Category: Food

Aegle marmelos

This is a bael or bael fruit AKA Bengal quince, wood apple, stone apple or seer phael (head-fruit). In Thai it’s known as matum.

The size is between an orange and a grapefruit.

In Thailand, bael is usually found in the form of dried slices, which are reconstituted in water to make juice. Our housekeeper brought over a few from her tree and I was surprised at how hard and heavy they were. We did as she said and boiled them, but then accidentally left them out on a hot night and the next day, they had fermented in the shell and burst, oozing a heavy syrup onto our counters. I threw them into the pond out front as an offering to Shiva, although he seems to favor the leaves instead of the fruit.

Spit Roast Pig

When we went to our good friend’s party last month, the kids tired out in an hour or two and we took them back home (just a 2 minute drive). Imagine my joy when I returned solo to freely flowing brew and this:

One of our friend’s father-in-law’s friends who looked like he stepped straight out of a Cometbus narrative was manning the spit for a while, then I tried my hand at it… Eventually, only the deliciously crackling neck and head remained. The thing about roast pig is that you have to eat it hot – 100x more delicious.

Thai Yellow Eggplant

I bought these golf ball-sized eggplants at the fresh market after not seeing them for a few years and never having tasted them. Up here in the Isan region, some people eat them with various savory/spicy dishes, but I don’t think they’re very popular. To me they tasted very bland, with a hint of astringent tang associated with certain fruits… The green variety, which are the size of ping pong balls, have a bit more flavor and are at least crunchy. These yellow ones were unremarkable in every way flavor-wise.

Mango Season in Thailand

Mango (not mamuang noi) taken with the "dreamy" filter on my camera phone.

April, May, and June are mango season here. Everybody who grows them at home brings them into the office or to their friends before the fruit gets too ripe. The coolest thing is that there are over a hundred different species grown and sold here in Thailand. I’ve probably tried about a third of them. To date, the best kind I’ve had are small ones that people grow in their backyards and sell at weekend fresh markets, known generically as mamuang noi (small mango). They have the perfect blend of sweet, tart, and wild flavors, and are at once slightly chewy yet soft.

Lunch break

I’m eating a plate of crab fried rice that looked unremarkable, but actually tastes quite amazing. This is a touristy dish that I pass on in Thailand because it’s usually got bits of shell in it, but it’s what they made for me today, and I’m glad they did – there’s huge chunks of crab meat hidden in the middle, and the egg was crispy with a runny yolk. Yum.

Meanwhile, there’s a guy who looks like jesuscristo floating in the huge hotel pool. If he turns it into wine, I’m calling off the afternoon lecture..

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