Khanom Mo Keang (Thai Custard)
Khanom mo keang (Thai: ขนมหม้อแกง), or khanom khumpamas (Thai: ขนมกุมภมาศ) is a Thai custard dessert. In present-day Thailand, the dessert is prepared in a square aluminum pan. Khanom Mo Keang was created by Maria Guyomar de Pinha (Thao Thong Kip Ma), a Japanese-Portuguese woman who made the dessert in the Ayutthaya royal court kitchen. She adapted Western custard to Thai cuisine by substituting several locally-available ingredients for those traditionally used in the West. She substituted duck eggs for chicken eggs, coconut milk for cow milk/cream, and palm/coconut sugar for cane sugar. This took place during the reign of King Narai the Great in the 17th century.
1 large shallot, peeled and thinly sliced
⅓ cup vegetable oil
1 cup (236 g) coconut or palm sugar
1½ cups (300 g) cooked and hulled mung beans
4 large whole chicken eggs plus 3 yolks (or 5 duck eggs)
⅔ cup (144 g) granulated sugar
1 cup coconut cream
½ teaspoon salt
Put the shallot slices and oil into a small frying pan over medium-low heat. Stir the shallot slices, until they are golden brown and crispy.
Grease the bottom and sides of a 9×13-inch baking pan. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Soften the palm or coconut sugar in a pan over medium heat.
Blend the mung beans, eggs, both sugars, coconut cream, salt, and any leftover oil from the shallots together until smooth.
Let the custard mixture sit for 5 minutes until it becomes less frothy.
5 minutes
Pour the custard mixture into the pan. Place the pan on a rack positioned in the upper third of the oven. Bake at 180°C for 35–45 minutes or until the center is slightly firm and the top is golden brown.
35–45 minutes
Put some of the fried shallots over the top of the custard.