I seem to be in the habit of blogging about Thai food and saying things like, “Oh, this is my favourite curry” or “This is my favourite Thai dessert”. Well, today I want to show you khanom mor gaeng which is definitely in my top 10 for Thai desserts. Probably quite close to the top though it is a little on the sweet side. You can find this dessert around Thailand (we have it in Paknam market sometimes) but the authentic dish can only be bought in Phetchaburi. When people from Bangkok go down to the beach resorts at Cha-am or Hua Hin, they will nearly always stop at these large roadside food shops selling Thai desserts. Phetchaburi is famous for this dessert and others too. Everyone knows I like this dessert so I was pleasantly surprised this morning when our local samlor driver knocked on the door with two bags of Thai desserts. No, he hadn’t just been to Phetchaburi! Around here people use samlor and motorcycle taxi drivers as their personal messengers.
This dessert is a bit like our custard pudding. In fact, some people reckon that it was introduced to Thailand by Portuguese traders in the 18th century. Or, at least it was influenced by Western visitors. The main ingredients are duck eggs, mung beans and coconut milk. There are different variations, but I will give you the directions from one recipe I have here. Beat together 4 chicken eggs with 2 duck eggs. Add 1 cup of palm sugar and 1 cup of coconut cream. Use pandanus leaves to knead this mixture until the sugar dissolves. Strain through a cheesecloth and add either mashed taro or mung beans and mix well. Put the oil from fried shallots into a wok and add your mixture. Stir until it becomes thicker. Transfer to a baking tray and bake for about 30 minutes or until the custard is set and the top is a golden brown.
You must really try it. They do export it to Bangkok and you might find it in Chinatown and some department stores. It is VERY delicious.
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