Thai Ruam Mit Dessert Recipe
Thai ruam mit dessert recipe is the ultimate refreshing treat, perfect for hot summer days. It’s like a bowl of happiness, with colorful starchy noodles and tapioca pearls drenched in creamy coconut milk. It’s simple, deliciously sweet, and way easier than it looks!
Don’t stop at just one – tub tim krob, another Thai coconut dessert with tapioca, is the perfect follow-up.
What is ruam mit
Thai ruam mit is a traditional Thai dessert that combines a variety of ingredients like starchy noodles, tapioca pearls, and fruits in a sweet coconut milk syrup, often served with crushed ice.
The translation for ruam mit is ‘gather friends’, where ‘ruam’ means to gather and ‘mit’ means friends. This name describes the traditional dessert as many ingredients gathered in one dish.
I believe it symbolizes a gathering of friends in a shared culinary experience.
Thai dessert with coconut milk
This Thai dessert with coconut milk is one of my all-time favorites!
It’s all about mixing up your favorite ingredients and throwing in whatever you fancy. There’s no strict recipe for it, so it’s the perfect dessert to whip up with the kids.
Sweet potato chunks, red beans, corn, lotus roots, gelatin, tapioca balls, starchy noodles, in all colors and sizes you can think of!
It’s like several Thai desserts in one bowl, often bringing together Thai red rubies (tapioca-coated water chestnuts), the crunch of krong krang, and the natural sweetness of jackfruit.
In Thailand, no two street vendors serve it the same way, but they all agree on one thing: it’s gotta have that crushed ice.
Spot this sweet, cheap dessert at a street food market or Thai restaurant? Absolutely a MUST-TRY.
Why try this recipe
- You can get creative: There’s no set recipe, meaning you can experiment with your favorite ingredients.
- Easy and accessible: The ingredients can all be found at Asian grocery stores, and this dessert recipe is totally doable for every home cook!
- Perfect year-round: This dessert is ideal for a hot summer day with crushed ice, or you can savor it as a comforting winter treat, it’s always satisfying.
- It’s traditional: This ruam mit recipe is traditional and authentic.
Can’t get enough? Make sure to stop by my collection of Thai dessert recipes!
Ingredients
Ingredients can be sourced at Asian grocery stores and Asian markets.
The exact measurements are in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Sugar syrup
- Pandan – Pandan leaves add aroma to many Southeast Asian dishes. If you can’t find fresh pandan, you can use store-bought pandan extract.
- Water
- White sugar
Coconut milk
- Coconut milk – Use full-fat coconut milk for a rich, creamy base.
- Salt
Rubies
- Water chestnuts – Water chestnuts are transformed into ‘rubies’ for this dessert, bringing a crunch and mild sweetness. They are coated in tapioca starch and tinted with food coloring of your choice (I used red, blue, and purple).
- Food coloring
- Water
- Tapioca starch – Tapioca starch is used to give the rubies a glistening coat and contributes to the signature chewiness. It’s a gluten-free flower essential in many traditional Thai desserts like lod chong.
Tapioca starchy noodles
- Tapioca starch
- Boiling water
- Food coloring
Toppings
- Crushed ice (optional)
- Jackfruit (optional)
- Corn (optional)
Cooking instructions
Sugar syrup
Combine water, white sugar, and pandan leaves in a saucepan. Set it over low heat to dissolve the sugar. Watch for the first signs of a simmer (tiny bubbles breaking the surface) then pull the pan off the heat.
Coconut milk
Gently warm coconut milk in a saucepan over low heat and whisk in salt until fully dissolved. Remove from heat.
Water chestnut rubies
1. Prep: Pour water into three separate bowls, one for each color.
2. Color: Add a few drops of food coloring to each bowl.
3. Soak: Submerge the water chestnuts in the colored waters for 20 minutes to soak up the colors. After 20 min, use a colander to discard any extra liquid from the chestnuts.
4. Coat: Divide tapioca starch over the tree bowls and toss with the colored chestnuts until they’re well-coated.
5. Remove excess starch: Remove excess starch with a colander.
6. Cook: Boil a pot of water and cook each color batch of chestnuts until they float to the surface. Cook for another 2 minutes, then fish them out.
7. Sweeten: Submerge the glistening rubies in the sugar syrup.
Tapioca starchy noodles
1. Make dough: Bring water to a boil. Combine with tapioca starch in a large mixing bowl and mix using a spoon. The mixture will become semi-translucent. Knead by hand once cool, adding your choice of food coloring.
2. Roll: Dust a baking tray with tapioca starch. Lay on the colored dough, sprinkle it with more tapioca starch. Roll the colored dough to your desired thickness.
3. Cut: Use a sharp knife to slice the dough into noodles. Keep them dusted with starch to avoid sticking.
4. Boil: Plunge the noodles into boiling water. They’ll need about 2–3 minutes, depending on their size. When they’re tender and see-through, they’re ready.
