Prepare hor mok fish curry custard in ramekins and compare mixing methods

What hor mok is and when ramekins make sense

Hor mok (ห่อหมก) is a steamed savory curry custard. It is also spelled haw mok or ho mok, and it is called hor mok pla when made with fish. The base is red curry paste, coconut milk and egg, seasoned with fish sauce and palm sugar and set around fish, basil and makrut lime leaves. Pailin of Hot Thai Kitchen presents it as a red curry custard that can be steamed in individual ramekins. Ramekins give each diner a portion and give you a documented vessel size and fill level to work from. Serve the custards with jasmine rice as part of a Thai meal.

Three ways to mix the custard

Hor mok recipes differ mainly in how the fish meets the custard. Some versions keep fish in pieces inside a coconut-egg batter, some grind the fish into the base, and some do both.

Method	How it is mixed	Fish in the finished cup	Documented by
Gentle batter with sliced fish	Curry paste dissolved in coconut milk, then eggs and seasonings combined gently; fish sliced ¼ inch thick is divided among the cups and the batter poured over	Distinct slices set in custard	Pailin, Hot Thai Kitchen
Chunky fish and coconut milk	Basa and coconut milk, steamed over a bed of basil in ramekins	A chunkier texture	The Foodie Luv
Processed mousse	Cold fish, egg, curry paste and seasonings processed together, then cold coconut cream added; reserved fish cubes line the cups	A fish mousse base with cubes of fish	Learn Thai with Mod
Half minced, half pieces	200 g salmon and 200 g prawns, half minced into the base and half left in pieces	Mixed texture: ground seafood plus pieces	deSIAM

Choose the gentle batter if you want a custard with separate slices of fish. Choose the mousse if you want the fish itself to form the body of the custard. Only the gentle-batter version below comes with a complete ramekin specification: quantities, fill level and steaming time. For the mousse or the salmon-and-prawn version, use that recipe's own quantities and timing. Do not borrow the 15–20 minute window. Confirm doneness with a thermometer for every method.

Ingredients for four 6-ounce ramekins (gentle-batter method)

These quantities follow Pailin's formulation.

3 tablespoons red curry paste
1¼ cups coconut milk, plus ¼ cup for the topping
1 tablespoon palm sugar
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 large eggs
3 makrut lime leaves, thinly sliced
5.6 ounces fish, sliced ¼ inch thick
1½ cups shredded cabbage or kale
8–12 basil leaves
½ teaspoon cornstarch, dispersed in a little water, for the topping
Banana leaf strips for lining (optional)

Substitutions: cabbage and kale are interchangeable here. The banana-leaf lining is optional. Other documented versions use basa, or a mix of salmon and prawns. Those belong to their own formulations, so switch to that recipe's method and timing if you use them.

Equipment

Four 6-ounce ramekins
A steamer large enough to hold the ramekins over medium heat
A bowl and a whisk or spoon for gentle mixing (a food processor for the mousse method)
An instant-read food thermometer
A small saucepan for the coconut topping

Step-by-step: gentle-batter method

1. Stir the red curry paste into the 1¼ cups of coconut milk until it is fully dissolved.
2. Add the palm sugar, fish sauce, eggs and sliced makrut lime leaves. Combine gently.
3. Cook a small sample of the batter and taste it. The batter contains raw egg, so taste the cooked sample, not the raw batter. Adjust the fish sauce or palm sugar now, before you fill the ramekins.
4. Wilt the shredded cabbage or kale for 3–5 minutes.
5. If using banana leaf, line each ramekin with two strips laid in a cross.
6. Divide the wilted vegetables and basil leaves among the four ramekins.
7. Divide the fish slices evenly among the ramekins, then pour in the batter evenly. Leave about ½ inch of headroom at the top of each.
8. Steam over medium heat for about 15–20 minutes, until set. Larger vessels take longer.
9. Check the center of each custard with a thermometer (see below). Return any that read under 160°F to the steamer.
10. While the custards steam, make the topping. Stir the cornstarch slurry into the ¼ cup of coconut milk and bring it to a boil. Spoon it over the finished custards, garnish, and serve with jasmine rice.

Adapting the steps for the mousse or minced method

For the mousse approach from Learn Thai with Mod, process cold fish with the egg, curry paste and seasonings first. Then add cold coconut cream. Before filling, set aside some fish as cubes and place them in the cups, then add the mousse over them. For the deSIAM seafood version, mince half of the salmon and prawns into the base and keep the other half in pieces. With both methods, the vessel, fill and steaming time come from the respective recipe. The temperature check at the end stays the same.

How to judge doneness and stay safe

The visual target is a set custard. Appearance is not enough, though. Puffing and only slight wobble do not prove the custard is cooked through. USDA guidance sets 160°F as the safe internal temperature for egg dishes. That is the endpoint for this fish-and-egg custard.

Insert the thermometer into the center, the thickest part of the custard.
Check in several places. Fill and fish distribution vary, so test more than one ramekin.
Any custard reading below 160°F goes back into the steamer. Recheck it before serving.
Use the same check for the batter, mousse and minced versions.

Quick corrections

Seasoning off: fix it at the sample stage, before filling. Once the custards are steamed, the balance of fish sauce and palm sugar is locked in.
One ramekin lags behind: uneven filling is the likely cause. Divide fish and batter more evenly next time, and steam the lagging cup until it reaches 160°F.
Using a bigger dish instead of ramekins: plan for a longer steam. Rely on the center temperature, not the 15–20 minute window.

Keep a vessel record

Illustrative example: a simple log makes the two mixing methods comparable from one batch to the next. Keep the mousse and fish-piece versions on separate rows, because their timing does not transfer between them. Fill the readings column with your own thermometer results.

Version	Vessel	Lining	Vegetables per cup	Fish distribution	Headroom	Center readings
Gentle batter, sliced fish	6-ounce ramekin, set of four	Crossed banana-leaf strips (optional)	Wilted cabbage or kale and basil, divided four ways	¼-inch slices divided evenly	About ½ inch	Record °F for each ramekin
Processed mousse	Record your cup size	Reserved fish cubes	Record	Mousse over the fish cubes	Record	Record °F for each cup