At the least every year, my mother surprises me with one thing utterly new from Thailand. Generally it’s a ceramic vase she’s all the time had in a hidden nook of the home, possibly a silk scarf, or a picket ornament she delivered to the US along with her a long time in the past. Some time in the past, she determined to drop faktong sangkaya on the scene—a pumpkin dessert with a candy coconut custard middle.
It is not unusual for me to search out my mother hacking aside melons and squash in her kitchen; she’s normally slicing them aside into smaller items. This time was totally different: she had a brand new squash (in my eyes) and was cleansing out the within prefer it was Halloween in September. I requested her what she was making and she or he mentioned, “you are not going to love the title—fuck-tong sangkaya.”
Well mannered web transliteration spells it faktong, so we’ll stick to that. My mother claimed that she’s made faktong sangkaya earlier than, however I swear I might have remembered her pouring custard into a complete pumpkin. I suppose she might have achieved it with out me, however that’s inconceivable. Mother and father by no means do particular issues for themselves with out their youngsters, proper?
What’s faktong sangkaya?
“Faktong” interprets to pumpkin and “sangkaya” to steamed custard. The dish is made by carving out the highest of an entire kabocha squash and deseeding the middle to make a giant pumpkin bowl. It is not in contrast to getting ready a jack-o-lantern, however that’s the place the similarity ends. The kabocha’s middle is stuffed with a easy coconut milk custard. The complete squash will get steamed complete, although my mother typically bakes it as a substitute. The dessert is served by slicing the cooked kabocha into wedges to disclose the squash’s sunny orange hue and the fragile custard inside.
Credit score: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
Kabocha squashes are most popular for this dessert as a result of so far as different bulbous squashes go, they’re the right form for steaming. They’re squat, spherical however flattened, and small ones match effectively right into a steamer. Personally, I really like the feel. It has tremendous dense flesh, which makes it really feel creamy, and has refined candy and nutty notes. You might do that with different squashes, however simply make sure that they match within the pot you’re utilizing.
I pour the custard by means of a sieve immediately into the squash.
Credit score: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
Tips on how to make Thai pumpkin custard, faktong sangkaya
Faktong sangkaya is a beautiful selection for a cocktail party dessert. It’s laborious to search out small kabocha squashes close to me, so I solely make it when a lot of individuals can take pleasure in it. Nevertheless, should you discover petite ones, then you possibly can positively make this for 2 individuals and hold leftovers within the fridge for as much as three days.
Historically, you’ll use palm sugar and pandan leaf for the coconut milk custard, however these might be difficult to search out—a minimum of, they’re for me. I modified this recipe from Sizzling Thai Kitchen to exchange these two components with brown sugar and vanilla extract. Brown sugar is sweeter than palm sugar, so you do not want as a lot.
Faktong Sangkaya Recipe (Thai pumpkin custard)
Components:
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1 small-ish kabocha squash (or one other squash you want)
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1 cup coconut milk, full-fat
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⅔ cup brown sugar
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½ teaspoon salt
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1 tablespoon rice flour
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6 complete eggs
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1 egg yolk
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½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Stir the coconut milk, salt, and sugar collectively in a pot and warmth it over medium-low, stirring sometimes till the sugar dissolves. Flip off the warmth and pour the combination right into a measuring cup. Permit it to chill to room temperature.
2. In the meantime, use a powerful paring knife to carve across the stem of the kabocha squash. Take away the “lid” and maintain onto it for ornamental plating functions, or discard it. Scoop out the seeds and mushy fibrous middle. Discard that stuff. Pour water into a big pot with a steamer insert on the backside, the water shouldn’t be excessive sufficient to the touch the underside of the pumpkin. Place the hollowed out kabocha inside.
3. Spoon a pair tablespoons of the cooled coconut milk combination right into a separate bowl and whisk the rice flour into it till it dissolves. Add it again into the remainder of the coconut milk. In a big bowl, whisk collectively the eggs after which slowly incorporate the coconut milk combination.
4. Maintain a sieve excessive of the kabocha and pour the custard by means of the sieve immediately into the squash. Cease as soon as it simply reaches the highest of the within cavity. (You’ll have additional custard relying on the dimensions of the squash.) Put the lid on the steamer and steam the faktong sangkaya over medium-low warmth for 45 to 50 minutes. When it’s achieved, the middle custard will puff up, and inner temperature will learn 150°F to 160°F. Permit the faktong sankaya to chill for a minimum of 20 minutes earlier than dealing with and slicing into wedges. (I prefer to sprinkle my slice with a little bit salt.)
