Bangkok’s markets are busy from dawn until dusk, sometimes even stay open when most of the city is asleep. Normally, the traffic of shoppers and crowds of office workers hurrying their way masks the busy stretch of shops and food stalls, making it difficult to pay close attention to details.
Earlier this year, however, a strange silence had fallen on the city, civil unrest brought life in the city of angels to an eerie standstill, Bangkokians elected to stay home, and shops closed their doors.
Among the closed shops, with only soldiers scattered around, I saw a woman carrying her mobile food stall on her shoulders in two baskets dangling from a long bamboo pole.
There was something compelling about this lonely figure going on selling her dish in the empty streets. As I approached her, feeling sympathy to her or maybe just plain hunger, I discovered with very much curiosity this delicious dish that was so satisfying amid the general grim of the comatose city.
A twist of the well-known som tam recipe of papaya salad, in this dish gelatinous waxy white corn kernels, replace the green papaya. The unique starchy texture of the corn is enjoying a backdrop of tangy refreshment from the lime juice, a truly innovative interpretation of the classic dish that uses accessible ingredients.
Spicy Som Tam Salad of Gelatinous White Corn สูตรทำส้มตำไทยข้าวโพด
Hanuman from Thaifoodmaster
A twist of the well known som tam recipe of papaya salad, in this som tam recipe, gelatinous waxy white corn kernels replace the green papaya. The unique starchy texture of the corn is enjoying a backdrop of tangy refreshment from the lime juice, a truly innovative interpretation of the classic dish that uses accessible ingredients.
With a knife slice off the cooked corn kernels. ใช้มีดฝานข้าวโพดออก
To a wood or clay pestle and mortar throw one clove and garlic and as much chilies as you like. Wood or clay pestle and mortar are preferred because they absorb flavors, and improve the dish flavor as they age. ใส่กระเทียม พริกขี้หนู ลงในครก
Lightly crush the chilies and garlic, the finer you pound the chilies, the hotter the final product will become. ตำพริก และ กระเทียมพอแตก
Add dried shrimp that have been pounded lightly in advance, work the shrimp lightly. ใส่กุ้งแห้งลงไป และ ตำต่อไป
Add freshly roasted unsalted peanuts and break them roughly keeping quite large pieces for a nice crunch. เติมถั่วลิสงคั่วลง และ ตำพอแตก
Squeeze the juice of couple of lime wedges, if you measure add just under one tablespoon of lime juice. บีบน้ำมะนาวลงไป
Throw in the lime peels as well squeezing the last drops of juice and releasing some also the aroma and bitterness of the oils in the pestle and mortar. ถ้าชอบสามารถใส่เปลือกมะนาวที่บีบแล้วลงไปก็ได้
Add fish sauce. ใส่น้ำปลาลงไป
Add palm sugar. เติมน้ำตาลมะพร้าวลงไป
Carefully dissolve all the sugar. ละลายน้ำตาลมะพร้าวให้หมด
Cut couple of cherry tomatoes into rough and uneven slices. หั่นมะเขือเทศสีดาใส่ลงไป
Crush the tomatoes in the pestle and mortar, releasing their juices. บุบมะเขือเทศพอแตก
Cut in 2-3 longbeans into 1cm (1/2”) slices, give them a quick and light bruising mix. หั่นถั่วฝักขาวเป็นชิ้น ยาวประมาณ 1 ซม ใส่ลงในครก และบุบพอแตก
Add the cooked corn. ใส่ข้าวโพดข้าวเหนียวลงไป
give everything a last light work in the pestle and mortar, make sure that the juices penetrate the corn kernels. Do not over work. ตำเคล้าให้เข้ากัน
Garnish with carrots julienne and Serve with sticky rice, fresh vegetables and salted duck egg. ตักใส่จาน โรยหน้าด้วยแครอทซอยบาง ๆ เป็นเส้น เสริฟกับข้าวเหนียวร้อน กับ ไข่เค็ม
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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.
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.
This dish brings yet another angle to celebrate the essence of Thai cuisine. The Thais dare pairing ingredients, which at first seem to be unmatchable, strong players with opposite characteristics, white turmeric and salted prawns, and guess what? It works beautifully!
The pairing actually has the intention to enhance the differences in flavor and texture, creating a playful dish, both in taste and in presentation. The delicate thin cut white turmeric juliennes with its crunchy-apple like texture matched well with the just made salted prawns chunks which still maintain some of their intrinsic sweetness.
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Get Access – Join Thaifoodmaster Today
Practical and kitchen-tested recipes with a mix of theory, history, psychology, and Siamese culture tidbits.
Access to Thaifoodmaster’s constantly growing library of prime professional classes, articles, recipes and videos on Siamese culinary topics, available nowhere else in English.
Gain access to NEW MONTHLY masterclasses as they become available.
1-1 support from Hanuman to help you achieve your professional Thai culinary goals
The opportunity to join a monthly live two-hour videoconference where I can answer your questions.
one year access for the price of 3 days in-person training.
You will get everything you need to:
When you design or build a new menu for an event or restaurant or even prepare for dinner with friends.
Finally !
Master your Thai cooking skills and expand your repertoire.