More Thai Fruit

I always found it inconvenient to eat a lot of fruit back home, you know, going to the grocery store, buying just the right amount of fruit so as not to have over-ripe stuff after a week, etc., but here in Thailand it is very simple.There are fruit stands pretty much on every street corner, along major thoroughfares, in markets, malls and grocery stores. Fruits are easily substituted for chips and chocolate here because of the ease of purchasing it as well as its preparation.When you grab a guava, for example, from a street vendor, he will slice and bag it for you and it's ready to eat as you walk or easily stored in your refrigerator or a lunch box to be eaten later.I personally think some of the shapes, textures and even sheer size of some of these fruits is interesting.The variety of fruits here is also pretty awesome. We get far more than the average U.S. fruit section at your local grocer...you know, apples, oranges, grapes, bananas.Our fruits here even come with cool nicknames like "The king of fruit" (durian shown above) or "The queen of fruit" (mangosteen pictured below).Right now mangosteens, dragon fruit, sala (spiky brown football looking fruit above), gnaw (furry looking red fruit in crates above) and custard apples (green fruit below often nicknamed Buddha Head fruit by farangs as it resembles the S.E. Asian depiction of Buddha's head) are in season and most fruit stands seem to always have durians (big spiky good-thing-Sir-Issac-Newton-wasn't-sitting-under-one-of-these-suckers fruit pictured above), mangoes and watermelon.These are some pictures from a roadside fruit seller we visited on our most recent trip away from town.

Went food shopping today...

I went to the nearby Foodland after school today, in the rain. I looked at the fruit...I photographed the fruit...I even took time to sniff the fruit oddly enough. I walked out of the grocery store with a bag full of hotdogs, hotdog buns and Listerine...I gotta work on this diet thing!!Ah, in season again, these lovely "nose-shaped" fruits are the rose apple. They have an interesting texture and when perfectly ripe, taste oh so yummy!Next we have the miracle fruit, the Mangkoot (mangosteen). Apparently it is full of antioxidants and people in the west (USA) pay 30 dollars for a bottle of its miracle juice! Hahahaha. I get the same bottle of 100% Mangkoot juice here for a little over a buck! It's not a miracle elixir, it's just expensive because they grow here, not there...and a lot of pyramid, multi-level dudes convincing people to pay 30 dollars for a bottle of fruit juice.What's next...ah yes! These furry little buggers are the "ngoh" or something like that! English? Uh, no idea truthfully! Easier than they look like to get into and eat, Juicy with a pit. Not my favorite but I can eat a couple now and then for fun. I just don't like when the cover of the pit comes off with the meat of the fruit, otherwise they are really tasty.Ah, these look like Dragon Fruit to me. These things grow at the end of scraggly cactus looking plants. Always wondered why people grew those cactus things...now I know, they give these nicely colored fruit. Meat inside is either white or purple...These look like the smaller purple ones to me.And finally one that I actually don't eat, probably ate two in three plus years here in Thailand. Called I believe the Longan. Similar inside to the flesh of a lychee, even ngoh. Don't let me scare you away from these though. If you ever have the chance, give 'em a try. You might love them.

Jackfruit Information and Facts

The jackfruit tree is native to countries such as India, Bangladesh, Philippines, Thailand and Sri Lanka and maybe even East of Malay. It’s cultivated on Tropical conditions and the Jackfruit is believed to be the largest tree borne fruit in the world.

History of Jackfruit

The Scientific name of Jackfruit is Artocarpus heterophyllus and comes from the family of Mulberry family (Moraceae). Native to countries like Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia and Bangladesh it was known to have originated from the Western Ghats of India. It is the National Fruit of Bangladesh and Indonesia. The Jackfruit was introduced to Northern Brazil in the mid 19th Century. It has been a major part of Indian Agriculture for Centuries. It’s believed that the great king Asoka in India encouraged cultivation of the Jackfruit. History shows that cultivation of jackfruit goes back to as much as 5000 to 6000 years.

Jackfruit’s Benefits

There are many benefits of the Jackfruit tree. It’s a very nutritional and tasty fruit and even the seed of the fruit is edible and very high in nutritional value.
The tree yields strong wood when mature and valued for its durable termite proof timber which can be used to build furniture. The leaves are one of the favorite diets of goats in these tropical areas.

