Thai desserts are usually made from common ingredients and therefore very popular. However, it was only during the 17th century that desserts and sweets actually became part of everyday meals. In the old days, they were served only at auspicious occasions and ceremonies.
During wedding ceremonies, for example, four kinds of sweets are usually served, collectively known as “the four plates dessert” (ขนมสี่ถ้วย ; khanohm see thuay). The ancient Thai expression “To eat four cups of dessert” (กินสี่ถ้วย ; gin see thuay ) used in the central region of the kingdom as an idiom referring to a wedding banquet.
Each of the four desserts, besides offering meaningful symbolism to the young couple, also offered a tasty and refreshing treats to the guests arriving exhausted from a long trip.
All four desserts are based on sweetened, thick, rich and aromatic coconut cream with the following additional ingredients:
Pandan flavored rice flour droplets – (nohk bplaawy ;นกปล่อย), or as it known today: lot chog naam gathi (ลอดช่องน้ำกะทิ)
Sweet basil seeds. (kai gohp ; ไข่กบ)
Popped rice (นางลอย ; naang laawy)
Black gelatinous rice (aai dteuu ; อ้ายตื้อ )
Today I will show you how to prepare the first one of the four, the lot chog naam gathi.
Dishes are usually named after their main ingredient or the cooking method used. Some named after famous people, streets or even restaurants.
In this case the dish’s name describes what happens when you push hot and gooey dough through small holes and how it leaks out as elongated worm-like noodles. “Lod Chong” in Thai means exactly that, “leaking and escaping through the opening“. This certainly sounds better than the older name “Nohk Bplaawy” (นกปล่อย) meaning “Bird’s dropping“; an age-old, pictorial way describing exactly the same.
The way the Lod Chong noodles successfully pass through the holes insinuates the longevity of true love, wishing the young couple blessed and steady marriage, which will survive all the obstacles of life.
The noodles themselves are bland; they serve only as a pleasant textural element, carrying over only the aroma of freshly extracted Pandan leaves and the pickeling lime. The ideal Lod Chong noodles should be 2-2.5″ in length (5-6cm), depends on the press box used, and should not be fattier than 1/5″ (0.5cm).
For the coconut syrup, we use freshly squeezed coconut cream, we massage the grated coconut until the cream oozes out, adding very little or no water at all to retain to the fullest both the aroma and the velvety texture of the coconut cream. We will than dissolve pure palm sugar of the highest quality, soft and rich with aroma. To further protect and preserve the silkiness of the coconut cream we will avoid heat when dissolving the sugar, because heat can crack the coconut and spoil its smoothness. For an extra aroma we will smoke the sauce with aromatic candles.
Lod Chong, with its shiny green noodles basking in sweet and smooth aromatic coconut syrup, topped with crashed ice is an excellent refreshment which I hope you all will enjoy.
Lod Chong, with its shiny green noodles basking in sweet and smooth aromatic coconut syrup, topped with crashed ice is an excellent refreshment for a hot day!
Mix Thai red pickling lime with 5 cups of water. นำปูนแดงผสมกับน้ำเปล่า 5 ถ้วย
Leave overnight allowing the lime to sink to the bottom and the solution clears. collect the clear solution and set aside. ทิ้งน้ำปูนข้ามคืน เพื่อให้ปูนตกตะกอนก่อน
In a pestle and mortar finely pound Pandanus leaves with 3/4 cup of water. นำใบเตยหั่นหยาบ ๆ ลงไปโขลกในครกให้ละเอียด และ เติมน้ำเปล่า 3/4 ถ้วย
Transfer the pesto-like paste to a thin white cloth นำใบเตยที่โขลกได้ไปใส่ในผ้าขาวบาง
Press and extract the concentrate pandan juice. set aside. บีบเอาน้ำใบเตยออกให้ได้น้ำใบเตย 3/4 ถ้วย เสร็จแล้วพักเอาไว้
Grate about 5 cups of coconut. ขูดมะพร้าวสด ๆ ให้ได้ประมาณ 5 ถ้วย
With your hands massage and knead the coconut until coconut cream oozes, add no more than a cup of luke warm water while working the coconut. ใช้มือนวดเนื้อมะพร้าวจนหัวกะทิเริ่มออกมา และ เติมน้ำเปล่าประมาณ 1 ถ้วยลงไป แล้วนวดต่อไป
Transfer to a thin white cloth and squeeze to extract the fresh coconut cream. ใส่มะพร้าวขูดที่นวดแล้วลงในผ้าขาวบาง จากนั้นบีบให้ได้หัวกะทิประมาณ 2-3 ถ้วย
In a mixing bowl add to the coconut cream equal amount of high quality palm sugar and a teaspoon of salt. นำหัวกะทิที่ได้มาผสมกับน้ำตาลมะพร้าว ในอัตราส่วนเท่า ๆ กัน จากนั้นให้เติมเกลือป่น 1 ช้อนชาลงไป
With your hands dissolve the plam sugar eliminating all the lumps. do not use heat!. ใช้มือผสมหัวกะทิและน้ำตาลมะพร้าวให้เข้ากันดี
Light up aromatic candles over a small bowl, tilt down 45 degrees to let the oils burn. จุดเทียนหอม แล้วใส่ลงในถ้วย โดยให้เอียงตัวเทียนประมาณ 45 องศา เพื่อให้ตัวเทียนติดไฟได้ง่าย
