Kanom Thai: Thai Steamed Banana, Pumpkin, Purple Potato
Due to… year-round warm weather and the abundance of water and fresh fruits, the rich culture of steaming desserts and snacks remains strong and you will find steamed desserts in every corner of Thailand. Kanom Kluay being amongst the most popular – Warattaya Smith of @loveslittlekitchen
Kanom Kluay is banana, Kanom Fak Thong is pumpkin, and Kanom Mun Maung is purple potato.
Kanom Kluay is the more traditional flavour but with the variety of foods today you can try all types of flavours and colours.
Kanom Kluay is one of many Thai desserts that is steamed in it’s making and one the easiest and quickest to do. Steaming today is extremely common in Thailand as most household kitchens and roadside stalls didn’t have the oven’s and stoves available today as recent as 30-40 years ago..
Due to this along with year-round warm weather and the abundance of water and fresh fruits the rich culture of steaming desserts and snacks remains strong and you will find steamed desserts in every corner of Thailand, Kanom Kluay being amongst the most popular.
Similar in its process to my last recipe Kanom Tuay (Thai Coconut Rice Custard) your mixture is steamed most commonly in small balls within a steamer.
A variety of flavours and colours can be made using things such as pumpkin(yellow) and a favourite of mine purple potato(purple) which is full of anti-oxidants and health benefits.
Adding grated fresh coconut over the top doesn’t just look good but compliments the sweetness Kanom Kluay has.
There’s a slight difference in the Ingredients between banana, pumpkin and purple potato you can see below but the method is the same.
For Banana
Ingredients
- Mashed banana 500 g.
- Rice flour 100 g.*
- Tapioca flour 80 g.*
- Arrowroot flour 80 g.*
- White Sugar 100 – 130 g.
- Palm sugar 70 g.
- Coconut milk 400 g.
- Salt 1 tsp.
- Shredded or grated coconut meat 70 g.
*You can purchase at any good Asian grocery store
For Pumpkin
Ingredients
- Mashed Pumpkin 500 g.
- Rice flour 100 g.*
- Tapioca flour 80 g.*
- Arrowroot flour 80 g.*
- White Sugar 130 g.
- Palm sugar 70 g.
- Coconut milk 350 g.
- Salt 1 tsp.
- Shredded or grated coconut meat 70 g.
*You can purchase at any good Asian grocery store
For Purple Potato
Ingredients
- Mashed purple potato 500 g.
- Rice flour 100 g.*
- Tapioca flour 80 g.*
- Arrowroot flour 80 g.*
- white Sugar 130 g.
- Palm sugar 70 g.
- Coconut milk 450 g.
- Salt 1 tsp.
- Shredded or grated coconut meat 70 g.
*You can purchase at any good Asian grocery store
Items
- Steamer
- Small bowls or moulds or cups
Method
- Mash the banana just like you would if you mashed potato. In a large bowl add the rice flour,
tapioca flour, arrowroot flour, coconut milk, white sugar, palm sugar and salt and mix together with hands until well combined and becomes like liquid. This may take at least 10 minutes of kneading with your hands. - Now add the banana and continue to knead and mix with hands until the ingredients is well combined. I prefer hands as it’s far easier to feel for any lumps of banana that I can squish.
*Utensils such as potato mashers and whisks can also be useful when breaking down the ingredients
*You can mix grated coconut in now or the same time as the banana. It adds a flavoursome texture - Place out your small bowls and start spooning your mixture in (you should be ok to fill to the top of each bowl as the mixture won’t expand to much)
Start boiling the steamer and once ready place your small bowls inside it.
If you wish to add grated coconut meat then do it now so once steamed it will appear to have partly melted into to the cake.(pre-mix the grated coconut for topping with a little salt) - When the water is boiling, steam the cakes for 10-15 minutes, and it’s done. You can poke them with a kebab stick to see if they are set the whole way through. The longer you steam them, the tougher and chewier they get (which some people prefer).
- Let cool and serve. Usually they are served cool but you can have them warm if you choose.