Medicinal value of Jackfruit

Jackfruit is very useful when it comes to lowering blood pressure due to its very high level in potassium. The root of the Jackfruit is known to have many curative benefits. Its extracts are used by many native medicine makers to cure fever and diarrhea, it’s also found to be beneficial for asthma patients, and used to treat many skin problems as well.

Nutritional value of Jackfruit

In Addition, the Fruit contains a high amount of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Sodium, and many more nutrients. It calorie content is very low and is used in diets for weight loss or even to gain weight. The Vitamin C in the Jackfruit helps to increase the body’s immunity system and keep gums healthy. It’s what keeps the cells in the body together. The nutrients in Jackfruit also stops cancer cells from developing within the body, keeps the blood pressure low, fights against ulcers and makes the skin look younger by slowing down the degeneration of cells in the body. There are many varieties of Jackfruit. The sweetest and best is considered as the Honey Jack.

Habit and Appearance of Jackfruit

The Jackfruit Tree is an enormous tree which is large and bushy found growing mainly in tropical areas which are seen to have Monsoon rains. The young branches contain sticky white latex which can be useful to make birdlime. The leaves of this tree are oval shaped and deep green and glossy and grow in clusters. Its unique male and female flowers are borne in separate flower heads and are mostly seen in February and March. The male flowers are on the new wood above the female flowers. You can tell the difference because the female flowers appear on short twigs from the trunk. Male Flowers has pollen and the female flower doesn’t and another distinctive feature of the female flower is that it begins to swell very soon.
The Jackfruit can become as large as 36 inches long and 20 inches in diameter making it weigh more than 80 pounds. These fruits hang from branches and trunks and sometimes you will also be able to see fruits hanging from the roots of some older trees. These large round or oblong fruit has a rough skin and is usually covered with a thick layer of pointed studs. Due to its very sticky white latex found inside the fruit its best if you dip the knife in vegetable oil before cutting the fruit. Within the fruit are many carpels which are small yellow pulpy pockets with seeds. This yellow pulp can be consumed raw when ripe and cooked when it’s not. It’s very starchy and fibrous which provides energy and has an abundance of dietary fiber. The seeds are also considered to be very nutritious and is consumed cooked by making curries or even fried, or just by drying and soaked in honey. It’s used as a cuisine in most parts of Asia and is the most popular fruit after mango and banana.

Rambutan Facts and Information

Commonly known as Rambutan it is known botanically as Nephelium lappaceum. The Rambutan is a tropical tree which belongs to the Sapindaceae family and also the fruit of this tree. Although it does not grow very tall, it produces an ample harvest. Rambutan is widely distributed throughout Indonesia, Malaysia and Southeast Asia and is identified in some countries, by different names. For example, in Nicargua, Costa Rica and Panama, Rambutan is identified as mamon chino while Thailand people call it ngoh. In Malaysia, another type of Rambutan is sold called wild Rambutan. Although the common color of Rambutan is red, the fruit of this particular type is yellowish. The hairy skin of the Rambutan fruit is removed to get to the whitish or pinky edible parts. They typically taste sweet though some are sour as well as sweet.

Appearance of Rambutan

The Rambutan tree grows to about 10 to 20 m in height. Its alternate leaves are 10 to 30 cm in length and pinnate and have three to eleven leaflets, each with an entire margin about 5 to 15 cm in width and 3 to 10 cm in breadth. Petal-less small flowers which are about 2 1/2 to 5 mm in size are disk-shape and they bloom cluster wise. The shape of Rambutan fruit is round or oval and it is about three to six cm by three to four cm in dimension.
Rambutan is borne in clusters, and about 10 to 20 Rambutan fruit can be seen. Its leather like skin has pliable thorns. Rambutan fruit is typically red though some are yellow or orange. ‘Rambut’ is a Malay word that means ‘hairs’, hence it gets its name because of the thorn like appearance of its fruits. Its brownish seed is about two to three cm in size and is basally scarred. It is soft and crunchy. Although the raw seeds are poisonous, they may be eaten after cooking.

