Why It Works
- Utilizing a kabocha squash that weighs as shut to 2 kilos as potential leaves little room for error in cooking time and ingredient ratios.
- Tempering the eggs and cooking the custard at a gentle low temperature ends in a silky easy dessert.
- Baking the custard-filled pumpkin as a substitute of the extra conventional steaming technique ends in a extra visually pleasing dessert with a extra concentrated squash taste.
The one time you’ll discover me carving a pumpkin is to make sangkaya faktong, a standard Thai dessert through which a hollowed-out kabocha squash is full of a creamy pandan-scented coconut milk custard. Whereas we name it a squash in North America, kabocha in Japanese means pumpkin, which is translated to faktong in Thai. On this recipe, the entire gourd is cooked till tender and sliced into wedges like a pie. It’s historically steamed, however I discover that baking it at a gentle low temperature is simpler, tastes higher, and ends in a prettier pumpkin for exhibiting off than when steamed—it is the proper dramatic centerpiece to your Thanksgiving desk or any festive event.
Whereas sangkaya faktong’s show-stopping presentation may give the impression that it’s difficult to make, my model is definitely comparatively simple to assemble and prepare dinner (apart from its prolonged hands-off baking time). It is a true “low effort, excessive reward” recipe that’s ultimate for serving to visitors. Right here’s assure a silky set custard encased in a young, completely baked pumpkin each time.
Critical Eats / Shri Repp
Deciding on the Proper Pumpkin for Sangkaya Faktong
Can You Substitute Kabocha for One other Squash?
Individuals have requested me if they will make sangkaya faktong with a special winter squash than a kabocha. I’ve been across the pumpkin patch sufficient occasions in my life and actually do assume kabocha is greatest suited to this dish. It’s sweeter than different squashes (with a stunning chestnut notice) however has a denser texture than, say, a sugar pumpkin, which could crumble earlier than the custard units as a result of its thinner, much less dense partitions. Plus, you’ll be able to’t go mistaken with the placing distinction between kabocha’s deep inexperienced rind and vivid orange flesh that’s showcased as soon as sliced.
The Finest Pumpkin Dimension for Sangkaya Faktong
Many sangkaya faktong recipes aren’t precisely foolproof—telling you to regulate substances and cooking time relying on the dimensions of your pumpkin. Fortuitously, grocery shops and farmers markets have scales, and I like to recommend you employ one to discover a small kabocha that’s about two kilos. For those who comply with my directions under with a roughly two-pound kabocha, you’ll get a wonderfully cooked and seasoned pumpkin and custard filling with little room for error.
Baking vs. Steaming Sangkaya Faktong
Conventional sangkaya faktong recipes, together with recipes for a lot of different Thai desserts like kanom tuay and kanom chan, name for steaming the custard-filled pumpkin because the cooking technique as a result of ovens weren’t frequent in households again within the day. Whereas older generations of Thai cooks are nonetheless much less prone to prepare dinner with an oven (my mother makes use of hers for storage), I, a contemporary Thai-American prepare dinner, embrace my oven. I discover that baking sangkaya faktong at a low regular temperature will get higher outcomes.
Critical Eats / Shri Repp
Steaming could cause the pumpkin flesh to get waterlogged and cut up—one of many predominant causes individuals assume this dish is a ache to make. Steaming on the stovetop additionally requires fixed monitoring and extra care to maintain a gentle warmth degree. Whereas baking takes longer, it’s extra hands-off and ends in caramelized and buttery pumpkin flesh that is great when eaten with the marginally candy and creamy custard. Baking the custard inside a pumpkin additionally insulates it behind the kabocha’s thick, moist partitions, so there’s minimal danger of overcooking the custard. Whether or not steamed or baked, the custard is protected against drastic temperature adjustments contained in the pumpkin.
As soon as the pumpkin is baked, you’ll be tempted to tuck into it instantly, but it surely’s necessary to attend at the least half-hour earlier than slicing into this masterpiece so the custard has time to chill and set correctly. This ensures the proper wedge of tender, creamy squash full of wealthy custard. This dessert is equally scrumptious heat, at room temperature, and chilled—some individuals assume it tastes greatest chilly, so when you’ve got any leftovers, simply get pleasure from them straight out of the fridge.
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