Steamed Cassava Dessert (Khanom Mun Sampalang)

I'M POSTING A REVISED RECIPE.  There's nothing wrong with the recipe as written but I found that my family prefers a softer set dessert so I decreased the amount of tapioca starch and added a tiny bit of water.  I also added a little salt because my mom always adds salt to her desserts and people say she makes the best Asian desserts.  I like the long shreds of coconut but my family prefers smaller shreds so I now do a mix of the grated coconut and larger shreds when I make it for them.

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I love going home and rediscovering food that I didn’t know I missed. My sister and I went grocery shopping with my mom. We were on a mission to find me some Dungeness crab. We made a couple stops, and when we got home, we spread out the various items on the table.

I’m not sure when my sister grabbed this dessert. I would never think about buying it. My mom used to buy it all the time. I thought it was okay but nothing to crave. The strands of hand-shredded coconut were beautiful so I ate a piece and rediscovered the tender, chewy, slightly sweet and slightly bitter morsel of goodness. I went back the next day to buy more but they were all out. Apparently they only make it once a week.

I searched and searched for a recipe. I didn’t know what this dessert was called. I googled “steamed cassava dessert” and came up with a recipe. It is a Thai dessert. I had a feeling it was Thai. Thai desserts are the best (and the most time consuming to make). Here is a link to the original recipe.

I altered it a bit using "modern techniques." I also ended up with 3 cups of grated cassava instead of two so I increased the recipe. The "modern technique" refers to the use of a Cuisinart to process the fresh cassava flesh. However, I did use a traditional technique for shredding the coconut. I went to the store to buy the wooden bench "kamyo" coconut shredder but found a small tool that looked almost like a two-sided zester. I bought the small scraper instead of the large bench because I didn't want to store the large bench.

I think, for this recipe, it is very important to use freshly shredded coconut from a mature coconut. I won't get into the techniques for cracking a coconut since I am far from a pro. I remember seeing my mom use a large machete-like knife to crack the coconuts open but when I got home, I couldn't find a knife that fit the bill so I tried several different tools including: a honing steel, a screw driver with a meat tenderizer and then finally a hammer.

We studied cassava (aka yucca or manioc) in our New World Cuisine class. This root is very popular in many part of the world. We used it to make yucca fries with mojo sauce but I was more familiar with the tuber being used in desserts. My mom and grandmother sometimes boiled chunks of cassava with coconut milk or simply steamed it. Steamed cassava is delicious on its own.

I recently learned that cassava root is actually very poisonous if not cooked properly. They contain cyanogenic glucosides and long term exposure to improperly processed cassava can cause many irreversible health issues. Wow! Dangerous food! I also discovered that tapioca flour is made from cassava root. Who would have thunk? I was at the store today and found the large selection of flours and starches made from a variety of tubers, beans and other vegetables. I stocked up on each kind.

Steamed Cassava Dessert (Khanom Mun Sampalang) --- ORIGINAL RECIPE

2 cups cassava, grated
6 tablespoons tapioca starch
1 tablespoon mung bean starch
½ cup sugar
½ cup coconut milk
1 cup coconut, freshly shredded (about half a coconut)

1. Peel cassava root and cut into 2 to 3 inch pieces. Shred cassava using a food processor fitted with a shredding disc. Transfer the cassava into a large bowl. Remove the shredding disc and replace with chopping blade. Return shredded cassava to food processor and finely chop.
2. Mix grated cassava, tapioca starch, mung been starch, sugar and coconut milk.
3. Spread mixture evenly in a baking dish and steam about 20 minutes or until cooked. (Make sure it is fully cooked to remove traces of cyanide compound.)
4. Slice cake into small pieces about 3/4 inches wide and 2 inches long and roll in freshly shredded coconut.
Steamed Cassava Dessert (Khanom Mun Sampalang) --- REVISED RECIPE


2 cups cassava, grated
3 tablespoons tapioca starch
1 tablespoon mung bean starch
½ cup sugar
½ cup coconut milk
½ cup water
pinch of salt
1 cup coconut, freshly shredded (about half a coconut)

1. Peel cassava root and cut into 2 to 3 inch pieces. Shred cassava using a food processor fitted with a shredding disc. Transfer the cassava into a large bowl. Remove the shredding disc and replace with chopping blade. Return shredded cassava to food processor and finely chop.
2. Mix grated cassava, tapioca starch, mung been starch, sugar and coconut milk.
3. Spread mixture evenly in a baking dish and steam about 20 minutes or until cooked. (Make sure it is fully cooked to remove traces of cyanide compound.)
4. Slice cake into small pieces about 3/4 inches wide and 2 inches long and roll in freshly shredded coconut.

Coconut water from a mature coconut is not as tasty as from a young coconut but is still very good.

My shreds of coconut are not very pretty so I must practice on more coconuts.