This is one of the most common sweet you can find at every market in Thailand, yet Bua Loy is different from any others Thai sweet you know. It’s warm, colorful, chewy, sweet and a little salty.
Bua Loy is a colorful rice flour shaped in a small boil, usually served with warm coconut milk and sweet egg. The name Bua Loy means floating lotus in English which is somehow relate to how Bua Loy looks. This sweet represents patience, and craftmanship, since each ball are made by hand.
Bua Loy has been a part of Thai cuisine for centuries, people believed it’s originated during the Ayutthaya Kingdom. Once it was considered a royal dessert, often prepared for ceremonies like weddings and religious offerings. Over time, it became a beloved dessert for everyone.
Key ingredients
- Coconut milk
- Rice flour
- Natural coloring
- Pandan leaves
- Palm or cane sugar
- Egg (optional)
Cooking process
1.Make the dough: Mix glutinous rice flour with warm water until smooth. Then roll into tiny balls about the size of the pearls. You can add natural colorings during the mixing process in case you want your rice balls to be colorful.
2.Boil water until hot and drop in the rice balls. If the rice balls are ready, you will see that they are floating to the surface.
3.Now we prepare the coconut milk base: Simmer coconut milk with pandan leaves, sugar, and a pinch of salt until fragrant.
4.If you wish to add the egg you can poach it in the same coconut milk base to add the richness and sweetness to your eggs.
5.We combine the cooked rice balls with warm coconut milk base and add poach egg on top of your Bua Loy for the full experience.
Each region has their own recipe of Bua Loy for example; northern region serves Bua Loy exactly as we represent it to you. But for central region, sometimes they add more texture to Bua Loy by adding sesame seeds or flesh coconut in Bua Loy too.
If you really want to try Bua Loy don’t worry that it would be hard to find like most authentic Thai dessert, you can find Bua Loy shop at almost every night or morning market in Thailand. Some sweet shops even specialize in Bua Loy and adapt or mix it with other menus from around the world.
Next time you visit Thailand and craving for something sweet, skip the fancy cakes or pastry and give Bua Loy a chance. I believe that its fragrance, sweet, warmth and chewy texture would be perfect for you. And it might become one of your favorite desserts after you try it.