With the evolution of Thai cuisine, it is natural that desserts also move into 2025, especially with evolving tastes and preferences.
Enter Asia’s Best Pastry Chef 2025, Dej Kewkacha, who is on a mission to modernise Thai desserts and take them to the global stage.
“If you trace the history of Thai word for sweets, kao means rice and nom means milk and when put together, it became kanom in Thai. Since Thailand is famous for rice, I saw the potential to develop rice milk into desserts. Traditionally, in Thailand, we only use sticky rice in desserts, but we can do much more than using rice. Hence, I named the contemporary Thai dessert brand Kao Nom,” says chef Dej.
“I actually started the research of Kao Nom during the pandemic. Initially, I selected some 20 special rice varieties from every province, but ended up with six, including white and red jasmine rice, Sang Yod rice from Thale Noi, Phatthalung, and Bue Kee and Bue Sakor rice, local varieties of the Karen from Chiang Mai. I also only use local ingredients, such as Thai chocolate from Chiang Mai, which has been grown from seedlings for more than 30 years, and Doi Manee Phruek coffee from Nan grown by the Hmong people, who revived a floating sawmill into Thailand’s best coffee plantation.
“I also chose coffee husk tea from Loei and source only from Thai farmers. Kao Nom also prioritises sustainability and has a zero waste approach when possible. We’ve transformed waste materials from coconut shells, rice husks and corn into cutlery and tableware. Our staff uniforms are upcycled from rice husks and our menus are printed on paper made from discarded rice husks.”
The chef, however, is no stranger to using rice in his desserts. Under the Kyo Roll En brand, he used rice for the famous Cocorice Japanese roll cake during Covid.
“Since that roll cake was such a hit, I decided to use rice milk in my desserts and even in Kao Nom’s signature drinks,” he adds.
The Cocorice Roll Set is one of Kao Nom’s signature desserts. Sang Yod Rice, young coconut cream and coconut milk are used for the roll cake, which is served with a soft-serve Sang Yod Rice ice cream and a rice cracker made from three varieties of rice. The ice cream has a tiny addition of salt since the chef isn’t a fan of sweet desserts and prefers them a tad savoury.
“The roll uses everything from the coconut; the flesh from young coconut, coconut milk and macapuno coconut,” adds the chef.
“In Thailand, we rarely cook rice by boiling it on the stove. The water that the rice is boiled in is full of nutrients, so I used that rice water to brew tea and have created a rice drink.”
This is reflected in the signature drink, Rice Milk Tea, which uses Ceylon tea brewed in rice water and topped with soft rice milk foam.
“Thai desserts have so much potential. I have been creating Japanese desserts for 16-17 years now and since I am Thai, it was time for me to come back to my roots,” asserts chef Dej.
“Everyone thinks of mango sticky rice as the quintessential Thai dessert, but I want to change the narrative on Thai desserts and modernise traditional ones. Thai desserts have a rich, long history and could be another soft power for Thailand. Enough talk about tom yum goong or pad Thai; it is time for Thai desserts to be in the world spotlight.”
However, he doesn’t veer far from his craft and uses Japanese techniques to create desserts at Kao Nom. For the Pandan tart, French techniques are used to make the base.
“We use coconut sugar from Phetchaburi and pandan to make the ganache. In Southeast Asia and Thailand we are used to eating bread and pandan, but here I’ve taken that idea and turned it into a pandan ganache tart. This is my approach at Kao Nom,” says chef Dej.
The tart has pandan “kaya”, pandan cake, coconut cream and is a modern version of sangkhaya or Thai pandan custard.
Easily the most innovative drink on Kao Nom’s menu and, dare I say, in Thailand, is the Thai Rice Matcha, which isn’t matcha at all but is made from young rice plants, which are green and lend the colour to the “matcha”. The chef has even reinterpreted a dessert he created at his first event in Japan.