Propagation of Rambutan

In some countries, the Rambutan tree is very common in gardens. They are also grown in medium sized estates for trading. Although Rambutan are widely seen in Southeast Asian countries, Sri Lanka, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, the Caribbean, Africa, Cambodia and Central America are also main countries for Rambutan plantations. It is one of the fruits that give out massive harvest in Hawaii as well. Rambutan trees are genetically male or female. Although female Rambutan trees are only with female flowers, the male Rambutan tree has both flowers although female blooms are less.
Fragrance of Rambutan flowers entices insects. Mostly, bees can be seen around Rambutan flowers. Many types of butterflies, flies and other types of insects extract a great quantity of honey thus fertilizing them. Since the female flowers lack pollen, they need cross pollinations to be fertilized. Although some cultivars are apomixes, Rambutan mostly depends on insects to be pollinated.
From the selected clones, a range of cultivars has been produced up to now. Some of them are highly suitable for harvesting and they are only three to five m in height which makes them easier to be cultivated. Seeds of Rambutan are now available that are developed to bear both the female and male flowers equally well. After removing the fleshy fruit, seeds are thoroughly washed before planting. It will take about nine to 25 days for sprouting. Seedlings give results after five to six years but genetic wise the duration may change. Patch budding is an effective way to propagate Rambutan trees. In this method, one and half month old seedlings are taken and planted in one quart cans with enough manure. Thereafter they are transferred to large containers and this type of trees produces flowers within three years after they are planted out in orchards.

Uses of Rambutan Fruit

Rambutan is a tasty fruit and it is very popular in many countries. Seed oil from the Rambutan is produced and in use to manufacture candles and soap. Although Rambutan trees are cut down rarely, their wood is used in the construction industry. Rambutan fruit is said to heal dysentery and diarrhea effectively. The leaves are also used as cataplasm to cure headaches. In Malaysia, the skin of the Rambutan fruit is used to prepare native medicines. Further, the roots of Rambutan trees are boiled and used as a medication to cure fever.

Nutritional Value of Rambutan Fruit

Rambutan fruit is rich in following components: Fat, Calcium, Iron, Protein, Nitrogen, Ash, Sodium, Zinc, Magnesium, Manganese, Potassium, Phosphorus, pH, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Fiber. Eating five fruit in a day can seriously decrease the chance of cancer. Rambutan fruit is also very effective in lowering blood pressure.

How to Eat Rambutan Fruit

Open Rambutan fruit by removing one part of its skin. Find the seam across the fruit and pull apart the leathery skin. You can also use the knife, but be careful, only cut through the skin. Then you can hold the fruit with your fingers and enjoy the sweet taste.
Rambutan fruit cannot be cooked; it can be eaten raw only.

Commonly known as Rambutan it is known botanically as Nephelium lappaceum. The Rambutan is a tropical tree which belongs to the Sapindaceae family and also the fruit of this tree. Although it does not grow very tall, it produces an ample harvest. Rambutan is widely distributed throughout Indonesia, Malaysia and Southeast Asia and is identified in some countries, by different names. For example, in Nicargua, Costa Rica and Panama, Rambutan is identified as mamon chino while Thailand people call it ngoh. In Malaysia, another type of Rambutan is sold called wild Rambutan. Although the common color of Rambutan is red, the fruit of this particular type is yellowish. The hairy skin of the Rambutan fruit is removed to get to the whitish or pinky edible parts. They typically taste sweet though some are sour as well as sweet.

Appearance of Rambutan

The Rambutan tree grows to about 10 to 20 m in height. Its alternate leaves are 10 to 30 cm in length and pinnate and have three to eleven leaflets, each with an entire margin about 5 to 15 cm in width and 3 to 10 cm in breadth. Petal-less small flowers which are about 2 1/2 to 5 mm in size are disk-shape and they bloom cluster wise. The shape of Rambutan fruit is round or oval and it is about three to six cm by three to four cm in dimension.
Rambutan is borne in clusters, and about 10 to 20 Rambutan fruit can be seen. Its leather like skin has pliable thorns. Rambutan fruit is typically red though some are yellow or orange. ‘Rambut’ is a Malay word that means ‘hairs’, hence it gets its name because of the thorn like appearance of its fruits. Its brownish seed is about two to three cm in size and is basally scarred. It is soft and crunchy. Although the raw seeds are poisonous, they may be eaten after cooking.

