Khao Nom Kok

Ingredients

Batter

• 300 grice flour
• 500 mlcoconut milk
• 150 mlwater
• 80 gsugar
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 2 tablespoonsgrated coconut, optional

Sometimes added

• 2spring onions, finely sliced
• a little sweetcorn
• chopped taro
• for savoury versions

To cook

• a dimpled cast iron pan
• coconut oil, for the moulds

To serve

• paper cones
• at Lao morning markets
• with coffee or tea

Directions

1. Use a full fat coconut milk for it. Put the rice flour in a large bowl. Add the sugar and the salt to it.
2. Pour in the coconut milk gradually. Whisk it as you pour to avoid lumps. Add the water to loosen it down. It should be quite thin and pourable. Add more water if it seems heavy.
3. Cover the bowl and let it stand. Give it about twenty minutes to rest. Stir it again before you use it. Stir it well before every pour. Otherwise the last ones are all water. Set the dimpled pan over a medium heat.
4. Let it heat through thoroughly. Give it a good five minutes to heat. Brush each hollow with coconut oil. Use a brush or a piece of cloth. A well seasoned pan helps a great deal. Pour the batter into each hollow. Fill each one nearly to the top. Work quickly across the whole pan.
5. Add grated coconut on top if using it. Cooking them takes a few minutes. Cover the pan over with a tight lid. Let them cook for about four minutes. Both happen at once because of it. Take them off before the centre firms. Lifting them out takes a light touch.
6. Use a small spoon or a thin skewer. Lift it out from underneath carefully. Take two halves as they come out. Press the flat faces together. Hold them for a second to stick. The soft centres bond them together.
7. Press them as they come off the pan. Reduce the sugar in the batter. Add sliced spring onion to each hollow. Cook them exactly the same way. Serving them is done immediately and hot. Pile them all into a paper cone. They must be eaten hot and fresh.

Technique

• The outside should be crisp and browned while the centre stays soft and custardy, and an evenly cooked one is a failure; the batter touching hot metal sets and crisps while the middle stays wet, so taking the pan off before it sets through is what creates the contrast.
• Two cooked halves are pressed face to face while still hot so the soft centres meet and bond into a whole sphere; cold halves will not stick at all, so press them as they come off the pan.
• Rice flour settles to the bottom and the batter separates as it stands, so stir it well before every pour or the last ones will be mostly water.

Substitutions

• Any full fat coconut milk works, but thin coconut milk gives a pale flat result.
• Reduce the sugar and add spring onion, corn or taro for the savoury version.

Variations

• Sweet and savoury versions are both sold, the sweet more common.
• Thai khanom krok and Indonesian serabi use the same dimpled pan.
• Grated coconut is scattered on top by some stalls.

History

Sold at Lao morning markets in paper cones, two hemispheres pressed together into a ball.

Frequently asked questions

What is Khao Nom Kok?

Khao Nom Kok is a street food from Laos: coconut rice batter cooked in a dimpled pan into soft-centred half spheres. Sold at Lao morning markets in paper cones, two hemispheres pressed together into a ball.

How long does Khao Nom Kok take to make?

Khao Nom Kok takes 20 minutes of preparation and 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 30 balls. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Khao Nom Kok?

Yes, within limits. Any full fat coconut milk works, but thin coconut milk gives a pale flat result. Reduce the sugar and add spring onion, corn or taro for the savoury version.

What is the most important thing to get right in Khao Nom Kok?

Cover the bowl and let it stand. Give it about twenty minutes to rest. Stir it again before you use it. Stir it well before every pour. Otherwise the last ones are all water. Set the dimpled pan over a medium heat.