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Basic Facts |
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Bamboo Shoots
(naw
mai)
The edible shoots of bamboo. Available fresh when in season,
otherwise preserved in jars or canned, Fresh shoots should be blanched
(possibly more than once) if they are bitter. |
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Banana flower or blossom (hua plee)
This is the purple, teardrop-shaped flower of the banana plant. The
purple leaves and pale yellow buds that grow between them are discarded.
Only the inner pale core is eaten and this needs to be blanched in boiling
water to remove any bitterness. It is advisable to wear rubber gloves to
prepare banana flower as it has a gummy substance that can stain your
fingers. Shredded banana flowers appear in salads and sometimes in
curries. |
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Bean Sprouts (thua ngonk)
These are used in stir-fries, soups and salads. Keep them in a bowl of
cold water in the fridge to prolong their life. |
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Corn (khaw pod)
Now commonly grown in
northern
Thailand,
corn is eaten freshly grilled as a healthy snack. Baby corn is often used
in stir-fries and curries. |
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Thai Eggplant
(ma-kheua
yaow)
Long shaped, shiny light green skin, and is cooked
on the grill or stir fried. |
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Apple Aubergines (ma-kheua phraw)
They range in color
from pale green, orange, purple, yellow, or white. Golf ball size in
shape. |
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Pea Aubergines (ma-kheua Puang)
They are tiny, bitter,
and shaped like large peas. Normally used in green curry. |
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Snake Beans (thua pak yaow)
Also called long beans
or yard-long beans, these are sold in coils or tied together in bunches.
Eaten fresh and cooked. Green bean can be used instead. |
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Betel leaves (bai cha-phluu)
known also as
piper leaves or wild tea leaves, they are used to wrap some snacks such as
mieng kum |
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Water spinach (phak bung)
This is a leafy
green vegetable that has hollow stems. |
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Napa cabbage (pak kard khaow)
This is a very
versatile vegetable and it can be used in stir-fry, stews, soups or
salads. It absorbs the flavors of other ingredients as it cooks. |
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Asian shallots (hom lek)
reddish purple
shallots used in South-East Asian, including Thailand. |
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Cha-om
A bitter green
vegetable resembling a fem. Cha-om is used in omelet-style dishes and in a
stir-fried, mostly Thai people eat with chili dipping shrimp paste sauce (nam
prik pla to). |
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Luffa (buab)
Also known as angled
luffa, silk gourd, silk squash or Chinese okra. It has a mild, delicate
taste, very similar to that of cucumber and the two are interchangeable in
most cooked dishes, used mostly in stir-fried with shrimp (buab pad goong). |
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Daikon (hua chai tao)
This large, thin
cylindrical vegetable looks rather like a carrot, but with a smooth, white
skin. A member of the radish family, it is sometimes known as the oriental
radish. Thai people normally make daikon for the soup with ground pork. |
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Bitter melon (ma ra)
As the name implies,
the flesh of this vegetable tastes quite bitter, especially when it is
green and immature, but it has rather sweet and fragrant smell. It is made
into a soup, and this could be one of the healthy dishes. |
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Chinese chives (thon kui chai)
Chinese
chives have a much stronger aroma than the ones grown in the West. They
dont rally taste of onions, but have a flavor that resembles a cross
between garlic and leek. |
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Chinese celery (kun chai)
Chinese celery is
smaller and more delicate than the common American celery. The long stems
are thin, hollow and crispy. Deep green stems and leaves are well
flavored, popular in stir-fried and soup. |
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Chinese mustard green (pak kwang tung)
It has dark
green oval leaves and thick fleshy stalk. They are boiled and added with
noodles dishes (ba mee moo dang). |
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Chinese leek flower (pak mai kward)
A very popular
homemade Thai dish features chopped chives stir-fried with lever. |
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Chinese broccoli (pak ka na)
Every part of
this vegetable is edible. The flower, leaves and stalk and each has its
own individual flavor and texture. Chinese broccoli is often stir-fried
with Thai fried rice or gravy noodle (Lard na). |
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Winged Bean (thua phu)
Almost every part of
winged bean is tasty and edible. The fresh young pods are similar to green
beans with a chewy texture and a slightly sweet taste. When cooked, the
leaves taste like spinach and the flowers like mushrooms. The firm-fleshed
roots have a nutty flavor. |
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Okra (kra jeab)
Okra is one of the
most popular vegetables in subtropical Asia and Eastern Africa. In
Thailand people like to eat it for side dish which is good to be eaten
with chili dipping sauce. |
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Taro (puak)
Deep fried taro
with sweet and sour sauces (puerk tod) is seemed to be common food on the
street, and it can be used in a lot of dessert dishes. |
