Eating in Thailand - Bangkok - page 516

Bangkok's Top 50 Street Food Stalls by Chawadee Nualkhair also functions well as a general introduction
and guide to Thai-style informal dining.
Mang·ku ́ t Known as mangosteen in English, the thick purple skin of this Queen of Fruit conceals a creamy white flesh
that is equal parts rich and tangy. Available from May to October.
Sôm oh The flesh of this indigenous fruit, known in English as pomelo, comes in large sections and is generally sweeter
than the grapefruit it resembles. Available August to November.
MUITO OBRIGADO
Try to imagine a Thai curry without the chillies, pàt tai without the peanuts, or papaya salad without the papaya.
Many of the ingredients used on a daily basis by Thais are recent introductions courtesy of European traders and
missionaries. During the early 16th century, while Spanish and Portuguese explorers were first reaching the
shores of Southeast Asia, there was also subsequent expansion and discovery in the Americas. The Portuguese in
particular were quick to seize the exciting products coming from the New World and market them in the East,
thus most likely having introduced such modern-day Asian staples as tomatoes, potatoes, corn, lettuce, cabbage,
chillies, papayas, guavas, pineapples, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, peanuts and tobacco.
Chillies in particular seem to have struck a chord with Thais, and are thought to have first arrived in Ayuthaya
via the Portuguese around 1550. Before their arrival, the natives got their heat from bitter-hot herbs and roots
such as ginger and pepper.
And not only did the Portuguese introduce some crucial ingredients to the Thai kitchen, but also some enduring
cooking techniques, particularly in the area of sweets. The bright-yellow duck egg and syrup-based treats you see
at many Thai markets are direct descendants of Portuguese desserts known as fios de ovos ('egg threads') and ov-
os moles . And in the area surrounding the Church of Santa Cruz ( Click here ) , a former Portuguese enclave, you
can still find kà·nŏm fa·ràng, a bun-like snack baked over coals.
Sweets
English-language Thai menus often have a section called 'Desserts', but the concept takes
two slightly different forms in Thailand. Kŏrng wăhn, which translates as 'sweet things',
are small, rich sweets that often boast a slightly salty flavour. Prime ingredients for kŏrng
wăhn include grated coconut, coconut milk, rice flour (from white rice or sticky rice),
cooked sticky rice, tapioca, mung-bean starch, boiled taro and various fruits.
Thai sweets similar to the European concept of pastries are called kà·nŏm. Probably the
most popular type of kà·nŏm in Thailand are the bite-sized items wrapped in banana
leaves, especially kôw đôm gà·tí and kôw đôm mát . Both consist of sticky rice grains
steamed with gà·tí (coconut milk) inside a banana-leaf wrapper to form a solid, almost
taffy-like, mass.
Although foreigners don't seem to immediately take to most Thai sweets, two dishes
few visitors have trouble with are roh·đee, the backpacker staple 'banana pancakes'