AI-generated image
Kluay chuam (Thai bananas in palm-sugar syrup)
Nam wa bananas simmered until translucent, with salty coconut cream
Kluay chuam is a market dessert of central Thailand, cooked in big brass pans and sold by the bag year round, and it is a common sweet to offer monks at merit-making. Small, starchy nam wa bananas are simmered slowly in palm-sugar syrup until they turn translucent and amber, soft and chewy rather than mushy, then served with thick, salty coconut cream poured over. The flavour is deep caramel and banana, cut by the salt. Serve at room temperature in small bowls. Being egg-free by nature, it relies on the long simmer in syrup firms the bananas and a little rice flour thickens the coconut topping. Chef's tip: keep the syrup at the gentlest simmer and don't stir; the common mistake is a fast boil and a spoon, which break the bananas before they have time to turn glassy.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the bananas
- 6 nam wa or other small firm bananasjust ripe, peeled and halved lengthways
- 5 ½ oz sugar
- 3 ½ oz palm sugarchopped
- 1 ¾ cups water
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 pandan leaves (optional)knotted
For the salty coconut cream
- ¾ cup coconut cream
- 1 tsp rice flour
- ½ tsp salt
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (2)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Put 5 ½ oz sugar, 3 ½ oz palm sugar, 1 ¾ cups water, ¼ tsp salt and 2 pandan leaves in a wide pan and bring to the boil over a medium heat, stirring until the sugars dissolve.
5 minStep 2: Lay 6 nam wa or other small firm bananas in the syrup in a single layer. Bring back to a bare simmer and turn the heat to low.
3 minStep 3: Simmer without stirring for 40–45 minutes, turning the pieces gently once with a spatula, until they are translucent and amber and the syrup is thick and sticky.
42 minStep 4: Take off the heat and leave the bananas to cool in the syrup; they firm up as they cool.
20 minStep 5: Whisk ¾ cup coconut cream with 1 tsp rice flour and ½ tsp salt in a small pan and stir over a low heat for 2–3 minutes, until it thickens slightly and coats a spoon. Don't let it boil.
3 minStep 6: Serve the bananas with a little syrup, with the salty coconut cream poured over.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbs
- 82 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kluay chuam (Thai bananas in palm-sugar syrup) take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 50 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 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.
- What can I use instead of nam wa or other small firm bananas?
- Mango, same weight (in smoothies and shakes).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Kartoshka cakeCocoa and cake crumb truffles
Soviet cafés and school canteens sold these knobbly brown 'potatoes' for a few kopecks, and they began as a thrifty way to use up sponge and biscuit trimmings at the bakery. Crumbs are bound with butter and sweetened condensed milk, flavoured with cocoa and vanilla, shaped into little potatoes, rolled in cocoa and finished with two dabs of pale butter cream for the sprouts. They are fudgy and dense like a brownie truffle, need no oven, and children love making them. Traditional bakers added a spoonful of rum, an optional extra for adult batches only; this version is alcohol-free with vanilla. The usual slip is coarse crumbs, which make the potatoes crack, so blitz them as fine as sand. Chef's tip: chill the shaped potatoes for at least 20 minutes so they hold their shape and slice cleanly.
Russian
Undu walaluFried urad dal rings in treacle
Walalu means bangles, and these dark, sticky rings of fried urad dal soaked in kithul treacle are a sweet that Sinhala families bring out for Avurudu and for special almsgivings, often made in large batches by an aunt known for her steady hand. A thick, fluffy paste of ground black gram is piped into loops and fried until crisp, then plunged straight into warm treacle, so the rings stay crunchy on the outside while drinking up the syrup. They taste a little like a darker, smokier jalebi, with a toffee finish from the palm treacle. Watery batter is what ruins them; it spreads into flat blobs, so grind the soaked dal with as little water as possible and beat it until light. This recipe uses no asafoetida, so it is naturally gluten free. Chef's tip: pipe the rings onto small squares of baking paper and lower them into the oil paper and all; the paper peels away in seconds.
Sri Lankan
Khao kluk kapiShrimp paste rice
Everything on this central Thai plate is arranged in little heaps around a mound of rice tossed with garlic and fermented shrimp paste: sticky caramelised pork (moo wan), threads of sour green mango, shallots, chillies, sliced long beans, crisp dried shrimp and ribbons of thin omelette. You mix a bit of each into every spoonful, so salty, sweet, sour and hot arrive together. It's a favourite at Bangkok's curry-and-rice shops and a clever way to use up yesterday's rice at home; lime wedges and cucumber cool it down. Chef's tip: use day-old jasmine rice straight from the fridge, because freshly cooked rice clumps and smears the shrimp paste instead of coating each grain.