Thai Pumpkin in Coconut Milk | Fakthong Gang Buad | ฟักทองแกงบวด

This quick and easy Thai pumpkin in coconut milk is the perfect sweet and creamy ending to any meal or snack, no matter the season. Made with just a few simple ingredients, it's a delightful treat that comes together in no time!

What Is Gang Buad?

Gang Buad แกงบวด is a type of Thai dessert that uses coconut milk, water, sugar, and a tiny bit of salt to form its base. By definition, gang buad means "cooked in sweet coconut milk" in Thai.

There are many variations of gang buad. You could use pumpkin (like in this recipe), sweet potato, banana or taro as the main ingredient. Whatever fruit or vegetable you use, you would cut it into bite-sized pieces and cook it in sweet and slightly salty coconut milk.

Why We Love This Recipe

Thai pumpkin in coconut milk is as easy to make as the name suggests! All you have to do is cook a fruit or vegetable in coconut milk, which means very little work. You just need to wait until the fruit is cooked though. And in this case, pumpkin, it takes just about 15 minutes.

Also, the ingredients are so simple that you can find anywhere or easily order online. You won't need to worry about having anything left, since you would also be able to use most of the same ingredients to make Thai steamed pumpkin cake, mango sticky rice, and red rubies dessert.

And a bite of soft, warm pumpkin in a sweet, slightly salty, and amazingly scented coconut milk is just oh so delicious. Not to mention you can cook this in just one saucepan!

Ingredients

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.

• Pumpkin: Thai squash or fakthong is the pumpkin of choice for this dessert. You can keep the skin on for a vibrant green color, as it's edible when cooked, or remove it if you want. If you can't find Thai squash, you can use kabocha instead - they're similar, in terms of texture and flavor.
• Thai Dessert scented Coconut Milk: This is the type of coconut milk we use for many Thai desserts. It's scented with the unique Thai dessert candle. You can get scented coconut milk from Amazon or infuse your normal coconut milk with pandan leaves.
• Water: Water is added to help thin the coconut milk so that this dessert isn't too heavy.
• Sugar: Sugar provides the sweetness for this dessert. You can use granulated sugar, brown sugar or even palm sugar. Adjust the level of sweetness to your taste.
• Salt: Salt is added to round out the flavor so that this dessert is not only sweet.

How To Make Thai Pumpkin in Coconut Milk Dessert

Step 1: Wash the pumpkin. Cut it in half and scoop the seeds out. Then cut into bite-sized pieces, leaving the skin on or cutting it off, depending on your preference.

Step 2: Add coconut milk and water to a small saucepan over medium heat. Then add sugar and salt. Stir to incorporate.

Step 3: Add bite-sized pieces of pumpkin to the pan and allow to simmer in the sweetened coconut milk until they are fork tender, about 15 minutes. Serve while still hot.

Tips

1. While you can remove all of the pumpkin skin off, most Thai people would leave some on for a pop of color. If you want to make this dessert look more appealing, you might want to leave some pumpkin skin on.
2. A nice scent can really help elevate fakthong gang buad. If you can't find candle scented coconut milk, you'll want to use pandan to flavor the coconut milk. Fresh or dried pandan leaves both work really well. To use, tie 2-3 leaves into a knot and add them to the coconut milk and pumpkin while it's cooking. Make sure you discard them before you serve the dessert.

How To Serve This Dessert

This dessert is served hot or warm. You can split the dessert into small the dessert bowls or take one serving and store the rest.

Fakthong gangbuad is often served at the end of a Thai meal or enjoyed as a sweet, yet satisfying afternoon or evening snack.

Storing and Reheating

You can keep this dessert at room temperature if the weather is not too hot and you're going to finish the dessert within a day.

If you want to keep it for longer, put fakthong gang buad in an airtight container and refrigerate. It will be good for up to 3 days. When stored in the refrigerator, the coconut milk will harden and separate from the water. To reheat, take a portion and microwave for 2 minutes.

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