Khanom chan

Nine thin steamed layers built one at a time, each set before the next is poured.

Vegan.

Ingredients

• 120 g rice flour
• 180 g tapioca flour
• 60 g arrowroot flour
• 600 ml coconut milk
• 200 g caster sugar
• 0.5 teaspoon salt
• 6 pandan leaves
• 100 ml water

Method

1. ONE LAYER AT A TIME, AND EACH ONE SET BEFORE THE NEXT. Nine layers, five minutes each: that is forty-five minutes of standing at a steamer and there is no shortcut. Two layers poured together marble into one, and the whole object is that it peels apart in sheets.
2. A THIN LAYER IS A LADLEFUL, about 5 mm. Thicker and it will not set through in five minutes, and the layer above it sinks in.
3. Blitz the pandan leaves with the 100 ml of water and squeeze the juice out through muslin. That is the green; essence gives the colour and a sweetshop smell.
4. Whisk all three flours with the coconut milk, sugar and salt until completely smooth, then STRAIN it. Lumps show as hard spots in a 5 mm layer.
5. Divide the batter in two. Pandan juice into one half.
6. Get the steamer to a rolling boil and warm the tin in it for 5 minutes before the first layer. A cold tin makes the bottom layer set unevenly.
7. First layer in, steam 5 minutes, until the surface is no longer wet and a finger laid on it comes away clean.
8. Alternate colours, five minutes each, straight on top of the last. Give the final layer 10 minutes.
9. A CLOTH UNDER THE LID THROUGHOUT. One drop of condensation lands as a crater that is visible in every layer below it.
10. Cool completely, at least 3 hours, before cutting with an oiled knife. Warm, it drags and the layers smear.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Thailand · All recipes