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ไอติมกะทิ (Itim kathi, Thai coconut ice cream)
Dairy-free coconut ice cream with sticky rice, roasted peanuts and palm seeds
Itim kathi is the ice cream of Bangkok's pushcarts: a vendor lifts the lid of an insulated drum, scrapes up a scoop of snow-white coconut ice cream and piles it into a small cup over sticky rice, then adds whatever the customer points at, from roasted peanuts and sweet corn to chewy palm seeds. It is sold all afternoon in the hot months, outside schools and temples and in markets. Some vendors tuck the scoop into a soft bread roll; serve it in cups as here and it stays gluten free. It is naturally egg-free and dairy-free. Coconut milk carries the fat that makes it creamy, and a little cornflour cooked into it binds the water so crystals stay fine and the texture stays smooth without any custard, while a pinch of salt sharpens the coconut. Chef's tip: use full-fat coconut milk with no added water; the common mistake is using a light one, which freezes hard and icy.
- Total time
- 300 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the ice cream
- 3 ¼ cups full-fat coconut milk2 tins
- 4 ½ oz caster sugar
- ⅔ oz cornflour
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 pandan leaves (optional)knotted
For the sticky rice
- 5 ½ oz glutinous ricesoaked for at least 3 hours
- ¼ cup coconut milk
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 pinch salt
To serve
- 2 ⅛ oz roasted peanutsroughly chopped
- 4 oz palm seeds in syrup (optional)drained, sliced
- 2 ⅞ oz sweet corn kernels (optional)cooked
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Whisk ⅔ oz cornflour with 100 ml of the ½ cup full-fat coconut milk in a small bowl until smooth.
1 minStep 2: Warm the rest of the 3 cups full-fat coconut milk with 4 ½ oz caster sugar, ½ tsp salt and 2 pandan leaves in a pan over a medium heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and it starts to steam (do not boil hard, or the coconut can split).
5 minStep 3: Whisk in the slurry and stir over a medium-low heat for 3–4 minutes, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Take off the heat and lift out the pandan.
4 minStep 4: Cool, cover the surface with cling film and chill for at least 4 hours, until cold right through.
240 minStep 5: Churn in an ice-cream machine for 20–25 minutes, until thick and creamy. Without a machine, freeze it in a shallow tin and whisk the frozen edges into the centre every 45 minutes, 3–4 times, until evenly thick, then freeze until firm but scoopable.
25 minStep 6: Meanwhile, drain 5 ½ oz glutinous rice and steam it in a muslin-lined steamer over a high heat for 20–25 minutes, until each grain is translucent and chewy all through.
25 minStep 7: Warm ¼ cup coconut milk with 1 tbsp sugar and 1 pinch salt, stir it into the hot rice and leave covered for 10 minutes to soak in.
10 minStep 8: Put a spoonful of sticky rice in each cup, top with a scoop of ice cream and finish with 2 ⅛ oz roasted peanuts, 4 oz palm seeds in syrup and 2 ⅞ oz sweet corn kernels.
3 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 400 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
- Fat
- 27 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does ไอติมกะทิ (Itim kathi, Thai coconut ice cream) take?
- About 300 minutes in total: 270 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of full-fat coconut milk?
- Single cream, same amount (not dairy free).
- What can I use instead of caster sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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