Why it works: Shallot and mung bean share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓
Khanom Mo Keang
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Put the shallot slices and oil into a small frying pan over medium-low heat.
Stir the shallot slices until they are golden brown and crispy.
Grease the bottom and sides of a 9×13‑inch baking pan.
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Soften the palm or coconut sugar in a pan over medium heat.
Make the custard
Blend the mung beans, eggs, both sugars, coconut cream, salt, and any leftover oil from the shallots together until smooth.
Let the custard mixture sit for 5 minutes until it becomes less frothy.
Pour the custard mixture into the pan.
Bake and serve
Place the pan on a rack positioned in the upper third of the oven.
Bake at 180°C for 35–45 minutes or until the center is slightly firm and the top is golden brown.
Put some of the fried shallots over the top of the custard.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Duck | 100g cooked with skin | 337 |
| Coconut | 1/2 cup shredded (40g) | 283 |
| Chicken | 100g cooked | 165 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Shallot | 1 tbsp minced (10g) | 7 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Mung Bean | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Shallot + mung beantop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Coconut + mung beantop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together18 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Shallot + coconuttop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together90 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
-
Coconut + chickentop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together808 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mung beans
- Cooked and blended, they give the custard its body and creamy, thick texture.
- Eggs
- Set during baking to give the custard structure and a firm, sliceable texture.
- Coconut cream
- Adds fat and richness, making the custard smooth and creamy.
- Coconut or palm sugar
- Adds sweetness and a caramel-like depth of flavour, and helps browning on top.
- Granulated sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the custard brown at the surface.
The step that matters
Bake until the center is just firm. Eggs set as they heat, so pulling the custard too early leaves it runny, while overbaking makes it dense, rubbery and prone to cracking.
Swap the shallot
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (coconut, mung bean, chicken, sugar, cream):
- Capsicumfits better
- Spinachfits better
- Welsh onionfits better
- Shallotthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against coconut, mung bean, chicken, sugar, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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