How to Make Jaew แจ่ว - Thai Dried Chilli Dipping Sauce

In Thailand, when you buy Gai Yang (grilled spatchcocked chicken) or Mu Ping (Skewered grilled pork), the vendor almost always gives you two kinds of Nam Jim or dipping sauces to take home along with the grilled protein. One, of course, is the indispensable sweet and tangy chilli sauce; the other is one of the many varieties of the smokier, less sweet dipping sauce, Jaew (แจ่ว ).

Though not as well known internationally as its sweeter cousin, Jaew is no less a favorite among Thais. This explains why two kinds of dipping sauces accompany every grilled meat purchase -- to eliminate the agony which customers would otherwise have to go through in choosing one or the other.

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Granola with Raw Almonds and Dried Wild Strawberries

The other day, I found myself moseying around a farmers' market just when the vendors started packing up their tents. There wasn't much left to see or buy. It was a warm and humid day and the fruits and vegetables that were still there looked like nothing short of a set of defibrillators would bring them back to life.

However, showing up late at the market isn't always a bad thing. Case in point, a kind gentleman signaled me to approach his stall and next thing I knew I had in my hand four pints of fraises des bois (Alpine or wild strawberries) which, though no longer looked just-picked, were still firm, vivid red, bruise-free, and delicious. I was only asked to pay the amount of money that would have gotten me only one pint 3-4 hours earlier.That was a little more fruits than I was prepared to take home. But who can say no to fraises des bois? I mean, look at them.

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How to Make Tom Yam (ต้มยำ): Tom Yam 101 - Part One

Here are the five most frequent responses I get when I tell people (in the US) I'm from Thailand:

Oh, I (my parents, co-workers, parishioners, parole officer, etc.) love Pad Thai! (Okay ... is this when I politely return the favor and tell them I love hot dogs and hamburgers?)

I would love to visit Taiwan; I've heard it's beautiful. (So have I.)

But you don't have the accent! (Did you expect me to say something like, pine-ap-pun fly lice?)

You look like you're from somewhere else. (Um, Nanoo Nanoo?)

I had a Thai classmate in college, his/her name is X. Do you know him/her? (Of course, I do. All 60 million of us are on a first-name basis.)

I used to find these responses annoying. But I've matured over the years and come to see them as amusing and even cute. I've also learned to smile graciously, knowing that 1. people mean well, and 2. it could have been worse. Having said that, though, I still haven't gotten used to the first response.

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Poppy Seed and Black Sesame Seed Cake

Poppy seeds weren't available in Thailand when I was growing up and they're still not widely available there these days. So as a kid, all I knew of poppy seeds was through English books in our library. In my juvenile innocence, I even wrote in my diary that one day I would go to a place where poppy seeds were available and eat them to my heart's content. I don't know how I managed to fall in love with something long before I even had the first taste of it. Very odd, indeed.

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Thai Fish Cakes - How to Make Tod Man Pla ทอดมันปลา

Tod Man Pla (or Tawd Mun Pla, Tod Mun Pla, Tod Mun Pla thanks to the madness of Thai-English transliteration which, of course, affects the name ทอดมัน or, when fish is used, ทอดมันปลา here) is one of the most prominent appetizers on most Thai restaurants' menus. The longevity of this old-fashioned dish's popularity speaks volumes about its greatness.

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Chocolate Chip Chouquettes

Anyone who has had an unfortunate -- albeit delicious -- encounter with these little French devils knows how dangerous they can be. Chouquettes, little unfilled puffs made out of choux pastry, are one of those snacks that you cannot stop eating once you pop one in your mouth. Plain chouquettes are dangerously addictive. Chocolate chip chouquettes? You need a long rehab stint and a daily self-hypnosis session to get off them.

So if you don't want to end up in Chouquette Anonymous, do not read beyond this point.

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How to Make Khao Man Gai ข้าวมันไก่: Thai Version of Hainanese Chicken and Rice

Cleaver-flattened pieces of chicken come with your KMG in Thailand.
No reason why you can't have big, juicy pieces of chicken like this!
Khao Man Gai, one of the most common street foods in Thailand, is, in short, a mutation, albeit controlled, of Hainanese chicken and rice. Overshadowed by the original dish and rarely included on the menus of most Thai restaurants in the West, Khao Man Gai (ข้าวมันไก่) is not widely known outside of Thailand. For us, however, this is a national favorite. In fact, just the mere mention of the name could cause collective panting in greedy anticipation.

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How to Make Larb Gai - Lahb Gai - Laab Gai - Larp Gai - Laap Gai - Lahb Gai ลาบไก่

There is a good reason why the title reads the way it does. I am aware that when I show my face here, people expect me to talk about food. But if you know me very well, you will know that, as much as I love food and cooking, the majority of my time is spent in the areas not at all culinary in nature. And though I've tried to repress that non-culinary part of me when I come here, it sometimes slips into my site here and there.

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Quick and Easy Pickled Radishes

Visit a farmers' market and buy more farm-fresh radishes than you think you can eat as that is a wise thing to do. Eat them smeared with fresh homemade butter and lightly sprinkled with sea salt until you're all radished out as that is the best way to enjoy the sweetness and crunch of fresh radishes.

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Coconut Rice with Chives: How to Make Fluffy Coconut Rice

The best coconut rice, in my opinion, is made from quality long grain rice (that would be old crop Jasmine rice, if you ask me) and fresh coconut milk extracted from finely-grated mature coconut meat. The rice-liquid ratio is 1:2 or 1:1.5 depending on whether the rice is an old or new crop as the former has lower moisture content than the latter and therefore requires more liquid.

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