Khanom Krok (Coconut Rice Cakes)

Khanom krok are a Thai breakfast/snack/dessert dish that use a rice flour and coconut batter, traditionally cooked in small circular hollows in a round cast iron tray called a 'krok'. They have a texture a bit like Japanese mochi; slightly bouncy, chewy with a pleasing crispy outer layer. They're usually topped with colourful ingredients like pumpkin, spring onion or as used here, sweetcorn.

This recipe is for an oven baked version of khanom krok; although it is possible to get the cast iron krok pans here in the UK (I've seen them on our visits to Raan Thai in Birkenhead) they're also relatively expensive and need a gas burner underneath. Unfortunately our ceramic hob wouldn't work for such a cooking method so I've come up with both an alternative cooking method and utensil in which to cook them.

Those in the UK and possibly also the US, may be familiar with the famous Yorkshire pudding (a crispy egg/flour batter based baked item often served with roasted meats, vegetables and gravy). I've used the same cooking method and shallow 4-holed baking tray to make the khanom kroks. You can also use a muffin/cupcake tin but make sure that whatever tray type you use, just don't fill the batter to more than 3cm/1 inch deep or they won't fully cook through.

For 8 khanom kroks, you'll need:

• 1 400ml can coconut milk- divide it into two parts- the thicker cream and the thinner milk.
• 1/2 cup water
• 50g sugar
• 3/4 cup of rice flour
• 1/4 cup of tapioca flour
• a pinch of salt
• a tablespoon or so of corn kernels (frozen/tinned is fine)
• a small drizzle of vegetable oil

Get the oven heating up before beginning to make the batter- turn it to it's hottest temperature and put your Yorkshire pudding/ cupcake/muffin tray in to get really hot.

For the outside batter, mix the rice flour, salt, thinner coconut milk and water together, mixing until there are no lumps left- it should have the consistency of thin/single cream.

Also make the inner batter; mix the tapioca flour, sugar and thicker coconut cream together, again, whisking/beating until the mixture reaches a smooth, lump-free, cake- icing like consistency.

Get the tin out of the oven (obviously using an oven mitt or something!) and pour a drop of oil into each hole. Use a piece of kitchen roll to make sure all the inside surface is well oiled.

Pop the tray back in the oven for a few more minutes to heat up again.

Working quickly now, get the the tray out and pour about a tablespoon of the thinner outer batter into each hole; you should hear it sizzle. Gently holding the tray (still in a gloved hand!!) roll it a little, so some of the batter touches the sides of each hole.

Pop the tray back in the oven to allow the skin of the outer batter to form- and leave to cook for 3-4 minutes.

Now get the tray out again and this time, use the thick inner batter, spoon out a generous tablespoon into the middle of each hole, on top of the almost cooked outer batter.

Drop a few corn kernels on to the top of each lot of the mixtures.

Place back into the oven for 10 minutes until fully cooked. Use a table knife to carefully lift the khanom kroks aways from the surface of the baking tray and lift out with a spoon.

As I only had the one Yorkshire pudding tray, I then repeated to give me 8 in total.

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

Sankaya Fakthong (Pumpkin Custard)

With so many of you posting beautiful and inviting images of falling leaves, misty mornings and Halloween ideas it only seemed right that I jump on the pumpkin bandwagon and give my spin on the seasonal dessert (in traditional Thai style of course) with a sankaya (steamed custard pumpkin.
Pumpkins aren’t a popular food choice here in the UK, most are reserved for Halloween lanterns and those that are eaten are almost all destined to become savoury dishes- roasted and risotto’d. You lot in the USA definitely have the right idea using pumpkin in desserts and cakes and Thais seem equally happy to use them as a sweet ingredient too.
Just a quick note on pumpkins- Thailand’s main choice is the kabocha squash. I don’t recommend using a traditional orange halloween pumpkin as they’re too stringy and watery. I am lucky enough to have access to a fantastic food co-operative shop called Single Step where every year a motley selection of organic squashes and pumpkins emerge at this time.
For 4 portions (perhaps more!) use:

