''Khanom khai hong'' ( th, ขนมไข่หงส์, ), formerly known as ''khanom khai hia'' (, ), is a kind of

Thai dessert This is a list of Thai khanom, comprising snacks and desserts that are a part of Thai cuisine. Some of these dishes are also a part of other cuisines. The word "khanom" ( th, ขนม), refers to snack or dessert, presumably being a compound be ...

. It may be considered as a Thai-style doughnut balls. ''Khanom khai hong'' is fried dessert balls made of flour stuffed with seasoning mung bean, before being deep-fried and coated with icing or white sesame seeds. Its taste is sweet, salty; crispy outside, but soft inside. Its name literally means "swan-egg snack", due to its shape looks like a swan egg. It is said that during the early Rattanakosin Kingdom, the King

Phutthayotfa Chulalok Phra Phutthayotfa Chulalok Maharaj (, 20 March 1737 – 7 September 1809), personal name Thongduang (), also known as Rama I, was the founder of the Rattanakosin Kingdom and the first monarch of the reigning Chakri dynasty of Siam (now Thai ...

(Rama I) was a person who liked to eat

water monitor The Asian water monitor (''Varanus salvator'') is a large varanid lizard native to South and Southeast Asia. It is one of the most common monitor lizards in Asia, ranging from coastal northeast India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, mainland Southeast As ...

eggs. But at one time, it was not the season in which water monitors laid eggs, therefore the eggs could not be found. Royal Concubine Waen (เจ้าจอมแว่น) therefore invented this dessert in order to serve the King. So it was called ''khanom khai hia'' according to what it replaced. Later, it was renamed to ''khanom khai hong'' as in the present, because water monitors and their Thai name, in the belief of Thai people, are related to bad and evil things. Currently, ''khanom khai hong'' can be found that its best from street vendors or food markets like other desserts.

References

Thai desserts and snacks Thai doughnuts Stuffed desserts {{Thai-cuisine-stub