Listen to the Thai name pronunciation
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.
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.
Tom Yam is a type of soup with distinct sharp hot and sour flavors, scented with pleasant citrusy aroma.
Tom Yam is known to seduce many westerners to fall in love with Thailand, its people and food. Many trips memories to Thailand were written in diaries, others are etched on film but all are stained by the Tom Yam charm.
I still remember with vivid colors my first bowl of Tom Yam, in the night market of the old neighborhood on a hot night in a ragged, unfashionable part of Bangkok. Where the smell of cooking and the glare of florescent lights decorated the alley where JeMoi used to own a restaurant, a very simple and very good one, decorated with cheap bamboo chairs and peeling orange walls. I would enjoy watching the streets of the early night turning into mornings, eating, drinking and sweating. It was hard to say if I was sweating from the hot and humid weather, the cheap whiskey or JeMoi’s spicy food. I still smile when I think of her, standing by my table with a winning smile, as if she knew how much I enjoy the food.