Propagation of Rambutan

In some countries, the Rambutan tree is very common in gardens. They are also grown in medium sized estates for trading. Although Rambutan are widely seen in Southeast Asian countries, Sri Lanka, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, the Caribbean, Africa, Cambodia and Central America are also main countries for Rambutan plantations. It is one of the fruits that give out massive harvest in Hawaii as well. Rambutan trees are genetically male or female. Although female Rambutan trees are only with female flowers, the male Rambutan tree has both flowers although female blooms are less.
Fragrance of Rambutan flowers entices insects. Mostly, bees can be seen around Rambutan flowers. Many types of butterflies, flies and other types of insects extract a great quantity of honey thus fertilizing them. Since the female flowers lack pollen, they need cross pollinations to be fertilized. Although some cultivars are apomixes, Rambutan mostly depends on insects to be pollinated.
From the selected clones, a range of cultivars has been produced up to now. Some of them are highly suitable for harvesting and they are only three to five m in height which makes them easier to be cultivated. Seeds of Rambutan are now available that are developed to bear both the female and male flowers equally well. After removing the fleshy fruit, seeds are thoroughly washed before planting. It will take about nine to 25 days for sprouting. Seedlings give results after five to six years but genetic wise the duration may change. Patch budding is an effective way to propagate Rambutan trees. In this method, one and half month old seedlings are taken and planted in one quart cans with enough manure. Thereafter they are transferred to large containers and this type of trees produces flowers within three years after they are planted out in orchards.

Uses of Rambutan Fruit

Rambutan is a tasty fruit and it is very popular in many countries. Seed oil from the Rambutan is produced and in use to manufacture candles and soap. Although Rambutan trees are cut down rarely, their wood is used in the construction industry. Rambutan fruit is said to heal dysentery and diarrhea effectively. The leaves are also used as cataplasm to cure headaches. In Malaysia, the skin of the Rambutan fruit is used to prepare native medicines. Further, the roots of Rambutan trees are boiled and used as a medication to cure fever.

Nutritional Value of Rambutan Fruit

Rambutan fruit is rich in following components: Fat, Calcium, Iron, Protein, Nitrogen, Ash, Sodium, Zinc, Magnesium, Manganese, Potassium, Phosphorus, pH, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Fiber. Eating five fruit in a day can seriously decrease the chance of cancer. Rambutan fruit is also very effective in lowering blood pressure.

How to Eat Rambutan Fruit

Open Rambutan fruit by removing one part of its skin. Find the seam across the fruit and pull apart the leathery skin. You can also use the knife, but be careful, only cut through the skin. Then you can hold the fruit with your fingers and enjoy the sweet taste.
Rambutan fruit cannot be cooked; it can be eaten raw only.

Mangosteen Thai Fruit

The Mangosteen is believed to have originated in Southeast Asia. Its botanical name is Garcinia mangostana and is grown in tropical areas of both the western and eastern hemispheres. Commercial plantations can be found in the Philippines, India, Malaysia and Thailand. A few other countries in South and Central America as well as Asia are known to be smaller producers of this fruit. It is highly valued because of the excellent flavour it gives. It is referred to as ‘the queen of fruits’ in Asia and in the French Caribbean as ‘the food of the Gods’.

Characteristics of Mangosteen

From the time that a Mangosteen seed is planted, it can take anywhere from seven to ten years to give fruit. While it is considered one of the slowest growing tropical fruit trees, it can actually reach a surprising seventy five feet in height.
The rind, also known as the exocarp, of the fruit is a deep, purplish red colour when it is ripe. The edible flesh is tangy and sweet. It is about the same size as a tangerine, and its rind is similar to the pomegranate in texture.

Mangosteen Nutritional Value and Benefits

The Mangosteen fruit is as functional as it is delicious. It is particularly rich in xanthones, which are known to help your body function healthily. In addition to this, each serving of this fruit can contain up to five grams of fibre.
Xanthones are the name given to a group of polyphenolic compounds, which are similar in structure to bioflavanoids and are biologically active. They are very rarely found occurring in nature, and the majority of them are found in just two different families of plants. So far, there have been two hundred xanthones that occur naturally which have been identified, and of those two hundred, forty were discovered in the Mangosteen fruit.
Xanthones, along with their derivatives, have been scientifically proven to have many benefits. Some of these are anti-inflammatory properties, anti convulsion abilities and anti-allergic properties. Other components that are found in Mangosteen also have some medicinal qualities, and examples of a few of these components would be catechins, sterols, polysaccharides and proanthocyanidins. While these compounds are not as nutritionally important or as biologically active as xanthones, they still go a long way in providing the Mangosteen with the medicinal benefits that it is treasured for, because many of these components are antioxidants.

