Colorful, beautiful and tasty Thai desserts

Thai desserts are known for its heavenly taste and aesthetic visual beauty. These desserts require a level of meticulousness in the creation process second to none. We will introduce you to five Thai desserts, which you must try at least once when visiting Thailand.

Kanom Luk Chup

A cute looking dessert is a huge understatement, yet Kanom Luk Chup is worth picking up and eating. The original Luk Chup is descended from the Portuguese dessert call Marzipan and made from ground almonds and sugar. Luk Chup was introduced into Thailand during the Ayutthaya period by Marie Ghemar or Thao Thong Kip Ma. The modified Thai version of Marzipan uses watermelon seeds, of which the seed coat is cracked open to get to the embryo, then are molded into various shapes for the perfect bite before painting them with edible food color and coated with jelly to make them shiny. Later, boiled mung beans and soybeans are mashed into a paste and stirred in as new ingredients. A popular version of Luk Chup is to make them in the shape of vegetables and various fruits.

Dara Thong or Thong Ek Krajang

Dara Thong is another auspicious Thai dessert made from wheat flour, egg yolks, coconut milk and sugar, and then sculptured into round shapes. First, grooves similar to that found on pumpkins are etched into the dessert and placed on a small flower plate. It has a rim made from watermelon seeds infused with syrup (watermelon seeds are roasted over low heat in a pan mixed with syrup and simmered until sugar flakes form as crusts and then are topped with edible gold leafs). Thong Ek Krajang is indeed a very special dessert that has existed for a long time, until the early 1930s when the then Prime Minister Field Marshall Plaek Pibulsongkram changed its name to Kanom Dara Thong, as a testament to its resemblance to a star-shaped royal decoration usually bestowed by the King to high-ranking civil servants.

Kanom Chan

Kanom Chan is a traditional dessert that is commonly eaten at special ceremonies. It is made from flour, sugar, and coconut milk, and mixed with natural colors from butterfly pea flower (purple color) and pandan leaf (green). It is mixed into the said ingredients, and then slowly poured to form layers. Next step is to place the layered ingredients onto a tray before being molded and steamed. The color gradient of each layer has many different shades of green. Some people like to peel and eat each layer at a time while others eat it piece by piece. The taste is sweet and smooth. It is an ancient Thai dessert that is still popular today.

Thongyip Thongyod

Thongyip Thongyod are traditional Thai desserts from the Ayutthaya period, both of which have the same ingredients: egg yolks beaten until fluffy. But the difference between the two are their shapes – Thongyod is spherical, resembling a water drop, while Thongyip is sheets of shredded strings boiled in simmered sugar syrup and then shaped as a flower. Both types are sweet and juicy. It is classified as an ancient dessert and is a popular dessert for religious offerings and for people who have a sweet tooth.

Mango sticky rice

Mango sticky rice is a Thai dessert that has existed since ancient times and won the hearts of people all over the world with its soft texture and fragrant flavors. The ubiquitous moon sticky rice is sweet, oily and salty; a rich coconut milk sauce and crispy golden beans served as toppings and eaten with mango. There are many varieties to choose from, whether it is the Ok-rong or Nam Dokmai – the flavors complement each other extremely well.