Bua Loy: Thai Coconut Milk Dessert

Bua Loy is a traditional Thai coconut milk dessert made from chewy pumpkin balls bathed in rich, fragrant coconut milk. Its mini pumpkin shape and silky texture make it not just delicious but incredibly charming to look at.

Bua Loy is a beloved Thai coconut milk dessert made with glutinous rice flour and tapioca flour. The tiny, chewy balls are served in a warm, sweet coconut broth. The texture is silky, fragrant, and perfectly comforting. Traditionally, they’re round and smooth, much like Candil Ubi Biji Salak from Indonesia.

I still remember the first time I tried bua loy at a small Thai café. The coconut aroma hit me before the bowl even touched the table. One spoonful, and I was hooked on that mix of creamy coconut and bouncy rice balls.

For a cozy fall twist, I love making mine with pumpkin. It adds natural sweetness and a lovely golden hue, just like my Pumpkin Coconut Rice Cake, Pumpkin Mantou, or Pumpkin bread with coconut filling.

If you enjoy Thai sweets, you’ll also love Mango Sticky Rice, another classic that’s become a favorite in Indonesia. But today, let’s celebrate bua loy, the warm and soothing dessert that feels like a hug in a bowl.

Recipe Ingredients

Ingredient Notes

Pumpkin – You can use any type of squash, but I highly recommend Japanese pumpkin (Kabocha) for its rich flavor and creamy texture. Peel it, scoop out the seeds, and steam until soft. Then mash or puree with a fork until smooth. The natural sweetness of pumpkin adds a lovely golden hue to your bua loy.

Glutinous rice flour – This is the key to achieving that signature bouncy, chewy texture. You can easily find glutinous rice flour in most Asian grocery stores — it’s sometimes labeled as “sweet rice flour.”

Tapioca flour – Just a small amount makes the dough extra stretchy and soft. It works hand in hand with the glutinous rice flour to give your dessert that mochi-like bounce.

Coconut milk – Use high-quality, full-fat coconut milk for the richest, creamiest sauce. Coconut milk is naturally dairy-free and gives the dessert its signature tropical aroma.

Sago pearls – Feel free to use any kind of tapioca pearls you like. Thai sago pearls are small and white, but you can color them lightly with pandan or green food coloring for a fun look. Cook until soft, then soak in cold water to prevent sticking.

Substitutions & Variations

You can easily customize bua loy to suit the season or what you have on hand. Instead of pumpkin, try using root vegetables like purple yam or sweet potato. Both give the same soft, chewy texture and add their own natural sweetness.

For a Thanksgiving twist, pumpkin is still the best choice. You can shape the dough to look like tiny pumpkins for a festive touch, cute and delicious all at once! 🎃

Want to make it more exciting? Add young coconut meat, jelly cubes, or even sweet corn kernels into the coconut milk sauce. This Thai coconut milk dessert is wonderfully versatile. Serve it warm for comfort or chilled for refreshment, and it will taste amazing either way.

How to Make Bua Loy

STEP 1. Make the pumpkin dough. Steam pumpkin until fork-tender, then mash/puree with a fork. In a bowl, combine pumpkin puree, glutinous rice flour, tapioca flour, and a pinch of salt (Image 1). Knead by hand until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky (Image 2). If sticky, add a touch more glutinous rice flour; if dry, add 1–2 tsp water. Pinch off a small piece of dough and tint it green for stems (Image 3). Roll the yellow dough into small balls. Use the edge of a spatula (or toothpick) to press light grooves so they resemble mini pumpkins (Image 4).

STEP 2. Cook the coconut milk sauce. Finish the pumpkin shapes by lightly pressing grooves and adding a tiny bit of green dough as the stem (Images 5, 6, 7). In a saucepan, add coconut milk, water, sugar, and a pinch of salt (Image 8). Stir well. Heat on low to medium-low until it gently simmers; do not boil (to prevent splitting). Keep warm.

Optional: Add a knotted pandan leaf for extra aroma, remove before serving.

STEP 3. Cook the pumpkin “balls” & sago; assemble. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Add the shaped pumpkin pieces (Images 9, 10). Stir once to prevent sticking. Cook until they float, then give them 1–2 more minutes for a fully cooked, bouncy center. In a separate pot, boil water and cook the sago pearls (Image 11) until mostly translucent with a tiny white dot. Drain, rinse under cold water, and soak in cold water to keep them separate. If you want colored pearls, toss the drained pearls with a drop of coloring or pandan water.

To serve, place pumpkin “mini pumpkins” in a bowl, add some sago pearls, and ladle over the warm coconut milk sauce (Image 12). Serve warm or chill everything and serve cold.

Serving

Serve bua loy warm for cozy comfort or chilled with a few ice cubes for a refreshing Thai coconut milk dessert. Add sago pearls, young coconut meat, and jelly or corn pudding cubes for extra fun and texture.
For the perfect Thai-style meal flow, enjoy spicy Pad Kra Pao first, then cool things down with a bowl of bua loy and some Thai egg cake. (It’s basically the fire-and-ice duo your taste buds deserve.)

Storage

Uncooked pumpkin dough (shaped): Do not cook ahead. Arrange in a single layer on parchment, lightly dust with glutinous rice flour, and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Coconut milk sauce: Cool completely, then refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days. (Reheat gently, do not boil to prevent splitting.)

Sago pearls: Best the day you cook them. If needed, keep in cold water in the fridge for up to 24 hours, then drain before serving.

More Cold Desserts

• Mango Ice Cream
• Chocolate Pudding
• Avocado Pudding with Chocolate