How Mangosteen Fruit is Eaten

How to eat Mangosteen fruit? The bittersweet rind of the Mangosteen is not edible. To get past this, you can use the palms of your hands to crush the rind, which is quite brittle, and reach the white fleshy fruit inside. You can also try twisting the Mangosteen rind firmly until it gives way.
Once the rind is taken away, you can see that the inside of Mangosteen fruit consists of wedged segments. The largest wedge is most likely to contain a seed, while the smaller ones lack one. There can be between four to eight segments, and you can find out how many segments are inside the fruit before even opening it because the number or wedges showing on the protrusions on the underside of the Mangosteen represent the number of wedges inside it. Mangosteen is very sweet and should be consumed as soon as it is opened. Mangosteen juice is also very popular, and perhaps the most well known Mangosteen drink is XanGo, marketed by a company based in Utah and introduced to American consumers in 2002.

Other uses of Mangosteen

The medicinal properties of Mangosteen fruit mean that people use it as a home remedy or herbal remedy in curing several ailments. In many Asian countries, such as China, Thailand and India, preparations are made from the Mangosteen rind and then used to treat dysentery and many other types of infectious diarrhoea. The astringent qualities of the plant mean that it is useful when it comes to preventing the loss of important nutrients through dehydration. Thai people make use of the antimicrobial properties of the Mangosteen fruit by using preparations of it to treat tuberculosis, urinary tract infections, infected wounds, malaria, gonorrhoea and syphilis. It was well established in Asia for many years that the Mangosteen fruit has strong anti-inflammatory properties, and therefore it is widely used for treating hyperkeratosis, eczema and other related skin diseases such as seborrhoea and psoriasis.

Durian – The King of Fruits

The Durian’s complex taxonomy is a result of addition and subtraction of many species from the genus durio and the Malvaceae family. It was earlier mistaken to Annona muricata (soursop) as this particular fruit also has a thorny greenish skin akin to the durian fruit. Malaysian people who identify soursop by the name ‘Dutch durian’ emphasize the similarity of the two fruits. Another misidentification is known with the notes of Johann Anton Wienmann (1800) where he classified durian with the Castaneae plant.

History of Durian

Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia are native to the durian tree, though Western countries have known it for more than six centuries. Niccolo Da Conti, a Venetian merchant who traveled to China and Western Asian countries in 15th century had mentioned durian fruit in his documents. Garcia De Orta, a Portuguese physician, mentioned durian in his book named Coloquois dos Simples e Drogas da India launched in 1563. The book, Herbarium Amboinense published in 1974 by the Georg Eberhard Rumphius, German Botanist, also gives a detailed and well-researched account on the durian.
Durian Seeds
The Portuguese introduced Durio ziebethuinus to Ceylon in the 16th century. Many new types were also introduced later. In late 1800, Southeast Asian countries that were first familiarized with the plant started to grow it commercially in 20th century. Edmund James Banfield, a naturalist of Australian origin, got a durian seed in 2000 from one of his Singaporean friends and planted it in Queensland first introducing durian to Australians.

Habitats of Durian Fruit

Durian is a native plant of Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia but some highlight that it is native to Philippines as well. Thailand is one of the main countries that export durian to the international market. Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, West Indies, India, Hawaii, Polynesian Islands, Madagascar, China, Singapore, Northern Australia, and Malaysia as well as some parts of America are also well known as habitats for the durian tree.

Appearance of Durian

Nick named ‘King of Fruits’; durian is highly valued in Southeast Asian countries. Durian has a very distinguished smell and its skin is thorny and hard. The dimension of a durian fruit is about 30 – 15 cm and its weight is about three Kgs. Durian flowers bloom in a cluster and there are about three to thirty identical clusters borne on its trunk and large branches. Every flower has sepals and about five to six petals. Durian is round although the oblong shape is not irregular. The shells are green or brown while its flesh is a luminous yellowish or reddish color.
The odor of the edible parts of durian is so penetrating; it spreads a long distance even without removing the shell. Some like the aroma of durian very much while some others highly despise its scent. Durian trees yield two harvests per year, but it may vary in keeping with the various climates, cultivars and places. Durian trees bear fruit after 4 -5 years and they take about three months to ripe. From a great variety of durian, only the Durio ziebethinus variety is marketed internationally.

