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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 don’t 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. |
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| Snow
peas (thua lun taow) –
They are similar to sugar snap peas but have slightly
plumper pods. |
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