AI-generated image
Kluay ping
กล้วยปิ้ง: small bananas grilled over charcoal, flattened and glazed with salty-sweet coconut caramel
Kluay ping carts work the pavements of Silom and the lanes off Sukhumvit from mid-morning, when office workers want something sweet with their iced coffee. The vendor grills small, starchy nam wa bananas slowly over embers, presses each one flat with a wooden board and then brushes it with coconut cream cooked down with palm sugar and a pinch of salt. The outside turns sticky and smoky; the inside stays soft and fudgy. Ladyfinger bananas or firm, just-ripe small bananas work at home. Chef's tip: choose bananas that are yellow with no brown spots; overripe fruit turns to mush on the grill.
- Total time
- 35 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 8 small bananas (nam wa or ladyfinger)just ripe, peeled
- ½ cup coconut cream
- 2 ⅛ oz palm sugarchopped
- ¼ tsp salt
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (2)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Light a charcoal grill and let it burn down to medium embers, or heat a ridged griddle pan over a medium heat. Thread 8 small bananas (nam wa or ladyfinger) onto soaked bamboo skewers if you like.
10 minStep 2: Grill the bananas for 8–10 minutes, turning every couple of minutes, until golden-spotted all over and soft when pressed.
10 minStep 3: One at a time, set each banana on a board and press it flat with a second board or a heavy plate to about 1 cm thick. Common mistake: pressing raw bananas; they crack apart, so always grill them first.
3 minStep 4: Meanwhile simmer ½ cup coconut cream, 2 ⅛ oz palm sugar and ¼ tsp salt in a small pan over a low heat, stirring, for 5 minutes, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
5 minStep 5: Return the flattened bananas to the grill. Brush with the coconut caramel and cook for 2–3 minutes a side, brushing again, until sticky and lightly charred at the edges but not burnt. Serve warm.
6 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 190 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
- Fat
- 5 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kluay ping take?
- About 35 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of small bananas (nam wa or ladyfinger)?
- Mango, same weight (in smoothies and shakes).
- What can I use instead of palm sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Kartoshka cake
Soviet cafés and school canteens sold these knobbly brown 'potatoes' for a few kopecks, and they began as a thrifty way to use up sponge and biscuit trimmings at the bakery. Crumbs are bound with butter and sweetened condensed milk, flavoured with cocoa and vanilla, shaped into little potatoes, rolled in cocoa and finished with two dabs of pale butter cream for the sprouts. They are fudgy and dense like a brownie truffle, need no oven, and children love making them. Traditional bakers added a spoonful of rum, an optional extra for adult batches only; this version is alcohol-free with vanilla. The usual slip is coarse crumbs, which make the potatoes crack, so blitz them as fine as sand. Chef's tip: chill the shaped potatoes for at least 20 minutes so they hold their shape and slice cleanly.
Russian
Undu walalu
Walalu means bangles, and these dark, sticky rings of fried urad dal soaked in kithul treacle are a sweet that Sinhala families bring out for Avurudu and for special almsgivings, often made in large batches by an aunt known for her steady hand. A thick, fluffy paste of ground black gram is piped into loops and fried until crisp, then plunged straight into warm treacle, so the rings stay crunchy on the outside while drinking up the syrup. They taste a little like a darker, smokier jalebi, with a toffee finish from the palm treacle. Watery batter is what ruins them; it spreads into flat blobs, so grind the soaked dal with as little water as possible and beat it until light. This recipe uses no asafoetida, so it is naturally gluten free. Chef's tip: pipe the rings onto small squares of baking paper and lower them into the oil paper and all; the paper peels away in seconds.
Sri Lankan
Marquesitas
Evening in Mérida's Plaza Grande means the smell of marquesitas: thin batter pressed in hot hinged irons until crisp, then rolled like a cigar around grated Edam cheese and a sweet filling such as cajeta, chocolate-hazelnut spread or jam. Edam came to the Yucatán through the port trade with the Netherlands and became part of the local cooking, and the salty-sweet combination is the whole point. At home you can cook them in a thin, wide frying pan. Edam is usually made with animal rennet, so check the label or use a vegetarian Gouda-style cheese. Chef's tip: roll while the crêpe is still in the pan and hot; within seconds it hardens and will crack.
Mexican