Kluay Buat Chi (Bananas in Coconut Milk)
Ripe bananas simmered in salted, sweetened coconut milk with pandan: a warm, simple Thai dessert ready in twenty minutes.
- Region
- Central Thailand
- Condiments
- Palm Sugar
- Vegetables
- Pandan Leaf
- Fruits
- Coconut, Banana
Ingredients
- 6 small ripe bananas (kluay nam wa, or 3 large ripe but firm bananas)
- 400 ml coconut milk
- 150 ml water
- 60–80 g palm sugar, chopped
- ¾ tsp salt
- 2 pandan leaves, tied in a knot
- Topping: 100 ml coconut cream with a pinch of salt (optional)
- Topping: 1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds (optional)
Instructions
Kluay buat chi is one of the first desserts Thai children learn to love, and one of the easiest to make at home. The name means bananas ordained as nuns, because the pale fruit sits in white coconut milk like the white robes of Buddhist nuns (mae chi).
The secret is salt. A good kluay buat chi is sweet but clearly salty too, which makes the coconut taste richer and stops the dessert from being cloying. Thai cooks use kluay nam wa, a small, slightly starchy banana that holds its shape; ordinary bananas work if they are ripe but still firm.
Method
- Peel the bananas. Cut small bananas in half lengthways and then in half across; cut large bananas into 4 cm pieces, then halve them lengthways.
- Put the coconut milk, water and pandan leaves in a saucepan and bring slowly to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. Do not let it boil hard or the coconut milk will split.
- Add the palm sugar and salt and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add the bananas and simmer gently for 5–8 minutes, until they are soft and just turning translucent at the edges but still hold their shape.
- Taste the coconut milk: it should be sweet with a definite salty edge. Adjust with a little more sugar or salt. Remove the pandan.
- If using the topping, warm the coconut cream with the pinch of salt until just hot. Serve the bananas in small bowls with plenty of the coconut milk, a spoonful of salted cream and a few sesame seeds. Eat warm or at room temperature.
Cook’s tips
- Bananas that are too ripe fall apart; slightly underripe ones stay firm but taste starchy. Aim for yellow with a few brown freckles.
- Do not add the bananas until the coconut milk is hot, or they sit too long in the pan and go mushy.
Aroy Mak Mak
Aroy Mak Mak is a small team writing about the food of Thailand and its neighbours: recipes you can cook at home, guides to the ingredients behind them, and places worth travelling for. The name means "very delicious" in Thai. Every recipe on the site lists its ingredients, timings and method in full, explains the techniques that matter, and suggests substitutes for ingredients that are hard to find outside Thailand. The guides to regions, condiments, vegetables and fruits explain what things are, how they are used and how to buy and store them. Place pages are researched from current sources, including the latest Michelin Guide Thailand, official websites and maps, and give addresses, opening hours and what to order. Where a detail could not be confirmed, it is left out rather than guessed.