Khanom Thuay (Steamed Coconut Custard in Cups)

Ingredients

• For the sweet base
• 100 g Thai rice flour, finely ground; not glutinous rice flour
• 250 ml thin coconut milk, hang kati
• 80 g palm sugar, dissolved in the coconut milk before combining with flour
• For the salty top
• 200 ml thick coconut cream, hua kati
• 30 g Thai rice flour, finely ground; not glutinous rice flour
• 1 tsp fine salt

Method

1. 1
   Dissolve the palm sugar in the thin coconut milk over gentle heat, stirring until fully liquid, then remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly so that the residual warmth does not cook the flour the moment it enters. Add the 100 g of rice flour and whisk until the mixture is completely smooth with no lumps. The batter should coat the back of a spoon in an even, lump-free film.
2. 2
   Combine the thick coconut cream, 30 g rice flour, and salt in a bowl and whisk until smooth, working out every grain of flour so the finished top layer sets to a clean, uniform face rather than a pocked one. The mixture should be fluid but faintly thickened; no grains of flour should remain visible.
3. 3
   Bring the steamer to a steady medium heat before the cups go in, so the base begins to set from the first second and rises evenly without a watery skin forming on top. Fill each small ceramic or banana-leaf cup two-thirds with the sweet base mixture, arrange in the steamer, and steam for 10–12 minutes. The base is ready when the surface is fully set and no longer liquid — it should not tremble or shift when the cup is nudged.
4. 4
   Remove the cups from the steamer and rest for 5 minutes so the carry-over heat finishes firming the interior, giving the base the density it needs to hold a distinct boundary when the cream is poured. This is where the dish lives or dies: the base must be set firmly enough to carry the salty cream layer without absorbing it. Test with a single small drop of the cream mixture; if it sits proud on the surface without sinking, the base is ready — if it sinks, return the cups to the steamer for a further 2 minutes and test again.
5. 5
   Pour the salty coconut cream over each set base to a depth of approximately 5 mm — a thin, trembling cover, not an equal layer — keeping the pour slow and close to the surface so the cream lands without breaking through and muddying the boundary below. The ratio by volume is roughly one part top to three parts base. Return the cups to the steamer and steam for a further 5–8 minutes until the top layer is set but retains a slight tremor at its centre.
6. 6
   Remove from the steamer and cool completely to room temperature before serving, allowing the two layers to contract and firm against each other so the interface stays sharp when a spoon cuts through. A cross-section taken with a small spoon should reveal two clearly distinct layers: a light amber, translucent sweet base and a white salty cream top, unmixed at the interface. The first taste delivers salt above and sweet below simultaneously; they merge only at the moment of swallowing.