Thai Dessert 2

Thai Custard with Pumpkin
fakthong sangkaya
ฟักทองสังขยา

This Thai custard with pumpkin is very delicious but I will have to be careful not to eat too often. That is the problem with many Thai desserts as you will put on weight if you are not careful. The way they cook this is very clever. They first clean the outside of a pumkin and then cut a trapdoor in the top. The seeds inside the pumpkin are then scooped out. The Thai custard is made up of a mixture of eggs, sugar and coconut cream. You then stir this mixture together with some pandanus leaves. Once the sugar has dissolved, it is strained through cheesecloth. The pumpkin is then placed in a bowl and the mixture is poured in. The trap door is then put back and it is all then steamed for about 40 minutes. Once it is ready, the mixture should have hardened. It is now cut into wedges about three inches thick. Each wedge costs about 20 baht. Make sure you try this the next time you are in Thailand.

Unripe Mango with Fish Sauce
mamuang namplawan
มะม่วงน้ำปลาหวาน

A famous dessert that foreigners like is mango with sticky rice. This one is unripe mango with fish sauce! Not quite the same but still good. At school, the students like eating unripe mango with a dip that consists of sugar and ground chili. This one is sweetened fish sauce. In a large pot, sugar is mixed with water and fish sauce and is stirred constantly until it becomes a thick syrup. Chopped shallots are then added. When these are cooked, dried shrimp and sliced chillies are added. This snack is 30 baht.

Glossy Coconut Dessert
mapraow kaew
มะพร้าวแก้ว

The dessert today is "maprao kaew" which is basically sweet dried coconut. I don't like dried coconut that much and as usual this was a bit too sweet. The cost was 30 baht. 

Candied Cassava
mansampalangcheuam
มันสำปะหลังเชื่อม

This dessert is made from the roots of a cassava plant. First you have to prepare the syrup by mixing together sugar and water and boil slowly until all the sugar has dissolved. Strain this through a sieve and then bring it back to the boil once more. Reduce the heat and then add the cassava roots which have been peeled and cut into two inch sticks. Once it is cooked through it will have a glazed look as most of the syrup would have been absorbed by the roots. You top this with a mixture of coconut cream and salt that has been boiled together and then allowed to cool. I have never had this before as it never looked that attractive. It also looked very sweet. But small amounts was very tasty. Try some yourself. This dish cost only 20 baht.