The literal translation to the Thai name of this snack is quail’s eggs snacks. Made from sweet potato and coconut milk then deep-fried. I have made this a few times for my friends and they go crazy for it. The crispy exterior with the gooey goodness interior is incredibly addictive.
Texture in Asian Cuisines
Texture plays a very important role in Asian cuisines. There is a common denominator in Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Thai snack and that is the chewy texture.
As bizarre as it sounds, the Asian culture welcomes the ‘bite’ (aka chewiness) of an ingredient. We can find these similarities scattered across East Asia. This is evident from Japanese craze over pounded steamed rice, mochi (もち) to Korean obsession with their similar rendition tteok (떡).
Then, there is a global sensation that took the Western hemisphere by the storm. The cold, sweet, milky beverage with a hint of tea which comes with the dark ‘bubbles’ that sit at the bottom of the cup or otherwise also known as bubble tea. The bubbles are made from tapioca starch, which provides an unrivalled chewy texture that you’d never expect from a drink.
What’s wonderful with this recipe is that Kanom Kai Nok Krataa doesn’t stop at chewy, it is also very crunchy. There is a soft and gooey inside with a crunchy exterior. It tastes of a smooth mellow sweet potato complemented by the creamy coconut milk will only leave you wanting for more.
Sweet Potato as an Ingredient
Personally, sweet potato is one of those produces that is beautiful on its own. However, as an ingredient, I find that it’s neither here nor there. They’re not as nice made into fries/chips due to its high sugar content. As mash, they can sometimes be a bit too stringy.
Upon perusing through Asian recipes, I feel like there are some exciting recipes to be made with this fella. So I shall try and convince you with this ultimate street food snack.
Thai Sweet Potato Snacks (Khanom Kai Nok Krata)
Ingredients
- 250 g sweet potato
- 100 g tapioca flour
- 15 g plain flour
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 65 g sugar
- 65 g coconut milk
- 500 mL vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Steam the sweet potato of your choice until it's cooked through, then leave to cool down.
- Mash the sweet potatoes up then add tapioca flour, plain flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
- Mix well. The mixture will seem slightly dry at this stage but don't worry.
- Slowly add the coconut milk whilst mixing. You should be able to start forming it into a dough.
- Cover and rest the dough for about 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oil to about 160°C.
- Then form into little bite-size balls, this recipes makes about 40 balls.
- Fry the balls in the pan while constantly stirring them around. When the exterior starts to cook you try to press and submerge the balls in the oil so they cook evenly. This should take about 7 minutes to cook through.
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