Soft chunks of banana gently simmered in sweetened, lightly salted coconut milk until they turn silky and tender. A homely Thai dessert whose name, 'ordained bananas,' nods to the white robes of a Buddhist nun.
Kluai buat chi — 'bananas ordaining as nuns' — is a homely Thai dessert of banana simmered in sweetened, salted coconut milk until tender. The poetic name imagines the pale banana robed in white coconut, like a nun's habit.
The bananas turn meltingly soft, almost custardy, soaking up coconut milk that's sweet with a deliberate edge of salt. Warm and soothing, it tastes like a hug, the salt keeping the sweetness from ever cloying.
Gentle simmering breaks down the banana's starch and pectin so it softens without disintegrating, while a deliberate pinch of salt heightens perceived sweetness and rounds out the coconut milk's richness.
Variations
With taro or pumpkin instead of banana, pandan-scented, topped with toasted sesame, served cold over ice
On the Palate
Where Kluai Buat Chi sits in the Thai flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
8 steps · 10 min
- 13 min
Peel firm-ripe bananas and cut into bite-size chunks.
- 24 min
Bring thin coconut milk to a gentle simmer in a pot.
- 31 min
Add sugar and a pinch of salt, stirring until dissolved.
Watch outAdd a real pinch of salt with the sugar — it's not to taste salty but to make the coconut taste sweeter and rounder.
- 41 min
Slide in the banana chunks and simmer gently.
- 54 min
Cook until the bananas soften and turn slightly translucent.
Watch outStop the moment the banana edges turn slightly see-through and yield to a spoon — a minute more and they slump into mush.
- 62 min
Pour in thick coconut cream and warm through without boiling hard.
Watch outPour in the thick cream and just warm it through — let it boil hard and the coconut breaks into grainy oil.
- 71 min
Taste and adjust the sweet-salty balance.
- 81 min
Serve warm or chilled in small bowls.
