Thai Steamed Custard-Filled Kabocha Pumpkin
>> Friday, December 19, 2008
The steamed pumpkin custard recipe is being updated. The new and improved version, including tips on how to keep the pumpkin from splitting,/collapsing/exploding, how to keep the custard filling from shrinking once cooled, etc., will be up soon.
In the meantime, you may want to explore another way -- a MUCH easier way -- to make a "custard"-filled pumpkin, Coconut Panna Cotta-Filled Steamed Squash.
4 comments:
Wow.. very good explanation. Like you I had the same problems.. actually, exactly! As for me sometimes, it works beautifully but 60 % I just scooped the flesh into coconut milk after all the cursing :-D I wondered many times how those TV cooking shows seemed to make it so perfect. My hubby said, they may have a spare just in case the one the put in the steamer exploded, you know just for the show. If it's so easy to make why Thai restaurants don't have this version in their menus? That's a very good question though :-) I wonder how Dim solved the explosion...
Btw... what's the weight of the kabocha for this recipe if I may know? I discovered that sometimes you will get same weight and size of kabocha but the thickness of the flesh inside is not the same. Once, I bought a kabocha which has thinner bottom but thicker on the sides... :-( I'm sure you can guess what happened...
I will try out Sangkaya Fathong another try... if not, another try :-) Thank you so much for the recipe and tips. Really appreciated. Khop pun kha na
Hi Pixen,
Ugh. Don't get me started on what the "experts" don't tell us. :)
Look around on the web -- more specifically, do a Google image search on thai pumpkin custard and you will see quite a few obvious "failures" which people proudly put on their blogs anyway. :) I'm sure the unbloggably hideous ones (the ones that exploded) never went public. But there are a few cases of serious shrinkage (not related to that Seinfeld episode ...) to be found out there.
I didn't weigh my kabocha, so don't have the weight for you. The tricky thing about kabocha, as you mentioned, is that even though they all look pretty uniformed in size, the thickness of the flesh varies greatly. The one I have in the picture is quite thin, if you've noticed, and very, VERY susceptible to explosion.
What makes steamed pumpkin custard difficult to make lies in the disparity between the ideal temperature and length of time to cook the squash and the ideal temp and time to cook the custard. If I wasn't hung up on presentation (or tradition), I would cook the darn things separately and reunite them only when I eat them.
I'm in the process of doing another post -- an updated version of this one with more tips. So please stay tuned. :)
Hi there,
Did you ever come up with a revised recipe? I just tried for the first time, and it overcooked and cracked...buuuut it still tastes good!
Pim - Still working on it. This thing is hard, man. Hopefully, the post will be up in the next few weeks.
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