Asian or Carribean shops
• 2 fillets of white fish, skinned and cut into large chunks
• 1 heaped dessert spoon of red curry paste (I use Mae Ploy brand)
• 2 eggs
• a few leaves of chinese cabbage or other green cabbage, rolled and very finely shredded
• 1 can of coconut milk (a 400ml one), shake before opening to mix
• a small splash of fish sauce
• a big pinch of sugar
• 3-4 kaffir lime leaves, rolled up and finely shredded
• 1 large red chilli, sliced
• a teaspoon of rice flour or just plain flour

Set a steamer/colander with a lid over a large pan of water and bring to the boil.

Place a small amount of shredded cabbage in the bottom of each banana leaf cup.

In a food processor, whizz up the fish, curry paste, fish sauce, eggs, sugar, and 250ml of the coconut milk until well blended. You should now have a very thick mixture, resembling cake batter in texture.

Place the banana leaf cups into the steamer and carefully divide this mixture amongst the cups- don't overfill them.

Place over the boiling water, pop a lid on and steam for 15-20 minutes until completely set. If you're not sure, poke with a skewer; it should come out clean. 

In a small bowl, mix the remaining coconut milk and the flour. Drizzle a small bit of this over the cooking haw mok and replace the lid, steaming for a final few minutes.

To serve, sprinkle over some shredded kaffir lime leaf and a few sliced chillies. The haw mok should easily pull away from the banana leaf. Serve with rice for a full meal.

Gluay Buad Chi ( Bananas in Coconut Milk)

This is quite possibly the easiest and quickest Thai dessert you'll ever make. It can be on the table in just 5 minutes and uses just four ingredients. The name 'Gluay Buad Chit' literally means 'bananas becoming nuns! In Thailand Buddhist nuns wear white rather than the saffron robes of the monks so maybe the dish is a visual reference to the name. Serve warm for a lovely comforting dish that everyone will enjoy.

For two people use:

• Two bananas- cut each into 4 pieces; cut lengthways and crossways
• A 400ml can of coconut milk
• A handful of sugar
• A tiny pinch of salt

In a pan gently heat the banana pieces in the coconut milk. Keep just a little of the thicker coconut cream back for dribbling over at the end. When the bananas have softened after a few minutes, pop in the sugar and salt and stir gently until dissolved, taking care not to damage the bananas.

Serve and dribble over the last bit of coconut cream

Thai Banana Pancakes

I spent ages looking for a Thai name for these but even when I translated the Thai characters, it was still pronounce ‘c-r-e-p-e’. In summary these are NOT a Thai food but are made and sold in Thailand primarily for tourists but have become kind of popular with the locals nonetheless. Traditional Thai pancakes are called roti and are a super thin bread, served with either savoury or sweet fillings. However, if you’ve ever travelled in Thailand you will almost certainly have had pancakes, usually served ridiculously sweet like this with condensed milk and banana. If anything is authentic here it’s the presentation; folded, cut into squares and eaten with a skewer!

This recipe makes enough for 6 pancakes…

• 1 cup of plain flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 banana, sliced very thin
• a few tablespoons of condensed milk
• fat for frying (I use lard for crispiness but feel free to use vege oil

Make the batter by beating the flour, egg and milk until all the lumps have gone and you have a smooth batter; it should be the consistency of double (heavy) cream. Add a bit more milk if it needs it.
Heat a small amount of your chosen fat in a small frying pan until hot. Use a ladle to spoon in a measure of the batter mix. Working quickly, swirl it around to coat the bottom of the pan. Let it set/cook for a minute before gently using a spatula to turn them. While the bottom cooks, place about 8 banana slices and  a drizzle of condensed milk in the centre.
Remove pancake and quickly fold into a parcel, using the spatula to help. Put the pancake on a plate and use a sharp knife to cut it into even squares before giving the pancake a final drizzle of condensed milk.Stick in a skewer.
*Don’t forget to use another small amount of fat for each pancake.