Thai Pumpkin Coconut Custard Pie (that uses Japanese pumpkin... lol)

[onyx]

I grow Japanese pumpkins in my garden (aka Kabocha), so I was looking for some ways to use them, besides in miso soup & as tempura. One of the cooler recipes that I found was called Sankaya Phak Tong (the Thai name for this recipe).



Recipe taken from: Thai Food Tonight! - But I have tested it & love it. - Oh, and the site has a video on how to prepare it, if you'd like to watch that... I think they got this recipe from Import Foods, though. :/ The one in the video differs slightly to the one they posted on the website. I think it depends on the size of the pumpkin you have.

1 Japanese Pumpkin 2 to 2 1/2 lb

10 c water (for steaming)

5 eggs

1 cup of Coconut Milk

Pinch of Salt

Pinch of Cinnamon

1 Tsp. Vanilla extract -- instead of vanilla extract, you can use 5 drops of pandan paste.


1/3 cup of Coconut Palm Sugar -- if you don't have that (or don't want to buy it) you can substitute with regular sugar or brown sugar.

Cooking Instructions:

Cut off the top of the pumpkin, like you would for halloween, and remove all the seeds and the stringy part of the flesh.

In a mixing bowl crack the eggs, add the coconut milk, salt, cinnamon, pandan paste (or vanilla extract) and palm sugar. Stir until the palm sugar is blended into the mixture.

Pour the egg mixture into the hollowed out pumpkin.

Bring water to a boil in a steamer. Once it begins boiling, place the pumpkin as well as the pumpkin's lid inside the steamer basket. Don’t cover the pumpkin with the lid. Set the pumpkin lid in the steaming basket off to the side so it cooks too.

Now place the basket onto the steamer and cover the basket with the lid.
Steam for about 45 minutes, or until the custard has cooked.

After about 45 minutes have passed, open the steamer and stick a fork or skewer into the custard, to check if it is done. If the fork comes out wet and runny, you need to steam the pumpkin for a little while longer.

When the custard has cooked, remove the basket from the steamer and let the pumpkin cool down.

When you are ready to serve, take a knife and cut a wedge out of the pumpkin, just as if it were a pie. The custard should be firm enough to stand on its own and not be runny.

Serve to your guests. They can eat the whole thing, pumpkin (including skin) as well as the custard.

[pooh]

HI onyx you r home glad to have you .looks very good

[onyx]

TY

finally a place i can talk about gardening & cooking. my kinda place! lol

[Mandy]

Ooh onyx!!! We love Thai food and this sounds like a great recipe. Welcome to the site and keep those great ideas coming!!!!

[gardeningmom]

Could this be made with a baking pumpkin? What is the difference between a Japanese pumpkin and the ones we find here in the markets? This recipe sounds awsome! and so simple. I could see using those little tinypumpkins and making individual ones for each dinner guest - how cute!

[onyx]

Could this be made with a baking pumpkin? What is the difference between a Japanese pumpkin and the ones we find here in the markets? This recipe sounds awsome! and so simple. I could see using those little tinypumpkins and making individual ones for each dinner guest - how cute!

I have never baked with a baking pumpkin (that I can remember), so I don't really know.. I don't really even know what a baking pumpkin is, to be honest (lol).. If it's the kind you get at halloween (the orange kind), then it wouldn't really work very well, because there's not enough pumpkin flesh & you are supposed to eat the skin of the pumpkin. Japanese pumpkins are really easy to cut (well, compared to halloween pumpkins). Japanese pumpkins have very firm, thick flesh & thin skin, they're also a little flatter & have a smaller seed cavity than halloween type of pumpkins. You can also easily cut them when you have a good knife & they're the kind of pumpkin that is used for tempura, if you've eaten that before. If you can show me what you mean, then I can probably be more helpful. lol

As for the baby pumpkin idea, here's some baby Japanese pumpkins, that are used for stuffing & would probably be good for making this recipe: http://www.kitazawaseed.com/seed_291-134.html < I was wanting to grow some of those & try what you just said about the single servings. lol i just didn't have room this year. Maybe next year

But um.. Yup, it's pretty easy to make, and very tasty. You'll want to eat the whole thing by yourself, it's so darn delicious. lol I bet this would be really nice with some pumpkin flavored icecream, too!

[faeriebritches]

I am gonna see if I can convince my hubby to make this for me sometime! I was wondering.. did you start your pumpkins from seeds? If not.. where did you get them? If you have any this year.. I would love to swap with you... planning on doing veggies and herbs next year with my compost from this year and I love unusual veggies...

[onyx]

I am gonna see if I can convince my hubby to make this for me sometime! I was wondering.. did you start your pumpkins from seeds? If not.. where did you get them? If you have any this year.. I would love to swap with you... planning on doing veggies and herbs next year with my compost from this year and I love unusual veggies...

yep, i bought my seeds at evergreenseeds.com. kitazawaseed.com also has some, including an heirloom kabocha, baby sized ones & different colored ones. if i don't have any, then i just go to reasors or an asian store. i have 2 small korean stores where i live (tulsa, oklahoma) & they have these kinda pumpkins in the fall time. i will look & see if i have some seeds of my pumpkins & if i do, you can have them.