Bangkok (Lonely Planet) - Andrew Burke [110]
Keep in mind that đôm yam is meant to be eaten with rice, not sipped alone. The first swallow of this soup often leaves the uninitiated gasping for breath. It’s not that the soup is so hot, but the chilli oils that provide the spice tend to float on top.
Of the several variations on đôm yam that exist, probably the most popular with Westerners is the milder đôm kàh gài (literally ‘boiled galingale chicken’, but often translated as ‘chicken coconut soup’). The chilli is considerably muted in this soup by the addition of coconut milk.
Gaang jèut covers the other end of the spectrum with a soothing broth seasoned with little more than soy or fish sauce. Although the variations on gaang jèut are many, common ingredients include wún sên (mung-bean starch noodles), đôw hôo (tofu), hǒo·a chai tów (Chinese radish) and mǒo sàp (ground pork). Krua Noppharat in Banglamphu does a few very tasty gaang jèut, and Thai-Chinese eateries such as Ngwan Lee Lang Suan excel in hot and spicy soups such as đôm yam.
Fruit
The omnipresent pǒn·lá·mái (literally ‘fruit of the tree’, a general term for all fruit) testifies to the Thais’ great fondness for fruit, which they appear to consume at every opportunity. An evening meal is normally followed by a plate of sliced fresh fruit, not pastries or Western-style desserts – no doubt one reason Thais stay so slim, as a rule.
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THE CULT OF SÔM ðAM
Pounded green papaya salad, known in Thai as sôm đam, probably has its origins in Laos but is today one of the most popular dishes in Bangkok. It is made by taking strips of green unripe papaya and bruising them in a clay or wood mortar along with garlic, palm sugar, green beans, tomatoes, lime juice, fish sauce and a typically shock-inducing amount of fresh chillies. Sôm đam low, the ‘original’ version of the dish, employs heartier chunks of papaya, sliced eggplants, salted field crabs, and a thick unpasteurised fish sauce known as Ъlah ráh. Far more common in Bangkok is sôm đam tai, which includes dried shrimp and peanuts, and is seasoned with bottled fish sauce. Almost always made by women, sôm đam is also primarily enjoyed by women, often as a snack rather than an entire meal – the intense spiciness provides a satisfying mental ‘full’.
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Other common year-rounders include má·prów (coconut), fa·ràng (guava), kà·nŭn (jackfruit), má·kăhm (tamarind), sôm kěe·o wăhn (mandarin orange), má·lá·gor (papaya), sôm oh (pomelo), đaang moh (watermelon) and sàp·Ъà·rót (pineapple). All are most commonly eaten fresh, and sometimes dipped in a mixture of salt, sugar and ground chilli. Fruit juices of every kind are popular as beverages. Probably the best, if not the most expensive, place to shop for fruit is Or Tor Kor Market.
Sweets
English-language Thai menus often have a section called ‘Desserts’, even though the concept doesn’t exist in Thai cuisine, nor is there a direct translation for the word. The closest equivalent, kǒrng wăhn, simply means ‘sweet stuff’ and refers to all foods whose primary flavour characteristic is sweetness, although many have a salty element as well. Sweets mostly work their way into the daily Thai diet in the form of between-meal snacks, so you won’t find kǒrng wăhn in a traditional Thai restaurant at all. Instead, they’re prepared and sold by market vendors or, more rarely, by shops specialising in kǒrng wăhn.
Prime ingredients for many Thai sweets include grated coconut, coconut milk, rice flour (from white rice or sticky rice), cooked sticky rice (whole grains), tapioca, mung-bean starch, boiled taro and various fruits. For added texture and crunch, some sweets may also contain fresh corn kernels, sugar-palm kernels, lotus seeds, cooked black beans and chopped water chestnuts. Egg yolks are a popular ingredient for kǒrng wăhn – including the ubiquitous fǒy torng (literally ‘golden threads’) – probably influenced by Portuguese desserts and pastries introduced during the early Ayuthaya era (see Click here).
Thai sweets similar to the European concept of ‘sweet pastry