Pumpkins are delightful, even more so with matchafeatured
Pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice latte, pumpkin soup. Pumpkin tastes amazing no matter what format you eat it in. Hell, I even love carving it for Halloween. They always turn out deformed, but hey, its Halloween, deformed is good! I know it’s not Halloween, but I strongly believe Pumpkins should be enjoyed year round. Its delicate sweetness, soft texture and gorgeous green and orange colouring, what’s not to love?
Growing up in Canada, I always thought pumpkins were an American/Canadian thing. Every time October nears, I see it everywhere; the mall, the school, on TV, magazines, and even on the neighbour’s porch. The media was obsessed with it, whereas the only time we ate it was when my mom makes Somlaw Kor Ko, a Cambodian vegetarian stew which she hardly makes since she was a meat eater like me. So it was surprising when I went to a Cambodian New Year party and saw a whole cooked pumpkin just standing in the middle of this long table surrounded by desserts. I scoffed, looked at my mom and said, “See, someone’s lazier than me, tsk, cooking a whole pumpkin, that’s not dessert!” My mom just laughed at me, and said, “You’ll see.” And surely, I did. After all the ceremonies were over, and it was time for feasting, I ran walked over to the dessert table. Don’t judge, sometimes I enjoy my sweets first, and then my meal, and then some more desserts. As I got closer, I noticed someone was slicing the pumpkin like a cake. As it turns out, it was a pumpkin stuffed with what seems to be custard. I was shocked. My mom later explained that she never thought to make it because in Cambodia, you only make it for special occasions, it’s not really an everyday dessert.
Lately, I’ve grown obsessed with matcha; matcha chocolate, matcha cake, matcha latte. While eating my matcha Kit Kat bar, I watched my sister in law make that same pumpkin custard dessert, and then it hits me, why not make the Cambodian Pumpkin Custard dessert with matcha? They’re both green and delicious! Why not! So here it is, my recipe for Pumpkin with Green Tea Custard! No pumpkins were deformed or destroyed during my experimentation, but I think for this Halloween, I’m gonna carve some less deformed Jack-O-Lanterns and stuff it with some matcha custard. Can’t wait!
Pumpkin with Green Tea Custard (Sang Khaya Lapov)
1 small pumpkin (kabocha, acorn, or butternut)
1 tablespoon of matcha powder
4 eggs
3/4 cups unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
A pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Using a sharp knife, carve the top off the pumpkin like you would when making a Jack-O-Lantern, and remove seeds/fibres in the center. Keep the pumpkin top. Rinse off pumpkin and leave to dry.
In a sauce pan on medium low heat, heat half of the coconut milk. Just before it comes to a rolling boil, remove from heat. Pour the heated coconut milk into a mixing bowl. Add the remaining half of the coconut milk and whisk. Add green tea powder, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and mix thoroughly. Crack in the eggs. Whisk until just well mixed. Do your best to avoid creating air bubbles.
Pour mixture into pumpkin. Don’t fill all the way to the top, leave some room for the custard to rise. Place the pumpkin into a steamer along with the carved top. Steam for 30-45 minutes on medium low heat.
Leave to cool completely in the refrigerator for at least an hour, to allow the custard to set in. Serve and slice like a cake. Enjoy!
TIPS
Best enjoyed cold, so prepare the day before, or in the morning and store in the fridge.
Tastes extra amazing with simple syrup dripped onto it or on the side for dipping.