• a small edible pumpkin (fits comfortably into both hands) I used a gem squash
• 4 eggs
• 300ml of coconut milk
• 100g palm sugar (or light brown sugar)
• a small splash of vanilla extract
• a pinch of salt

Prepare your pumpkin/squash by cutting around the stalk in a small square and carefully prize out the stalk in one piece. Use a long spoon and spend a bit of time thoroughly cleaning out all the seeds and string inside the pumpkin. Once it’s empty- rinse it out under cold water to get rid of all the last bits then pat dry.
In a pan, gently heat the palm sugar and coconut milk, stirring lightly over a low heat until the sugar has fully dissolved. Add in the salt and vanilla extract then leave the mix to cool down fully.
in a separate bowl, beat the eggs and pour them into the coconut milk mix, blending thoroughly. Pour this mixture into the hollowed out pumpkin and set in steadily inside a steamer over boiling water. There will probably be some mixture left over- I steamed the rest in a ramekin dish.
Depending on your pumpkin’s size and thickness and the type of steamer you use, it will take between 45 mins and 75 mins to slowly soften the pumpkin and set the custard inside- don’t rush it and check it is done using a metal skewer- it needs to come out clean if the custard is set.
Use a large sharp knife to cut up the pumpkin into fat slivers.

Tub Tim Grub (Crunchy Rubies)

The blog is definitely overdue another Thai dessert, it’s nothing personal, it’s just I’m a bigger fan of savoury than sweet. However, we’ve been having some warm days lately so a cool and crunchy pudding seemed in order and this dessert was one I’ve been meaning to get round to for ages- it’s a really popular well known hot weather dish in Thailand.
‘Tub tim’ can mean either rubies or pomegranate in Thai- it’s easy to see why this dish shares that name. The cool, sweet coconut milk is an awesome contrast to the jelly coated crunchy water chestnuts.
I only had tinned water chestnuts and coconut milk available to me but if you can get fresh, I would definitely use them.
For two people use:

• a handful (roughly 12) peeled water chestnuts- note: if using canned, drain and leave them to soak in fresh water for 12 hours, changing the water over several times to reduce the ‘tinned’ flavour. Cut each chestnut into 4 equal bits
• 1 cup of tapioca flour
• half a can of coconut milk (200ml)
• 100ml of water
• a teaspoon of red food colouring, mixed with a small splash of water
• a tablespoon of sugar
• crushed ice

Put the water chestnut pieces into a bowl with the red food colouring and water. Turn them gently and leave them to soak for 15 minutes.
Get a pan of water boiling
Drain the water chestnuts of excess colouring and put them in another bowl with the tapioca flour and coat them well.
Shake off the excess flour and gently lower them into the boiling water- you’ll see the bright red colour become visible. After just two minutes, they’ll float to the surface. Use a strainer to scoop them gently out and transfer into a bowl of very cold water for a minute.
Dissolve the sugar in the 100ml water and add the coconut milk and crushed ice. Pour into serving bowls.
Scoop the ‘rubies’ out of the cold water, gently shaking off the water and divide amongst the coconut milk.

Bua Loy Nam King (Floating Lotus in Ginger Syrup)

I don’t do many Thai desserts as I’m not a huge dessert eater but as this dish isn’t too sweet I thought I’d see what it was like and actually, it’s really good. Bua Loy means floating lotus as the rice balls, floating in syrup, resemble lotus, floating on a pond. A lot of versions for bua loy seem to be in coconut milk sauces where as this one is in a warm, spicy ginger ‘soup’.
The trickiest thing is getting the consistency of the dough right- too dry and it’ll crumble, too wet (even a tiny bit) and it turns too gloopy to handle.
To make 4 portions use:

• 150g of sticky rice flour
• 50g of palm sugar or brown sugar
• 50g of black sesame seeds
• cold water
• 50g more of brown sugar
• a chunk of ginger, cut into thin slices, no need to peel
• 200ml of water

