Num Plae Ai
| Num Plae Ai | |
|---|---|
| Khmer name | នំផ្លែអាយ |
| Other names | Nom plae ai; Num plae aiy; Nom somlap pdey |
| Dish types | Dessert; Snack |
| Subjects | Food & Foodways; Literature & Storytelling |
| Related dishes | Num Kom; Chek Ktis |
Boiled glutinous rice dumplings filled with palm sugar and rolled in grated coconut.
Num Plae Ai (Khmer: នំផ្លែអាយ) is boiled glutinous rice dumplings filled with palm sugar and rolled in grated coconut. (Wikipedia: Num plae ai)
Cultural context
Num plae ai is a Cambodian rice cake of glutinous rice flour filled with palm sugar and garnished with grated coconut, with the dough made from salt and warm water and the filled balls boiled before cooling and garnishing. (Wikipedia: Num plae ai) The cakes are traditionally served in small bowls made out of banana leaves, and in Khmer num refers to cakes and desserts in general while plae means fruit, with English translations given as rice sugar pearls, sweet rice dumplings and cakes of forgiveness. (Wikipedia: Num plae ai) 196 Flavors describes num plae ai as a coastal Cambodian dessert sold by roadside vendors in Phnom Penh and eaten as a dessert or snack, and records the Khmer fable of a newlywed wife whose husband died after eating the hot sticky cakes too quickly, which gives the sweets the nickname nom somlap pdey, the dessert that kills husbands. (196 Flavors) The recipe was validated by Chef Pisith Theam, executive chef at the Park Hyatt in Siem Reap. (196 Flavors)
Preparations and recipes
- 196 Flavors, validated by Chef Pisith Theam
- Glutinous rice dough wrapped around palm sugar balls, boiled until they float and coated in grated coconut.
Regional and community variations
The outer dough may be tinted various colours with food colouring, and a garnish of dry roasted lightly pounded sesame seeds may be mixed with the grated coconut. (196 Flavors) 196 Flavors compares the cakes with Vietnamese banh it tran, Indonesian klepon and Japanese shiratama dango. (196 Flavors)