“I was the only dessert chef at the Cook Japan Project and I wanted to do something that is Japanese, but tasted Thai. So I thought of doing something like uni but it’s actually made of foi thong, the egg custard. I used sticky rice and coconut and the wasabi is made from pandan and white beans. The shoyu is made from longan and I rolled it out in front of customers,” he explains.
The Uni Onigiri is hand-rolled table-side and may look like a Japanese onigiri, until you taste it. “Since this was the first dessert that people knew me for, I had to bring it back and it connects to rice.”
The most refreshing dessert on the menu is the seasonal one. The Rainy Parfait is made with pink guava ice cream, pink guava and basil granita, torch ginger flower jelly, Siam Ruby pomelo and salt and chilli.
“The concept of this comes from the fact that Thais love to eat fresh fruits, which rotate according to the seasons. My seasonal dessert follows a colour that changes according to the fruits of the season,” explains chef Dej.
For the winter menu, there will be Chiang Mai strawberry and custard apple, and mayong chit or Marian plum will also feature when in season. “We might even change often in one season and may showcase two or three different mangoes when in season.”
Ice came to the Thailand during the reign of King Rama IV, and during the reign of King Rama V, shaved ice in desserts became popular. This was the reason, chef Dej decided to put shaved ice on the menu at Kao Nom despite having a brand that offers only kakigori.
“When I was young, I liked eating the traditional Thai-style shaved ice or nam kang sai, which usually is a bowl of shaved ice with various syrups and toppings. I wanted to recreate that nostalgia in my way,” he says.
At Kao Nom, Taro Kakigori with fresh taro sauce mochi and taro chips is on offer, along with Chocolate Kakigori with 74% Thai organic chocolate from Chiang Mai, a jade mochi and pandan froth.
Sourcing cacao pods from his supplier, the chef’s Cacao Story comes to life. In the pod, there is triple chocolate ice cream, dark chocolate granita, longan jam and som saa. Also, following the zero-waste principle, is the Makrut dessert. Chocolate ganache is piped into a hollowed-out kaffir lime shell, sprinkled with spicy dried larb powder. Custard Pudding, which is a three-layered taro custard is served in an empty egg shell and comes in an egg carton.
The Bangkok Banana is a modern take kanom kluay or steamed banana and coconut cake.
“In Thailand, bananas are famous in almost every region — bananas from Kamphaeng Phet are best eaten fresh or dried, and the Pearl banana from the Northeast is best roasted. This is my take on a Thai banana. It is a three-layer banana cake served creme brûlée-style. I scoop out the banana from the peel and use the peel to plate the dessert,” says the chef.
Kao Nom also makes seasonal preserves and jams that are served with Thai toast, which is a sourdough brioche. Currently being served with longan, pandan and bilimbi.
Despite wanting people to experience more Thai desserts than just mango sticky rice, it has made its way to Kao Nom’s menu, but in chef Dej’s unique style. It is presented as a layered cake with sticky rice, fresh mango, mango pudding, fresh coconut jelly and coconut sauce in a hollowed-out, edible whole young coconut.
“Kao Nom not only showcases how contemporary traditional Thai desserts can be, but it also shows how versatile Thai ingredients are, as well. I want people outside of Thailand to know more about our desserts, because everyone talks about Thai food, but rarely talks about Thai desserts, save for mango sticky rice,” says chef Dej.
Thai dessert histroy
Thai desserts are more than just sweet conclusions to a meal – they are an art form and a cultural identity passed down through generations.
From the ancient Trai Phum Phra Ruang (Three Worlds According To King Ruang) of the Sukhothai era, which documented desserts made from flour and sugar, to the golden age of Thai confections during the reign of King Narai The Great, when Maria Guyomar de Pinha (Thao Thong Kip Ma or the Queen of Thai Sweets) introduced egg yolks and whites into Thai sweets, each period marked a significant evolution in Thai dessert history.
In the early Rattanakosin era, Thai desserts became refined palace art, famously celebrated in King Rama II’s royal poem Kap He Chom Khrueang Khao Wan (The Poem Of Savoury And Sweet Dishes).