Benefits of Durian Fruit and Nutritional Value

Durian is rich in sugar. It is also rich in vitamin C, tryptophan, potassium, carbohydrates, fats as well as proteins. Health professionals frequently recommend it as an effective source for taking in raw fats. However, some point out that as the durian contains a high amount of fatty acids it is advised to limit its consumption. Malaysians use its leaves as well as roots to produce a decoction for fever. A research from University of Tsukuba reveals that durian fruit has significant powers to detoxify the body. Javanese people think that durian is a good aphrodisiac.

How to Eat Durian Fruit

The durian fruit is quite large. Its size is not a great problem as ripe ones fall in time. They may slightly crack when falling. By inserting a knife or a fair sized cleaver to such a crack, it can be opened very easily. Within, are about five parts and in each one of these, several seeds can be seen covered with an aril identical to custard. When durian is eaten immediately on falling, the pungent smell is bearable and the taste is also favorable. Durian fruit can be mixed with many flavors to increase its taste. Its seed can also be eaten after it’s cooked.

Thai Dessert Festival

If you like Thai food and are in Central Thailand at the moment then make an effort to go to the Thai Dessert festival that is happening this weekend in Chachoengsao. In the field opposite the city hall you will find many stalls set up selling a large variety of Thai desserts and meals. Of course I went in order to take pictures for the photo albums at enjoythaifood.com. And also to taste some of the delights. You already know my favourites if you have been reading my food blogs. At this stall you can see some miniature fruits that are for sale. They look like the real thing don’t they? Though, they taste a lot sweeter! Chachoengsao is famous for their delicious mangoes,  so make sure you try these with sticky rice. Yummy! The festival starts at 5 p.m. Just make sure you don’t eat too much for lunch!

 

Stir fried eggplant with fermented soybean and minced pork (Ma-keua Yaao Pad Tao Jieow Moo Sap)

Stir fried eggplant with fermented soybean and minced pork (Ma-keua Yaao Pad Tao Jieow Moo Sap) is one of the rice side dishes that is popular for many Thai people to eat. Because the ingredients are easy to find, it is simple to make and it still tastes delicious. Thai Eggplant is commonly known as white eggplant. Even so, you will find that there are so many colors of eggplant including light green, dark purple, white, or dark purple mixed with white, etc. Eggplant has a lot of nutrition. Thai people often use it to make many dishes such as eggplant salad (Yum Ma-keua Yaao), pound eggplant (Tum Ma-keua), etc.

Ingredients

• 2 eggplants, can use either green or purple eggplant
• 150 grams (5 ounces) minced pork or minced chicken
• 2-3 bunches of Thai sweet basil
• 3-5 Thai fresh chili (Phrik Khee Nuu), take the stems off (depends on how spicy you like)
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 Tbsp fermented soybean
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• ½ Tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• A little bit of salt
• ¼ cup water

How to do…
1. Rinse the basil and the eggplants with water thoroughly. Drain the basil and pluck the leaves to set aside. Cut off the eggplants ends. Then chop the eggplants into an oblique shape about 1.5-2 inches thick (or cut in half lengthwise first and then slice crosswise into about 1 inch sized pieces each). Soak the sliced eggplant in water.  Add a slight pinch of salt into it, this will help the eggplants from turning dark.

2. Pound Thai fresh chili and garlic together just enough to be coarse, set aside.

3. Set the pan on medium heat. Add vegetable oil into the pan. When the pan is hot, put the pounded garlic and chili to fry until fragrant and then add the minced pork to fry until it is done. Then add the soaked eggplants into it (drain before putting it in).

4. Season with fermented soybean, soy sauce, fish sauce and sugar. Add ¼ cup water, stir the ingredients well together. Then put the lid on to cover the pan. Wait for the eggplants to cook for about 4-5 minutes and then open the lid. Stir again. Last, add the basil leaves. Fry until the basil leaves get soft. Turn off the heat, lift the pan off the heat and put the stir fry on the plate. (To stir fried the eggplant like this some places like to cook the sliced eggplants in hot water about 2-3 minutes prior to frying. When it is time to fry this will make the eggplants soft and cook quickly).

 

Phrik Khee Nuu

Phrik Khee Nuu is a small bush with the height of 30-120 cm. It has flat, oily and smooth leaves. It has small and slender fruits about 2-3 cm long. When young the fruit has dark green color but when it ripens it will gradually change to a bright red color. It has hot spicy taste. The fruits are used either fresh or dried as ingredients in various Thai dishes to add spiciness and heat. It is also known as  Chili Padi, Bird’s Eye Chili, Bird Chili, or Thai pepper in English.