Use a blender or food processor to turn the sesame seeds into powder. In a heavy pan heat the palm/brown sugar and mix the seeds in- and the sugar melts, it should create a sticky, not dry paste. Put to one side.
In a bowl put the rice flour and VERY slowly add dribbles of water, kneading the flour until you have a firm dough. Pinch off golf ball sized pieces of the dough and use your fingers to make a flat circle. Pinch off some of the sesame paste, place on the dough and roll up enclosing the paste into a smooth ball. Repeat to use up all the dough/paste.
Heat a pan of water until boiling and gently drop all the rice balls in. Let them simmer for 3-4 minutes until floating and fully cooked through- test one if you want to make sure the dough is fully cooked and no longer floury; it should be bouncy and chewy. Use a spatula to lift out the rice balls and immerse them in cold water to stop them cooking.
Empty the pan and refill with the 200ml of fresh water. Add in the extra brown sugar and ginger slices and heat slowly for at least ten minutes to create the ginger infused syrup.
To serve, place a few of the rice balls into the bottom of each bowl and pour over a generous amount of the hot syrup, sieving out the ginger slices.

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.

Khanom Piak Orn (Jackfruit Sweets)

As it’s been a while since I last made a Thai dessert I thought it was time to do another. We don’t eat a huge amounts of desserts and sweets in our house as my husband and I both prefer savoury food but sometimes it’s nice to try new things. Thai desserts/ sweets do have a tendency towards being either really very sweet or an (unusual for Western tastes) mix of sweet and savoury ingredients in one recipe. Like this one, the sweet ones also lean towards being quite heavy and sticky. So this recipe does go a long way and is best made for lots of people to share. To the best of my knowledge, the Thai name literally means wet board sweet.

Makes 1 tray (enough for lots of people!) use:

• 2/3 can of evaporated milk
• 2/3 can of coconut milk (remainders of both can be frozen if needed)
• 250ml water
• about 3 or 4 pieces of canned jackfruit (mango would work well too), finely chopped
• 100g sugar
• 120g of rice flour
• 3 tablespoons of cornflour
• desiccated coconut 

Line a 1 inch deep baking tray with parchment paper first off. Then gently heat together the two milks, water and sugar in a large pan until the sugar has dissolved. Pop in the jackfruit and give it a stir. Gently tip the two flours in and keep stirring, make sure everything is mixed until smooth and keep stirring. After 5 minutes or so the mixture becomes very thick and paste like. Pour it out into the lined baking tray and sprinkle with the desiccated coconut. Leave it somewhere cool to set and after a few hours it can easily be cut into your preferred shape with a large knife.

Wun Gati Bai Toey (Coconut & Pandan Dessert)

I’ll be honest, this Thai dessert was something of an acquired taste but it did look really pretty. It’s two distinct flavours, a sweet coconut milk jelly and a very unusual pandan leaf extract one that was a sort of a sweet grassy flavour. This was the second recipe I did with the pandan; pandan being a really popular Thai ingredient for desserts too.

For servings for 4 or even more use:

• 2 sachets (2 x 5g) of agar agar or vegegel


• 525ml of water


• 150g sugar


• 250 ml coconut milk


• 4 pandan leaves (finely chopped)

Start by pureeing the leaves and 100ml of the water then strain this to get rid of the tough fibres, you’ll be left with bright bright green liquid.

Heat 300ml of water in a pan, add in the agar agar, stirring quickly so it all dissolves before adding in the sugar and letting that dissolve too. Add in and stir the green pandan juice. Leave on a very low heat so it doesn’t set.

In another pan, heat the remaing 125ml of water adding your other sachet of agar agar, dissolving fully. Add in the sugar, dissolve and then add in the coconut milk. Keep this mixture also on a very low heat.

In a serving dish or jelly mould, pour in a thin layer of coconut jelly, let this set- it happens very quick in about 3 minutes, then add a pandan layer and so on until all the mixtures are used. Let the whole thing firm up in the fridge, again it doesn’t take long. 

When you cut it up, take it very steady as it’s slippery and the layers can separate out again!

Sa Coo Maphraw (Tapioca Coconut Pudding)

I finally used my tapioca pearls to make this gorgeous little dessert Sa Coo Maphraw. Tapioca pearls have a great chewy texture that contrasted really nicely with the creamy sweet, rich coconut and there’s some young coconut blended through and on top for a bit of a slippery crunch. A perfect way to round off a Thai meal.

