Ingredients
The pumpkin
- 1small round pumpkin
- about 1.2 kg
- kabocha or Thai pumpkin
- firm, with dense flesh
The custard
- 5eggs
- or 4 eggs and 2 yolks
- 200 gpalm sugar
- chopped or grated
- or brown sugar
- 250 mlthick coconut milk
- or coconut cream
- a pinch of salt
The pandan
- 4pandan leaves
- bruised and knotted
- or 1 teaspoon pandan extract
- see the note on colour
Equipment
- a steamer large enough for the pumpkin
- a cloth for the lid
- a fine sieve
- a plate or trivet
To serve
- cut into wedges
- warm or cold
- with extra coconut cream, optional
Directions
- Use a small round one with dense flesh. Do not use a large watery pumpkin. Wash the outside well. Cut a lid from the top. Cut at an angle so it sits back neatly. Use a spoon. Scrape until the inside is clean and smooth.
- Leave the wall a good two centimetres thick. A thin wall collapses when steamed. Brown sugar substitutes. Warm them in the coconut milk. Let them infuse twenty minutes. Whisk the eggs and sugar together. Whisk them gently. Do not beat air into them. Add the infused coconut milk gradually. Stir rather than whisk. Add the salt.
- Pour the custard through a fine sieve. It takes a minute. Skim any foam off the surface. Let it stand five minutes and skim again. Set the pumpkin on a plate or trivet in the steamer. Pour the custard in. Fill it to about two centimetres below the rim.
- Check the pumpkin has no cracks or holes. Put the pumpkin lid back on. Both are done. Bring the steamer water to a boil. Do not steam it at a rolling boil. Tie a cloth under the steamer lid.
- Steam it for about fifty minutes to an hour. A larger pumpkin takes longer. Steam scalds badly. Lift the lid away from your face. Lift the far edge first.
- Check the water level and top it up with boiling water. A steamer that boils dry is a fire risk. Lift it out carefully. It is heavy and hot. Let it cool completely. Give it at least three hours. Cut warm, it collapses out of the wedge.
- Cut cold, it holds its shape. Refrigerate it for several hours or overnight. Cut it into wedges like a cake. Use a sharp knife. Serve it warm or cold. Both are done. Serve extra coconut cream over it if you like. Some people eat it and some do not. Keep it covered.
Technique
- Steam gently, never at a rolling boil. Fierce steam overcooks the custard, which curdles, goes grainy and weeps water — and that cannot be corrected.
- Tie a cloth under the steamer lid. Condensation drips pit the custard surface and make it watery.
- Use a dense pumpkin such as kabocha and dry the cavity thoroughly. A watery pumpkin waters the custard down, stops it setting and cooks faster than the custard does; a dense one finishes at the same time.
- Leave the wall a good two centimetres thick and scrape the inside smooth. A thin wall collapses when steamed, and loose fibres come away into the custard.
- Whisk the eggs gently and never beat air in. Bubbles set into holes and give a spongy pitted custard instead of a silky one — Thai cooks often mix by hand, squeezing between the fingers, for exactly that reason.
- Strain the custard through a fine sieve and skim the foam. It catches the chalazae and set egg, and the difference in smoothness is worth the minute.
- Fill to about two centimetres below the rim. Custard expands as it sets and a full pumpkin overflows into the steamer.
- Check the pumpkin for cracks before filling it. Custard leaking out is a mess and a loss.
- Measure your steamer before buying the pumpkin. It has to fit with the lid on, and that is a genuinely common problem.
- Cool it completely, at least three hours. The custard firms as it cools — cut warm it collapses out of the wedge, cut cold it holds.
- Infuse bruised knotted pandan leaves in the coconut milk and remove them. That gives aroma without colour, and this dish is pale gold rather than green.
- Dissolve hard palm sugar gently in the coconut milk rather than chopping it. Brown sugar substitutes and is not quite the same.
- Lift the steamer lid away from your face, far edge first, and top the water up with boiling water. Steam scalds and a steamer that boils dry is a fire risk.
Substitutions
- Kabocha replaces Thai pumpkin closely; avoid watery varieties entirely.
- Brown sugar replaces palm sugar, giving a slightly different flavour.
- Pandan extract replaces fresh leaves; many contain colouring.
- Coconut cream in place of coconut milk gives a richer, firmer custard.
- Extra yolks in place of one whole egg give a silkier set.
- Small individual pumpkins make single portions, needing about thirty minutes.
Variations
- Sangkhaya steamed in small ramekins is served alone as a custard.
- Sangkhaya spread on toasted bread is eaten at breakfast.
- Kaya in Malaysia and Singapore is the same custard cooked to a spread.
- Khanom mo kaeng is the baked Thai mung bean and coconut custard.
- Bua loi and other coconut sweets are served at the same tables.
- A version steamed in young coconuts rather than pumpkin is also made.
Frequently asked questions
What is Sangkhaya Fak Thong?
Sangkhaya Fak Thong is a dessert from Thailand: pandan-coconut custard steamed inside a whole small pumpkin, then sliced.
How long does Sangkhaya Fak Thong take to make?
Sangkhaya Fak Thong takes 30 minutes of preparation and 1 hour, plus cooling of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6 to 8. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Sangkhaya Fak Thong?
Yes, within limits. Kabocha replaces Thai pumpkin closely; avoid watery varieties entirely. Brown sugar replaces palm sugar, giving a slightly different flavour. Pandan extract replaces fresh leaves; many contain colouring. Coconut cream in place of coconut milk gives a richer, firmer custard. Extra yolks in place of one whole egg give a silkier set. Small individual pumpkins make single portions, needing about thirty minutes.
What is the most important thing to get right in Sangkhaya Fak Thong?
Use a small round one with dense flesh. Do not use a large watery pumpkin. Wash the outside well. Cut a lid from the top. Cut at an angle so it sits back neatly. Use a spoon. Scrape until the inside is clean and smooth.