5. Sweeten: Transfer your noodles to the sugar syrup.
Serve
1. Add a generous spoonful of the sugar syrup at the bottom of a serving bowl.
2. Add a colorful array of noodles and rubies.
3. Ladle in a generous amount of coconut milk.
4. Pile on a mound of crushed ice.
5. Top it off with jackfruit pieces and sweet corn kernels.
Kitchen tools
- Saucepan for boiling the starchy noodles, tapioca pearls, and any other ingredients like sweet potatoes or red beans.
- Ice shaver or blender for making crushed ice to top the dessert.
- Colander to drain the boiled ingredients.
- Ladle for serving.
- Mixing bowls
- Dough roll
How to serve
- Chill or serve: After preparing, you can choose to let the dessert chill in the fridge before serving or serve immediately.
- Assemble: Scoop a generous amount of the mixed ingredients into serving bowls.
- Pour over coconut milk: Drizzle with sweetened coconut milk and top with crushed ice.
- Garnish: Sprinkle with sesame seeds and add a few slices of jackfruit or young coconut meat.
How to store
Allow the dessert to cool to room temperature and transfer it to an airtight container. Store in the fridge and consume within 1–2 days for optimal taste and texture.
Try to store the coconut milk and the other ingredients separately. Combine just before serving.
Frequently asked questions
Is ruam mit gluten-free?
Most traditional ruam mit ingredients are naturally gluten-free, but always check the labels, especially for noodles and gelatin products.
I can’t find jackfruit, is there a substitute?
If you can’t find jackfruit, you can get creative with other fruits like mango, lychee, or others.
Is ruam mit vegan?
Ruam mit is suatable for vegetarians and vegan if you ensure that the ingredients like gelatin substitutes are vegan-friendly.
Is this a sweet dessert?
Ruam mit is moderately sweet. You can adjust the amount of sugar to your taste.
Authentic Thai dessert recipes
- Kanom krok recipe (Thai coconut pancakes)
- Bua loy dessert (rice balls in coconut milk)
- Thai luk chup recipe (mung bean dessert)
- Khanom tom recipe (Thai coconut balls)
- Khanom chan recipe (Thai layer cake)
- Thai coconut custard
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Thai Ruam Mit Dessert Recipe
Ingredients
SUGAR SYRUP
- 13.5 fluid ounces water
- 10.5 ounces white sugar
- 3 pandan leaves
COCONUT MILK
- 10.1 fluid ounces coconut milk
- 1.5 teaspoon salt
WATER CHESTNUT RUBIES
- 10.5 ounces water chestnuts
- food coloring one for each color
- 5 fluid ounces water
- 7 ounces tapioca starch
TAPIOCA STARCHY NOODLES
- 3.5 ounces tapioca starch
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- food coloring
TOPPINGS
- jackfruit
- corn
- crushed ice
Instructions
SUGAR SYRUP
- Combine water, white sugar, and pandan leaves in a saucepan. Set it over low heat to dissolve the sugar. Watch for the first signs of a simmer (tiny bubbles breaking the surface) then pull the pan off the heat.
COCONUT MILK
- Gently warm coconut milk in a saucepan over low heat and whisk in salt until fully dissolved. Remove from heat.
WATER CHESTNUT RUBIES
- Pour water into three separate bowls, one for each color.
- Add a few drops of food coloring to each bowl.
- Submerge the water chestnuts in the colored waters for 20 minutes to soak up the colors. After 20 min, use a colander to discard any extra liquid from the chestnuts.
- Divide tapioca starch over the tree bowls and toss with the colored chestnuts until they’re well-coated.
- Remove excess starch with a colander.
- Boil a pot of water and cook each color batch of chestnuts until they float to the surface. Cook for another 2 minutes, then fish them out.
- Submerge the glistening rubies in the sugar syrup.
TAPIOCA STARCHY NOODLES
- Bring water to a boil. Combine with tapioca starch in a large mixing bowl and mix using a spoon. The mixture will become semi-translucent. Knead by hand once cool, adding your choice of food coloring.
- Dust a baking tray with tapioca starch. Lay on the colored dough, sprinkle it with more tapioca starch. Roll the colored dough to your desired thickness.
- Use a sharp knife to slice the dough into noodles. Keep them dusted with starch to avoid sticking.
- Plunge the noodles into boiling water. They’ll need about 2–3 minutes, depending on their size. When they’re tender and see-through, they’re ready.
- Transfer your noodles to the sugar syrup.
SERVE
- Add a generous spoonful of the sugar syrup at the bottom of a serving bowl.
- Add a colorful array of noodles and rubies.
- Ladle in a generous amount of coconut milk.
- Pile on a mound of crushed ice.
- Top it off with jackfruit pieces and sweet corn kernels.
This recipe is fantastic too. well done and simple description. Thank you!
Thank you, Chia!