Why It Works
- Utilizing a kabocha squash that weighs as shut to 2 kilos as attainable leaves little room for error in cooking time and ingredient ratios.
- Tempering the eggs and cooking the custard at a gentle low temperature leads to a silky easy dessert.
- Baking the custard-filled pumpkin as an alternative of the extra conventional steaming technique leads to 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 conventional Thai dessert through which a hollowed-out kabocha squash is crammed with 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 leads to a prettier pumpkin for exhibiting off than when steamed—it is the right dramatic centerpiece to your Thanksgiving desk or any festive event.
Whereas sangkaya faktong’s show-stopping presentation would possibly give the impression that it’s difficult to make, my model is definitely comparatively simple to assemble and cook dinner (other than its prolonged hands-off baking time). It is a true “low effort, excessive reward” recipe that’s ultimate for serving to company. Right here’s how one can 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?
Folks have requested me if they’ll 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 suppose kabocha is finest fitted to this dish. It’s sweeter than different squashes (with a stunning chestnut word) however has a denser texture than, say, a sugar pumpkin, which could collapse earlier than the custard units resulting from its thinner, much less dense partitions. Plus, you may’t go fallacious with the placing distinction between kabocha’s deep inexperienced rind and vivid orange flesh that’s showcased as soon as sliced.
The Greatest Pumpkin Dimension for Sangkaya Faktong
Many sangkaya faktong recipes aren’t precisely foolproof—telling you to regulate components and cooking time relying on the dimensions of your pumpkin. Thankfully, grocery shops and farmers markets have scales, and I like to recommend you utilize one to discover a small kabocha that’s about two kilos. In the event you observe 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 widespread in households again within the day. Whereas older generations of Thai cooks are nonetheless much less more likely to cook dinner with an oven (my mother makes use of hers for storage), I, a contemporary Thai-American cook dinner, embrace my oven. I discover that baking sangkaya faktong at a low regular temperature will get higher outcomes.
Critical Eats / Shri Repp
Steaming may cause the pumpkin flesh to get waterlogged and cut up—one of many predominant causes folks suppose 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 leads to 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 threat 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 immediately, however it’s vital 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 right wedge of tender, creamy squash crammed with wealthy custard. This dessert is equally scrumptious heat, at room temperature, and chilled—some folks suppose it tastes finest chilly, so when you’ve got any leftovers, simply get pleasure from them straight out of the fridge.