Listen to the Thai name pronunciationThis page is also available in: Thai
Soybeans have been an integral part of Asian cooking since ancient times. The Chinese refined and disseminated the secrets of soybeans fermentation into savory food flavoring agents. From the Natto in Japan to the Indonesian Tempeh, Soybeans are in the roots of Asian cuisine.
In the northern parts of Thailand, the home of the gentle Lanna cuisine, we can find yet another type of fermented soybeans product called Tua Nao.
Tua Nao originated from the ”Tai Yai” (ไทยใหญ่ Shan people) and “Tai Leuu” (ไทยลื้อ) minorities, who inhabits the Burmese and Thai territories of the north-western part of the Kingdom.
In the Tai Leuu dialect Tua Nao refers to Tua Oh (ถั่วโอ่) which simply translate to as bad odor beans.
Two main types of Tua Nao exist:
- Wet (ถั่วเน่าเมอะ ; tua nao muh) (ถั่วเน่าเปอะ ; tua nao bpuh)
- Dry (ถั่วเน่าแข๊บ ; tua nao khaaep).
Making both types of Tua Nao starts with the boiling of soybeans in brine for 4-6 hours. The soft beans are than pounded smooth in a wooden mortar and pastel and let to ferment for 2-3 days.
At this stage, the paste is sometimes lightly seasoned with salt and chilies. The paste is than hand formed into flat cakes.
To make the wet type, the flat cakes are wrapped in banana leaves and grilled over open fire, whereas for the dry variety the cakes are left to dry in the sun.
Before using Tua Nao in food preparations the cakes are lightly grilled and pounded to a fine powder.
It is thought that gabpi maawn was introduced to Thai cuisine by the Mon people, an ethnic group of Burma.
gabpi maawn is made from the flesh of small fresh water fishes, such as Thai river sprat (ปลาชิว) and Siamese mud carp (ปลาสร้อย). The fishes are sun dried and then finely pounded. They are left to ferment with salt for a minimum of one month.
Naem is a fermented sausage made with pork, pork skins, cooked sticky rice (glutinous), fresh garlic, salt, sugar and bird’s eye chilies. The sausage is wrapped in banana leaves or synthetic casings, and fermented for 3-5 days at about 30 degrees (C) and 50% humidity. The fermentation process enables the growth of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts, mostly lactobacilli, which accounts for the sourness of the sausage. The salt acts as an inhibitor – preventing the meat from going rotten, allowing the lactic acid bacteria and yeasts to feed on the rice and sugar, and fermenting the meat to perfection.
Here is a wonderful spicy Nam Tok recipe; you may as well go for it! A crispy fried fish dressed with plenty of fresh herbs, plenty of chilies than some lime juice and fragrant ground roasted rice as a textural binder. It is an unpretentious dish, that is just about what is around and what is available; there is some sort of truth about it, which makes it so wonderful.
If you are trying your first Issan style recipe, than this is the one to go for. It is not complicated to prepare and will show off beautifully the hearty and rustic flavors of Issan.
The food culture of Phuket, like its architecture, blends western colonial, Hokkien Chinese with Muslim and Thai motifs. The Hokkien Chinese who arrived from Singapore and Malaysia introduced Muu Haawng to the repertoire of the Phuket Thai style cuisine (bpoon dteh ; ปุ้นเต่).
It is very similar to the Teochew style Phalo, but here there is no use of Chinese five-spice powder, instead it is relaying only on soy sauce, sugar, garlic and black pepper to create a thick gravy that color the pork with a caramelized shiny red and tempting sheen.
Curry shops are for the busy businessman and the hungry traveler a real must. They offer a selection of the most attractive and appetizing food you can think of. This is the Thai version of fast food, even faster than in the west.
So here is a wonderful little lunchtime dish that goes well with yet another bowl of steamy hot rice, that comes of directly from the curry shops common repertoire.
