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Bou bou (floating cake)

Bou bou (floating cake)

Desserts

A traditional Thai dessert made with rice, sweet potatoes, and coconut, served in a fragrant drink.

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Recipe from Geonuch, TeamSWU799, NP-chaonay (Wikibooks), adapted by Recette de cuisine ·

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Bou bou is a colorful and delicious Thai dessert, made with sticky rice flour, sweet potatoes, and coconut milk.

Ingredients and directions

  • Prep time15 min
  • Cook time20 min
  • Total35 min
  • DifficultyEasy
  • CostBudget
  • Cooking methodcooked in water
  • Estimated cost$6.28 $1.57 / serving Estimated price; varies by store. Converted from euros at the ECB rate of October 7, 2026.

Ingredients

4 people
  • $2.51
  • $2.79
  • $0.98

Prices from US supermarkets for 2 of 3 ingredients; Belgian prices for the rest.

Directions

  1. Mix the glutinous rice flour, water, and the ingredients for the lotus flower color until you have a smooth paste. ≈ 4 min
  2. Next, divide the dough into three portions, each a different color. ≈ 3 min
  3. Combine the dough ingredients into small, round balls, lightly dusting them with rice flour to prevent them from sticking together. ≈ 10 min
  4. Take the “boue-lœi” (small floating cakes) that you have prepared and bake them in a medium-sized pot.
  5. Wait until the dough floats to the surface of the water, then remove it from the pot and drain it. ≈ 2 min
  6. Place the ingredients in a bowl, then pour the coconut milk over the top. ≈ 3 min
  7. Ready to be served ≈ 2 min

The bill

Bou bou (floating cake)

  • 1 cup of glutinous rice flour$2.51
  • Steamed sweet potatoes, finely chopped, for a purple hue.$2.79
  • 1 cup of coconut milk$0.98

Total$6.28

that's $1.57 per person

Estimated price; varies by store.

Equipment

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Before you start

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of glutinous rice flour
  • Ingredients for the color of the “bua loy” (floating): 1 cup
  • Steamed sweet potatoes, finely chopped, for a purple hue.
  • Steamed squash, finely chopped, yellow in color
  • water from jasmine flowers for a green color
  • 1/4 cup of water
  • 1 cup of coconut milk

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