← Nouns Cooking · Thai

Ingredients

• 150 g Glutinous rice flour
• 80 g pumpkin or kabocha squash, peeled and cubed
• 2 pandan leaves, blended with 4 tbsp water and strained (optional)
• 4 tbsp warm water, as needed
• 400 ml Coconut milk
• 60 g palm sugar or white sugar
• ½ tsp Salt
• 2 pandan leaves, knotted (optional)

Method

1. Steam the pumpkin for 10–12 min until very soft, then mash it smooth.
2. Split the flour between two bowls. Knead the warm pumpkin into one bowl, adding a splash of water if needed, until it feels like soft play dough. Knead the pandan juice (or plain warm water) into the other.
3. Roll the doughs into small balls about 1 cm across. Keep them under a damp cloth so they do not dry out.
4. Bring a big pot of water to the boil and drop in the balls. When they float, cook for 1 minute more, then scoop them into a bowl of cold water.
5. Gently heat the coconut milk with the sugar, salt and knotted pandan, stirring, for 5 min until the sugar dissolves; do not let it boil hard or it may split.
6. Drain the rice balls, add them to the coconut milk and warm through for 1–2 minutes. Serve warm in small bowls.

Tips

• Taro or sweet potato also make lovely coloured balls; use the same weight as the pumpkin.
• The dough is ready when it no longer cracks at the edges when you press a ball flat.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

ThaiTable Thai Caliente