published Oct 11, 2024 When chef Sokha Sombor served us this fruity dessert at her restaurant/cooking class in Siem Reap, I knew right away I’d be making it constantly. It paired well with the Glass Noodle Salad and Fish Amok we made. It literally takes less than 10 minutes to make and you only need 5 ingredients (plus a little water). It doesn’t get much easier than that! In fact, chak ktiss might just be my easiest, quickest Silk Road dessert. My green tea-infused ice cream and lemon posset recipes come close in terms of ease and simplicity, but they sure aren’t ready in less than 10 minutes (though I promise they’re worth the wait!). Something else that I immediately loved about chak ktiss is that it’s entirely vegan — and gluten-free. This makes it great for guests with a variety of dietary needs. I call it a dessert, but you can also enjoy a warm, sweet banana in coconut milk for a light snack any time of the day.
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Large Saucepan
Storing
This is strictly a day-of recipe. Bananas start to turn brown the moment they’re peeled and exposed to the air, and the coconut milk will only serve to break down the fruit faster. So make it just before serving for the best results! Palm sugar production involves harvesting the sap from the flower buds of palm trees, typically sugar or date palms. The sap is collected by cutting the flower buds and allowing the liquid to drip into containers. The collected sap is then boiled to evaporate the water content, leaving a thick syrup. This syrup is further heated until it solidifies into a paste, which is then poured into molds or shaped by hand to form blocks or granules. Once cooled and hardened, the palm sugar is ready for use in cooking or as a sweetener. A good substitute is brown sugar.
Bananas – To make a very authentic banana in coconut milk dessert, use small Asian bananas. Examples include a Cambodian chek pong moin or a Thai nam wah banana. If you only have access to larger bananas, use three instead of six. Coconut Milk – Perhaps surprisingly, coconut milk is actually less sweet than regular milk. Instead, its defining characteristic is a floral, tropical sweetness — in addition to its thicker, creamier consistency. If you’d prefer to substitute it with regular, then you’ll need to use half and half or heavy cream and adjust the amount of sugar you’re using. Palm Sugar – Palm sugar is naturally derived from palm flower sap. It has a unique, subtle sweetness that’s almost caramel or toffee-like. Its best substitute is light brown sugar, but you could also use regular white sugar in a pinch. Ground Cinnamon – Warm, sweet cinnamon can be substituted with nutmeg or even a pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice you might have shoved toward the back of your spice cabinet from the holidays! Kosher Salt – A pinch of salt adds depth and offsets the other, sweeter ingredients in chak ktiss.
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