What is Kanom Ko?
Kanom ko ขนมโค are soft and chewy little marble-size dumplings made from glutinous rice flour flavoured with fresh pandan juice. They’re filled with a crunchy piece of palm sugar, and tossed with salted grated coconut. If that sounds incredibly delicious, it’s because they are!
Sometimes crunchy toasted mung beans are mixed in with the coconut for an extra crunch, but the one I grew up with did not have them. While they’re quite rare in Thailand, a similar dessert exists in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia called ondeh ondeh or klepon.
During my search for these long lost childhood treats, I discovered that in Thailand it seems they are found only in Hat Yai. In fact, my searches led to only ONE vendor – an auntie who has been selling them for 40 years. (Though she doesn’t seem like the same lady I bought from when I was a kid.)
They are always sold fresh, immediately after cooking as they’re best eaten while still warm. Watching the vendor make these dumplings with impressive speed, while inhaling pandan-scented steam is such a joy.
