Thai Desserts Delicious

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups pumpkin, grated finely
1/2 cup coconut cream
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 tbsp arrowroot starch
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt

SPECIAL UTENSIL:
An 8" x 8" baking pan, a steamer

PREPARATION:
1. Mix tapioca flour, rice flour and arrowroot starch together. Gradually add coconut cream, stir constantly until all the coconut cream is used up. It will take about 15 minutes.

2. Add sugar, pumpkin, salt and coconut milk, continue stirring until sugar and salt are all dissolved.

3. Pour the mixture into a baking pan, spread out evenly, steam over boiling water for 20-25 minutes or until done. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Cut into 2"x2" pieces.

Tip: Tapioca flour can be substituted by corn flour.

In Thailand, pumpkins are available year round where in the US you can only enjoy them in fall. This will make a nice warm dessert in the fall.

Many Thai desserts involve cooking rice, sticky rice or flour in sugar and coconut milk. However, pumpkin in coconut milk belongs to a class of dessert called 'gang buad', which refers to cooking vegetables, legumes or fruits in coconut milk with sugar.

4 Servings

Ingredients:

1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups pumpkin
1/3 cup palm sugar
1/2 cup coconut milk
Skin the pumpkin, remove the seeds and julienne into pieces of 2" x ½" x ½".

How to cook:

Add water and coconut milk to a pot and heat over low heat. Add salt. I would recommend adding half of the sugar and tasting before adding more. If you find it to be too sweet, add more water. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the pumpkin. Let it boil and let the pumpkin cook. Serve hot, warm or room temperature.

The key to this dish is using thin coconut milk. The top layer of coconut milk or cream will curdle when boiled. If your coconut milk is creamy, dilute it with water.

(If small pumpkin are not available, the custard my be served
in 'baby' coconuts, or failing that in plain ramekin dishes)

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups (duck) egg
3/4 cup palm sugar*
3 pandanus leaves
1-1/2 cups coconut milk
2 small pumpkins

Method:

(Note: the pandan leaves turn the custard green: this is traditional
in Thailand but may be considered optional.)

With a small sharp pointed knife, cut a star shaped opening around
the stems of the pumpkins, lift the stems, and remove the seeds and
membrane from inside.

Combine sugar with egg, beat with pandan leaves for about 10 minutes,
then continue beating, adding the coconut milk. Strain through cheesecloth
into the hollowed out pumpkins, leaving about 1 inch space at the
top.

Place the pumpkins in small bowls for support, and place in a steamer
tray, putting the stems on the tray also. Steam for about 45 minutes.

Serving:

Replace the stems as lids, and serve cool.

* Moderator's note: Pandanus leaves (also called screwpine leaves)
are popular in Southeast Asian cooking (especially Thai, Indonesian, and
Malasian) and have a floral flavor. They are used to flavor puddings
and rice dishes. As stated above by Ian, they have an intense green
coloring which makes them useful as a natural food coloring. They are
available in Asian markets usually dried but sometimes fresh. Other
names for them are daun pandan and kewra.