Khanom tan facts for kids
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| Type | Dessert |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Thailand |
| Region or state | Southeast Asia |
| Main ingredients | Toddy palm, coconut milk, rice flour and sugar |
| Similar dishes | Htanthi mont, Fa gao, Bánh bò, White sugar sponge cake |
Khanom tan (pronounced "kha-nom taan") is a yummy Thai dessert. It's a small, steamed cake that tastes sweet. This special treat gets its flavor from toddy palm sugar and creamy coconut milk.
Khanom tan cakes are often wrapped in banana leaves. They are topped with grated coconut for extra taste. You can usually find this dessert in parts of Thailand where sugar palm trees grow. These areas include Phetchaburi, Nakhon Pathom, and Suphanburi.
Contents
The Story of Khanom Tan
Khanom tan is one of many popular Thai desserts with a long history. It dates back to the Sukhothai Kingdom period. That was a very old time in Thailand's history.
During the Sukhothai period, desserts were mainly made with rice flour, sugar, and coconut. Later, in the Ayutthaya Kingdom period, desserts started using eggs and sugar more. Today, khanom tan is not as common in big cities like Bangkok. But it is still a favorite dessert in other parts of Thailand.
How Khanom Tan is Made
Making khanom tan is similar to making another steamed dessert called khanom kluay. The main difference is that khanom tan needs its batter to ferment. This makes the cake light and spongy.
The main ingredients for khanom tan are coconut milk, rice flour, a special ingredient to make it rise, and toddy palm fruit. Toddy palm fruit is full of vitamins A and C. It has a strong smell and is soft and juicy, a bit like a lychee.
What You Need to Make Khanom Tan
- 4 and ½ cups of rice flour
- 1 cup of ripe sugar palm fruit (squeeze out the soft part)
- 4 and ½ cups of coconut milk
- 3 cups of sugar
- 3 cups of scraped coconut (use older, ripe coconut)
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 tablespoon of baking powder
Steps to Cook Khanom Tan
- Crush the sugar palm fruit with some water in a bowl.
- Put all the juice into a filter cloth bag and squeeze it out.
- Leave this juice in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
- Boil the coconut milk with the sugar.
- When it starts boiling, turn off the heat and let it cool down.
- In a big bowl, mix the sugar palm fruit (from step 1) with the rice flour and the cooled coconut milk (from step 2).
- Knead the mixture very well until it is soft.
- Leave the mixture outside for 4 hours.
- Place a wet white cloth over the bowl.
- Cut banana leaves and shape them into small cups. You can also use small ceramic cups.
- Pour the mixture into the banana leaf cups or ceramic cups.
- Mix the scraped coconut with salt. Sprinkle this over the top of each cake.
- Steam the cakes over boiling water for about 15 minutes.