For two huge portions (or 4 smaller ones) use:

• Half a packet of pre made (coloured) tapioca pearls- the sort used in bubble tea. Had to buy at an Asian grocery shop


• 1 can (400ml) of coconut milk


• 1 young coconut (if available) or half a regular one.


• half a cup of sugar

Start with the whole coconut. Use whatever method works for you to hack your way into the coconut, enjoy the water inside as it’s not needed for the recipe and scrape nice long pieces of coconut from the shell. Leave these for now. Heat a pan of water and boil the tapioca pearls for 5 minutes or however long the packet recommends. While the tapioca pearls are cooking, gently heat the tin of coconut milk and sugar in a separate pan but don’t let it boil. Stir regularly to make sure the sugar is fully dissolved. When the tapioca pearls are done, drain them and put them straight in to the coconut milk or they will start to stick together. Add in half of your fresh coconut peelings and stir everything together. You’re done- just divide the mixture amongst your serving glasses and top off with the remaining fresh coconut. Best served warm but can be left to go cool if you  prefer.

Sankaya Mamuang (Mango Custard)

Hurrah!! I finally did another Thai dessert! this little lovely is a baked mango coconut custard; it’s very much like a soufflé in that it’s baked in the oven, rises and then sinks a bit after you take it out. It’s also good if you don’t like really sweet desserts. I’m also not totally sure if this is a ‘real’ Thai desert- sankaya is normally used inside a pumpkin and then steams as it cooks, you then get a big wedge of softened pumpkin and creamy custard inside. However, mixing in mango puree into the custard mix is much quicker and gives more predictable results.

For two people use:

• 1 juicy mango, pureed


• 2 eggs, beaten


• a small handful of sugar


• 150ml of coconut milk


• optional- shavings of coconut


• a very small amount of vegetable oil

Get the oven heated up, medium high, about 180 degrees/ 350F/ gas 4. Using just a few drops of vegetable oil, grease the bowls/ ramekins/ pots you will cook and serve in. Mix the pureed mango, beaten eggs, sugar and coconut milk in a bowl and pour this in until the mixture sits about a fingers width below the rim. Put the dishes into the oven and bake for about 35 minutes. Like a soufflé, it will rise and then fall as you take it out. Shave over some coconut flakes to serve and be careful- it will be really hot! 

Khao Niew Mamuang (Sticky Rice & Mango)

Okay so it’s about time I did a dessert, even though I’ll admit I’m not a big dessert person. Thai desserts (to me anyway) seem to fall into three categories, heavy starch based dishes; usually sweetened, such as this one, incredibly sweet confectionery based ones or prepared fruits. There’s also the ubiquitous Thai pancake which is always popular with visiting tourist, usually filled with combinations of bananas and condensed milk. This one should be familiar to anyone who’s ever had rice pudding.


For two servings use:

• 1 ripe mango, peeled and cut in half (cut either side of the stone) and cut into wedges.


• 1 cup of rice (risotto, sushi, sweet or Thai sticky) all work


• 200ml of coconut milk (if using a tin, freeze the other half)


• 50g sugar

Start this the day/night before. Put the rice in a bowl of cold water and leave covered to soak until you want to start making the sticky rice. When you’re ready to start drain, (but don’t rinse) the rice. Now I don’t have a rice steamer, if you do, congratulations; follow the instructions on how to use it. Otherwise, get a pan of water boiling, place the drained rice in a sieve over the boiling water, making sure the water is sitting below the level of the sieve, cover it with a tight fitting lid and begin steaming the rice for 30-45 minutes until it’s soft and sticky. While it’s steaming, in a small part, gently heat the coconut milk and sugar until the sugar has dissolved.


When the rice is done, scrape it out into a bowl, pour over half of the sweetened coconut milk, cover it over and leave it to absorb for another 10 minutes or so.


When you’re ready to serve, place a spoonful of the coconut sticky rice next to the sliced mango and drizzle over the rest of the coconut milk.