 

Vietnamese Coriander

Vietnamese Coriander is a seasonal plant with strong fragrance, because it has oil glands throughout every part of the plant. The bush grows to about 3-35 cm tall.  The trunk of the bush is green mixed with a light red color. The stem stands up straight, the top part is upright as well, but the bottom part will lay down on the ground. The stem will also have joints that connect together and often you will find that the root comes out from that joint area.
Leaves have a spear shape or oval shape, 2.5-3 cm wide and 5.5 to 8 cm long.  The flower blossoms in bunches, and each single small one has creamy white, pink or purplish in color. The fruit is small.
The charm of this kind of vegetable is that the fragrance can quench the smell of raw meat.

Vietnamese Coriander is a popular vegetable among Thai people, especially people from the the north and northeast (Isaan). They like to have it with spicy dishes like chili sauce, Laab, Goi, etc. or have it as a component of these and other foods. Villagers like to plant Vietnamese Coriander in a pot around their house so it can be picked at any time as needed (to cook). Vietnamese Coriander is also called by other names such as Pa-G-Mee, Pug-Phaeo, Haum-Chan or Phrik Mah.

 

Holy Basil, Sacred Basil (Ga-Prow)

The holy basil scientific name is Ocimum sanctum linn. and it is a plant in the Labiatae family. The important plants in this family include sweet basil, lemon basil, etc. Other names that Thai people call holy basil such as in central Thailand are red holy basil (Ga-prow Dang), white holy basil (Ga-prow Kow); northern and Chiang Mai province call it Gum Gau Kow, Gum Gau Dam, Gom Gau Kow, Gom Gau Dam; for Karen (a hill-tribe in northern Thailand) and Mae Hong Son province they call holy basil Hau Too Bploo, Hau Gwau Soo.

Holy basil is a short-lived shrub, and grows to a height of about 30-60, although some can grow up to a meter. The base of a tree is quite strong, and has hair along the trunk. Leaves are single leaf and attach to the stem in pairs with one on each side opposite from each other and perpendicular to the stem. Leaves are oval shaped and 1-3 cm wide and 2.5-5 cm long. The leaf tip can be pointed or rounded, the base is sharp, and the edges look like sawtooth and waves. Leaves have hairs. Flowers are like a tiered umbrella bouquet, with the blossom at the top and the end of branches, and 8-10 cm long. The flowers are small sized and bell shaped. Flower petals are both white with purple stripes and solid white color. Petal base is connected as a cone. The end is separated to 2 parts. The top part is separated to 4 tapering petals. The bottom part has only one round petal. The inner surface of the petal is smooth. The outer petal is coated with hair especially on the base of the petal. Sepal is red or brown mingled with purple and green. It is hard and the base is connected as a cone. The end is separated into a pointed segment as a thorn. Small stalk of the flower is green and about 0.20-0.30 cm long. The fruit, when it dries will burst open. It has small oval brown seeds.
Holy basil leaf has a yellow essential oil in it, it also has a fragrance and acrid odor like the smell of clove oil. The seed has a greenish yellow volatile oil. The quality of the essential oil depends on various factors such as age, geography and climate.
Holy basil is a plant that has been grown in Southeast Asia for a long time, especially in Thailand and Malaysia. There are three kinds of holy basil ; red holy basil (Ga-prow Dang), white holy basil (Ga-prow Kao) and the hybrid between the red and the white one. But the kinds that are popular to grow generally are white and red holy basil only, which called by the color of the petiole and the stem.

Holy basil is considered a spice plants and also a vegetable, and the fresh and young leaves are used for cooking. It’s also a plant that is used for flavoring the food, for fragrance, and to deodorize the fishy smell of meat, such as when it is put into Gang Pah (one of Thai spicy soup dish), Gang Ped (hot curry), and all types of Pad Ped (stir fried spicy curry). Typically it is used by putting the fresh holy basil leaves into the food after the food is cooked but before lifting it off from the heat. And for using holy basil as a flavoring vegetable, such as when it is used to cook Pad Ga-prow (stir fried holy basil), or added to Hoy Neung (steamed shellfish), etc. In addition to many nutritional values, to consume holy basil also helps the body to get so many benefits. Use it to prepare and use as a herb medicine, and it is said to help promote good blood circulation.