Khanom Keng Sai Kem
Prepare:
2 cup sticky rice flour
1 and 2/3 cup sugar
3 cup water
Stuffing:
1 cup mashed mung bean (genus Phaseoias)
1/3 cup minced pork
2 tbsp. minced coriander roots
1 tbsp. pepper
1 and 1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp. salt
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cup vegetable oil to spread on banana leaves
Cooking Instructions:
1. Soak mung bean in the water for 30 minutes.
2. Place a white cloth filter in the steam pot. Put soaked mung bean on it
and steam the mung bean for 20 minutes.
3. Ground the bean finely.
4. Ground coriander roots and pepper altogether.
5. Add vegetable oil in the pan and stir-fry the mixed in number 4 until it
smells aromatic.
6. Next, add pork and cook for 10 minutes. Then, add grounded mung bean,
sugar and salt. Mix well.
7. Mold it to 1 inch ball.
8. In a bowl mix the flour with sugar. Add water little by little as you knead it.
9. Leave the dough for 30 minutes. Then, mold it into 1 inch flat round shape,
put stuff in the middle and mold it to a round ball.
10. Make a cup from banana leave. Dress vegetable oil all over the cup.
Then, place a ball inside it.
11. Steam for 45 minutes and remove from the stove.
We have two kinds of Khanom Keng. One with stuffing, we call it Sai Kem (salted stuffing) and another without stuffing. If you don’t like the stuffing, you can jump to number 8, 10 and
12. Skip all the stuffing instructions.
I like salted stuffing better. It made the sticky texture taste better with salty mung bean. In the early morning when I was at home, my mom usually woke me up to go offer this dessert to the monks. We prepare about 9 pieces every time. If that day 5 monks came, the rest of them would go into my stomach.
Here is what my mom always told me to do when we offer food to the monks:
1. I shouldn’t have a messy face in the morning and dress properly. It would cause an ugly face in the next life. Since I was never ready when they went out to offer food, this rule is only for me I guess.
2. Take off your shoes and sit down before you offer the food.
3. Move the food to your forehead and make a wish. (Usually, we asked for forgiveness from people if our bad actions ever caused them suffers and we prayed that the food would go to our pass away grandparents through the monks.)
4. Don’t let any part of your hand touch their bowl when you drop the food into it. Girls can’t touch their clothes.
5. When you finish, sit down still and wait for blessing.