Halloween is the perfect excuse to get creative in the kitchen, and Thai and Asian food makes it even more fun. Instead of the usual candy, why not surprise your family and friends with cute ghosts, spooky pumpkins and mummy sausages made from your favourite Asian dishes? In this post we share three easy Halloween recipes: Ghost Mango Sticky Rice, Pumpkin Green Curry with little ghosts, and Mummy Fire Noodles. You can find every key ingredient at HolyChili.

1. Ghost Mango Sticky Rice

Thailand's most loved dessert gets a spooky makeover. Soft coconut sticky rice becomes a little ghost sitting on a sweet mango block, topped with a tiny mango ball that looks like a pumpkin. Kids love making the faces.

Ingredients (makes 6 ghosts)

• 1 cup Thai glutinous rice, soaked in water for at least 4 hours or overnight
• 1 cup coconut cream
• 3 tablespoons palm sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 ripe mangoes
• A few mint leaves
• Black sesame seeds or melted dark chocolate for the faces

Method

1. Drain the soaked rice and steam it over boiling water for about 25 minutes, until soft and translucent.
2. While the rice steams, gently warm the coconut cream with the palm sugar and salt, stirring until the sugar melts. Do not let it boil.
3. Pour two thirds of the sweet coconut cream over the hot sticky rice, stir, cover and let it rest for 15 minutes so the rice soaks up the cream.
4. Peel the mangoes. Cut the cheeks into six neat blocks, and use a melon baller to scoop six small mango balls from the leftover flesh.
5. Wet your hands, take a small handful of sticky rice and press it into a thin, round sheet. Drape it over a mango block so the edges hang down like a ghost's sheet.
6. Place a mango ball on top of each ghost and add a small mint leaf as the pumpkin stem.
7. Use black sesame seeds or a little melted chocolate to draw cute ghost faces. Drizzle the remaining coconut cream around the plate and serve.

Shop the ingredients

Thamm Glutinous Rice

Premium Thai sticky rice that steams up soft, glossy and chewy, the perfect base for mango sticky rice.

Chaokoh Coconut Cream 250ml x6

Rich, thick coconut cream from Thailand's favourite coconut brand, ideal for sweet sticky rice sauce.

Khun JA Coconut Palm Sugar 1kg

Caramel scented Thai palm sugar that adds gentle sweetness to desserts and curries.

Aranya Mango Sticky Rice With Crispy Coconut Milk Freezedried 50g

No time to cook? This crunchy freeze dried mango sticky rice makes a fun trick or treat snack.

2. Spooky Pumpkin Green Curry

A creamy Thai green curry served inside a whole pumpkin makes a showstopping Halloween centrepiece. Little ghosts and skulls floating on top turn a classic weeknight dinner into a party dish.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 medium pumpkin, for the serving bowl
• 2 to 3 tablespoons green curry paste
• 400ml coconut milk
• 300g chicken breast or thigh, thinly sliced (or tofu for a vegetarian version)
• 1/2 cup pea eggplants or green peas
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon palm sugar
• 2 kaffir lime leaves, torn
• A handful of Thai basil leaves
• 2 slices of mozzarella or 1 block of firm tofu, for the ghosts and skulls

Method

1. Cut a lid from the top of the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds. Bake the pumpkin and lid at 180°C for 30 to 40 minutes until just tender, then keep warm.
2. In a pot, heat a few spoonfuls of the thick coconut milk from the top of the can until it starts to bubble and the oil separates.
3. Add the green curry paste and fry for 1 to 2 minutes until fragrant.
4. Add the chicken and stir until it is coated and almost cooked through.
5. Pour in the rest of the coconut milk, then add the pea eggplants and kaffir lime leaves. Simmer for 5 to 8 minutes.
6. Season with fish sauce and palm sugar, taste and adjust, then stir in the Thai basil.
7. Use small ghost and skull cookie cutters to cut shapes from the mozzarella or tofu. Poke eyes with a straw.
8. Ladle the curry into the pumpkin, float the ghosts and skulls on top and serve with steamed jasmine rice.

Shop the ingredients

MAE NOI Green Curry Paste 80g

A fragrant Thai green curry paste packed with green chilli, lemongrass and galangal.

Chaokoh Coconut Milk 400ml x6

Creamy coconut milk that gives green curry its silky, rich body.

Squid Brand Fish Sauce 300ml x6

The classic Thai fish sauce for seasoning curries, soups and stir fries.

Khun JA Coconut Palm Sugar 1kg

Caramel scented Thai palm sugar that adds gentle sweetness to desserts and curries.

3. Mummy Fire Noodles

Korean fire noodles meet Halloween with pastry wrapped mummy sausages and melty cheese ghosts. It is spicy, cheesy and takes less than 30 minutes to make.

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 2 packs Korean spicy ramen, such as Samyang Hot Chicken
• 2 hot dog sausages
• 1 sheet of ready rolled puff pastry
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 slices of cheddar cheese
• 4 small candy eyes or dots of mayonnaise and black sesame
• A few basil leaves to garnish

Method

1. Cut the puff pastry into thin strips and wrap them around each sausage like mummy bandages, leaving a small gap near the top for the face.
2. Brush with beaten egg and bake at 200°C for 15 to 18 minutes until golden. Add the candy eyes in the gap.
3. Boil the noodles for about 5 minutes, then drain, keeping 3 tablespoons of the cooking water.
4. Return the noodles to a pan or small skillet, add the sauce packets and the saved water, and stir fry for 1 minute until glossy.
5. Cut the cheese slices into ghost shapes, lay them on the hot noodles and cover for 1 minute so they soften and drape.
6. Add two dots of black sesame for eyes, place the mummy sausages on top and garnish with basil. Serve straight from the pan.

Shop the ingredients

Samyang Ramen Hot Chicken 140g x5

The famous Korean fire noodles with a sweet, spicy and smoky sauce.

Samyang Hot Chicken Ramen Cheese Flavour

A creamier, cheesier take on fire noodles, great for anyone who wants a little less heat.

Nongshim Shin Ramyun Red Super Spicy

Extra spicy Korean ramyun for brave spice lovers looking for a real Halloween scare.

These Thai and Asian Halloween recipes are simple, fun and full of flavour, so everyone can join in the spooky cooking. Stock up on sticky rice, curry paste, coconut milk and Korean ramen in our full HolyChili shop and have a happy, tasty Halloween!