Thai Scented Candle (Tian Op เทียนอบ) and How to Use It to Perfume Food

There's something melancholic -- almost mournful -- about the scent of this traditional Thai dessert candle which I can't identify. That's a bit ironic considering how the candle is used exclusively to perfume food, primarily sweets and dessert ingredients. Could the culprit be its main ingredient, frankincense, used in many parts of the world in burial rituals? Could it be that just one whiff of it and I'm transported to the home I grew up in -- the one that was recently demolished? Or could it have something to do with the fact that this is a candle whose sole purpose in life is to be burned ever so briefly then snuffed out? I don't really know.

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Thai Fermented Sausages from the Northeast (Sai Krok Isan ไส้กรอกอีสาน)

I'm a little apprehensive about telling you that this Northeastern Thai fermented sausage is not just any sausage to me. Yes, it is one of the favorites among fans of regional Thai cuisine all over the US who pride themselves in not only knowing about but also enjoying lesser-known Thai dishes. Yes, this fermented sausage is indeed one of the most delicious things that have come out of Isan, in my opinion. And yes, it is not the easiest thing to make well even though the procedure is quite simple. But it is a sausage nonetheless, and -- goodness gracious -- do we need to romanticize a sausage?

It's more than that to me, however -- this post, this project. Not only did the making of this unique and sublimely flavorful sausage mark the completion of a most frequent request among many I have received in the last two years, it also fulfilled the yearning of someone who means so much to me.

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Chocolate Biscuit Cake

This chocolate biscuit cake has been making such a big buzz in the media lately that people must have been aggressively and vehemently ignoring the news to not have heard about it. Unfamiliar with the cake, I wasn't sure what it even was let alone why many seemed to love it. Then curiosity led to research, and research led to experiments. Regretfully I must report: I don't like it.

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Thai Garlic-Peppercorn-Cilantro Root Marinade Paste

On the (by no means exhaustive) list of composite ingredients commonly used in Thai cooking which I've mentioned in this CNN article is this basic marinade paste comprising fresh garlic, white peppercorns, and cilantro roots. This represents one of the basic things that, once incorporated into your repertoire, will make Thai cooking much easier and more intuitive to you.

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Baby Bananas in Heavy Syrup (Kluay Khai Chueam กล้วยไข่เชื่อม)

This classic Thai dessert is great warm, at room temperature, cold, or topped with crushed ice. It's also pretty easy to make. You need baby or nino bananas, though; regular cavendish bananas turn all mushy and weird in the simmering syrup.¹ And don't skip the coconut cream topping; it is the vehicle for the saltiness that this sweet dessert desperately needs.

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Thai-Style Peanut-Sesame Brittle - Thua Tat (ถั่วตัด)

I admit it seems crazy to suggest this Thai-style peanut brittle¹ as a snack alternative as part of this year's Thai New Year celebration which is currently going on. But if the idea of snacking like a goddess -- just for this year anyway -- tickles your fancy, you can find out how to make this treat and a little bit of Songkran history in my most recent CNNGo article: Goddesses and peanut brittle: This year, celebrate Songkran in supernatural style.

Happy Songkran, everybody!

¹ Thai-style peanut brittle often, though not always, contains sesame seeds. It's also not as hard as western-style brittle is, and it is much, much less candy-like. When the brittle is made entirely out of sesame seeds, similar to Greek pasteli (παστέλι), it's call Nga Tat (งาตัด). It's not nearly as common as peanut, or peanut-sesame, brittle, though.

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Panaeng Curry with Beef (พะแนงเนื้อ)

There appears to be two big camps when it comes to how modern-day panaeng curry is supposed to be: one camp prefers their panaeng saucier and more herbal¹; one camp goes for a thicker, meatier, and sweeter panaeng with the taste of peanuts more prominent. These two seem to form the opposing ends of a spectrum on which the kinds of panaeng you'd find on the streets of, or at shophouse eateries in, Bangkok fall. This, of course, is entirely based on my own very unscientific observation.

I have always preferred the former since I grew up eating it both at home and at school,² but I have in recent years come to embrace the richer, more Rendang-like panaeng which seems to be well liked among patrons of Thai restaurants in the US.

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Bacon-Wrapped Pork Roast with Sage

What makes this dish worthy of a blog post is not so much about what it is. I could rhapsodize about how juicy, how succulent, how tender this bacon-wrapped pork roast is. But, really, it's hard to find bacon-wrapped anything that doesn't taste good. What's interesting about this pork-on-pork goodness, actually, is how great it looks (very), how little it costs (very little), and how many people it feeds (a lot).

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