Dish
Sankhya Lapov
សង់ខ្យាល្ពៅ
Coconut custard steamed inside a whole pumpkin and served in slices.
Sankhya lapov (សង់ខ្យាល្ពៅ, sankhya lapov) is a coconut custard steamed inside a whole pumpkin and served in slices.[1][2] In Khmer, lapov means pumpkin.[1]
Cultural context
It is a dessert kept for special occasions.[3][4] Church World Service writes that in rural Cambodia it is served only on very special occasions and celebrations, since the ingredients can be hard for families to obtain and it takes a long time to prepare and cook.[5] Thida's Kitchen calls it a popular dessert in Cambodia and Thailand and a cherished delicacy at large family gatherings and celebrations.[6] Cambodgemag holds it up as an example of Cambodian sweets built on seasonal ingredients, and of a rich dessert made from simple ones.[3]
Cambodian restaurants serve it as a dessert, and an order may arrive as a whole pumpkin rather than a single slice.[1]
Ingredients and preparation
The custard is made from eggs or egg yolks, coconut milk or coconut cream, palm sugar or white sugar, and a pinch of salt.[5][4][2] Kabocha, also called Japanese pumpkin, is the traditional vessel.[6]
One home recipe fills a large buttercup squash with a custard of six eggs, three-quarters of a cup each of coconut milk and brown sugar, and a teaspoon each of pandan leaf powder and salt.[6] The top of the squash is cut away and the seeds removed, and the hollow is rinsed and left upside down to dry.[6] The eggs are whisked first. Sugar, salt and pandan follow, then coconut milk, until the mixture is even.[6] Whole eggs thicken the custard: the yolks make it soft and the whites make it firm.[6] The custard is strained through a sieve and poured into the squash.[6] It steams on high heat until the water boils, then on medium heat for at least 40 minutes, until the top of the custard sets and the squash is cooked.[6] The dessert is left to cool before it is sliced.[6]
A version from Royal Khmer Cuisine, a book created and written by the culinary team at Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor in Siem Reap, is published by Great British Chefs.[2] The book is not sold; it is given to people who attend the hotel's cooking class.[2] That recipe steams the whole pumpkin in a large steamer, or in a deep covered pot with about 5 centimeters (2 inches) of water, the pumpkin raised on one or two stacked ramekins and the water topped up as it steams.[2]
History and origins
The dessert is also well known in Laos and Thailand.[5][1] In Thailand it is called sangkhaya fak thong.[1] In Laos it is recorded both as sangkhaya maryu and as sangkhaya maku.[1][7]
Regional and household variations
Kabocha remains the traditional choice, but most winter squashes with rich, sweet flesh work in its place. Butternut squash is a poor vessel because of its shape.[6] Palm sugar or maple syrup may replace the brown sugar, and vanilla extract may replace hard-to-find pandan.[6] When a large pumpkin will not fit the pot, several smaller pumpkins can be filled with the same custard and steamed one at a time; they cook much faster.[2] The skin of a buttercup squash is edible but stays fibrous after cooking, and Thida's Kitchen suggests removing it before eating.[6]
Preparations and recipes
- Thida's Kitchen
- Whole squash hollowed out, filled with a pandan-scented coconut egg custard and steamed until set.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Indochina Value, Cambodia Travel Guide: Sankhya lapov
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Great British Chefs, Pumpkin Custard Recipe: Sang Khya L'peouv
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cambodgemag, Cambodia & Gastronomy: Some desserts in local cuisine (April 16, 2026)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Gabrielle Yetter, How to prepare Cambodian desserts, Wanderlust (May 13, 2013)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Isaree Khreusirikul, A sweet treat: pumpkin coconut custard, Church World Service (October 31, 2016)
- ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 Thida's Kitchen, Buttercup Squash Custard Recipe: How to Make Sankhya Lapov (July 3, 2023)
- ↑ Vietnamese Wikipedia: Sữa trứng bí đỏ dừa