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Khanom Tom Recipe (Thai Coconut Balls Dessert)

Thai khanom tom dessert in white, blue, and green hues, rolled in shredded coconut and served in a blue and white dish.
Enjoy this khanom tom recipe, a sweet and traditional Thai coconut balls dessert that’s vegan and fun to make for any gathering!
Praew
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Cuisine Thai
Course Dessert
Serving Size 40

Ingredients

FOR THE COCONUT FILLING

  • 2 1/2 cups grated coconut meat
  • 1 1/4 cup palm sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup coconut water

FOR WHITE COLOR

  • 3/4 cup glutinous rice flour
  • 1/3 cup coconut water

FOR GREEN COLOR

  • 1/2 cup water
  • 5 pandan leaves
  • 3/4 cup glutinous rice flour
  • 1/3 cup coconut milk

FOR PURPLE COLOR

  • 1/2 cup water
  • 5 dried butterfly pea flowers
  • 1/2 lime
  • 3/4 cup glutinous rice flour
  • 1/3 cup coconut milk

TOPPING

  • 1 cup grated coconut meat
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

PREPARE THE COCONUT FILLING

  • Finely shred the coconut flesh.
  • Place a wok or skillet over medium heat and combine coconut water, palm sugar, and salt. Cook until the mixture begins to bubble and thicken.
  • Stir in the shredded coconut and continue to cook. Once bubbles surface, prolong the cooking until the mixture becomes sticky in texture.
  • Add shredded coconut.
  • Continue to cook and stir the mixture until the liquid is fully absorbed, ensuring it does not dry out completely.
  • Once done, transfer the mixture to a baking dish and allow it to cool down.

PREPARE THE DOUGH

  • Prepare the white dough by combining glutinous rice flour and coconut milk in a large mixing bowl, kneading the mixture until a dough forms.
  • For the green dough, blend pandan leaves with water and strain the mixture through a sieve cloth to remove impurities and extract the pandan juice. In a mixing bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the pandan extract, coconut milk, and glutinous rice flour, kneading them together to form a dough.
  • Set a pot on medium heat and add water along with butterfly pea flowers. The water will turn blue; once it does, introduce fresh lime juice until the liquid changes to purple. In a mixing bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of this purple liquid, coconut milk, and glutinous rice flour, kneading them together to form a dough.

SHAPE THE COCONUT BALLS

  • Shape the filling into small balls.
  • Pinch off a piece of dough and form it into a ball, then flatten it out.
  • Place the ball-shaped filling at the center of the flattened dough.
  • Fold the dough around the ball, sealing it.

BOIL THE COCONUT BALLS

  • Fill a pot or a wok with water and place it over high heat.
  • Gently lower the coconut balls into the boiling water. Once they float to the surface, cook for 5 more minutes.

TOP WITH SHREDDED COCONUT

  • Mix salt with shredded coconut to prepare the filling.
  • Spread some of the coconut filling on a tray. As soon as the coconut balls finish cooking, place them over the filling, making sure each ball is topped with the shredded coconut.

Notes

  • Use the nutrition card in this recipe as a guideline.
  • This recipe is gluten-free and vegan.
  • Use more or less pandan extract, or more or less butterfly pea flowers & lime juice to alter the green and purple color.
Calories: 29kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 0.1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.03g | Sodium: 76mg | Potassium: 22mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 0.4IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 0.1mg
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