Rice Cakes with Palm Sugar

These are Jeffrey’s favorite sweet snack, not just in Thailand, but possibly anywhere. They are sold by street vendors and in small shops, usually in bunches of five or ten. The basic ingredient is cooked sticky rice, shaped into flat cakes, dried, and then deep-fried until they puff up. The rice cakes are topped with a swirl of melted smoky-tasting palm sugar that hardens as it cools.

We have experimented with making a home-style version, and in the process have come to appreciate