Thai Custard with Mung Beans: Khanom Mo Kaeng Thua (ขนมหม้อแกงถั่ว)
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert, Snack, Vegetarian, Gluten-Free
Cuisine: Thai
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: Makes one 9x13 pan
 
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups (300 g) cooked hulled mung beans (see note #1)
  • 1 cup (236 g) coconut or palm sugar
  • 4 large eggs (whole) plus 3 egg yolks (or 5 whole duck eggs)
  • ⅔ cup (144 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 cup coconut cream (the “head” of coconut milk as explained here)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 large shallot, peeled and thinly sliced
  • ⅓ cup vegetable oil
Instructions
  1. Put the shallot slices and the oil into a small frying pan and heat up both gently on medium-low heat. Stir the shallot slices around, breaking them up as you go, until they’re golden brown and crispy. (Do not crank up the heat in an attempt to speed up the process; you’re just going to burn the shallot pieces before they become crispy.) Transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside. Reserve the remaining oil.
  2. Use some of the oil to grease the bottom and sides of a 9×13-inch baking dish. If there’s still any oil left, reserve it.
  3. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
  4. Soften the palm or coconut sugar as instructed here.
  5. In a blender or food processor, blend together the cooked mung beans, eggs, sugars, salt, and any leftover shallot oil, until smooth.
  6. Let the custard mixture rest for 5 minutes until it becomes less frothy.
  7. Pour the custard mixture into the prepared pan; place the pan on a rack position in the upper third of the oven. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the center is slightly firm and the top is golden brown (see note #2).
  8. Sprinkle the fried shallots over the top of the custard.
Notes
1. Take about ¾ to 1 cup of uncooked hulled mung beans and boil them in water as you do pasta until they’re soft. When you squeeze the grains between your thumb and forefinger, they should easily turn into a paste. Drain them well and measure out 1½ cups to use in the recipe. 2. Thai food authority, Chef McDang, bakes his Khanom Mo Kaeng in a water bath (bain marie) as explained in his book, The Principles of Thai Cookery. The water bath is key in creating an environment in which the custard is cooked evenly and at a steady temperature thereby preventing a crust from forming around the edges and hardening before the interior is fully cooked. This is the standard custard protocol and you can certainly do that. However, I have found that baking Khanom Mo Kaeng the way it is commercially done in Thailand, i.e. without a bain marie, results in a custard with firmer texture and darker exterior which I like. Plus, I’m lazy. You do what works better for you.
Recipe by SheSimmers at https://shesimmers.com/2011/01/thai-custard-khanom-mo-gaeng.html