place the smoking candle in a cup floating over the coconut cream and palm sugar mix, cover and leave for 20 minutes to smoke. นำถ้วยที่ใส่เทียนหอม วางลอยในถ้วยน้ำกะทิ แล้วปิดฝาทิ้งไว้ประมาณ 20 นาที เพื่อให้น้ำกะทิมีกลิ่นหอม เสร็จแล้วพักเอาไว้
To a brass wok add 2 cups of rice flour ใส่แป้งข้าวเจ้า 2 ถ้วยลงในกะทะทองเหลือง
Add 1/2 cup of arrowroot flour เติมแป้งท้าวยายม่อมลงไป 1/2 ถ้วย
And 2 tablespoons of mung bean flour ใส่แป้งถั่วเขียว 2 ช้อนโต๊ะ
Mix together the dry ingredients. ใช้มือนวดแป้งทั้งสามชนิดให้เข้ากันดี
gradually add clear Thai red pickling lime solution kneading as you go. เติมน้ำปูนใสลงไปนิดหน่อย
Combine the flours to a lump. นวดแป้งต่อไปจนแป้งเริ่มจับตัวเป็นก้อน
Add more liquids and keep working untill you get a smooth dough. เติมน้ำปูนใสลงไปอีกที่ละนิดหน่อย
When you get a nice and smooth dough, stop adding liquids and keep kneading. นวดแป้งต่อไปจนกว่าแป้งจะเหนียว
knead for about five minutes until you feel that the dough has a good elasticity. นวดแป้งต่อไปอีกประมาณ 5 นาที
Add the remining pickling lime liquids and dissolve the dough. เติมน้ำปูนที่เหลือทั้งหมดลงไป และ ละลายให้เข้ากับแป้ง
Place the wok over medium high heat. นำกะทะตั้งไฟโดยใช้ไฟแรง
Stir constantly at the SAME DIRECTION กวนแป้งโดยให้กวนไปในทางเดียวกัน
When the mixture starts to thicken… กวนจนแป้งเริ่มเหนียว
LOWER the heat เบาไฟลง
and add the pandan juice. ใส่น้ำใบเตยลงไป 3-4 ถ้วย กวนให้เข้ากัน
Stir constantly at the SAME DIRECTION กวนต่อไปเรื่อย ๆ โดยให้กวนไปในทางเดียวกัน
you will have to keep doing it for about 20 minutes. DO NOT stop stirring. กวนประมาณ 20 นาที
When the dough is gets a nice shiny color it is a sign that it is cooked well. หลังจากกวนไปประมาณ 20 นาทีแล้ว แป้งจะเริ่มเงาขึ้น
Test by droping a bit into a cold water bath. เพื่อจะรู้ว่าแป้งสุกดีหรือยัง ให้ใช้ช้อนตักแป้ง แล้วใส่ลงในน้ำเย็น
If it solidifies immidiatly than its ready for pressing. ใช้มือจับแป้งดู ถ้าแป้งจับตัวดี เหนียว ๆ แสดงว่าแป้งสุกแล้ว
Prepare the press box เตรียมพิมพ์กด
Fill it with HOT dough. and lightly press the dough, creating noodle like drops that falls into icy water. dont let the dough to cool down. You must press it hot. นำแป้งที่กำลังร้อน ๆ ใส่ลงในพิมพ์กด กดแป้งเบา ๆ จนแป้งหลุดออกจากช่องแล้วหล่นลงในน้ำเย็น
Leave the Lod Chong noodels in the water until serving. ทิ้งตัวลอดช่องในน้ำเย็นจนแข็งตัวดี
Serve the noodles in a dish, topping with the coconut syrup and crushed ice ตักใส่ถ้วย เติมน้ำกะทิ พร้อมใส่น้ำแข็งเย็น ๆ ลงไปพร้อมเสริฟ
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This recipe would probably change your perception about the term “salad”, maybe because its dressing has a multi layered, curry-like personality, rather than the common sour vinaigrette-like dressing, or maybe because it takes some good few hours to prepare, somewhat longer than simply opening a bag of hydroponic greens.
This salad is the fruit of the dedication of court ladies from aristocratic households, that for centuries perfected and elaborated on the art of cooking through detailed and calculated process, to create sophisticated dishes that are not only delicious but also very healthy and visually pleasing.
These ladies made a very large commitment for small things, and they attended all their time and efforts to make minor things better and getting the small things just right.
The sweet leading sour coconut cream based sauce, enriched and thickened with fragrant freshly roasted peanuts and golden beans are a wonderful coat to dress the sweet shrimp meat. The aromatics are being extracted in every possible way, by roasting, and frying, boiling and reducing, pounding and grounding. All the culinary methods are being fully employed to guarantee an absolute real first class dish.
If you want to start some real Thai cooking going at your home, have the time and access to all the ingredients, than I really want you to try this dish. The building blocks of flavors work so well here and it will open you a great window to see the beginning of what is possible in Thai cuisine.
This old-fashioned Thai coconut curry dish is a simple expression made with ingredients commonly available to Thais, it features steamed mackerels – the fish that Thai people probably love the best and the stems of the lotus flowers – one of Buddhism’s most recognized motifs.
The fish together with peeled lotus stems are boiled in coconut milk, to which a simple yet very aromatic curry paste, made only of white pepper corns, shallots and fermented shrimp paste is added.
It will not be an overstatement to say that banana trees accompany Thai people from their birth to the afterlife. Starting with the decorative objects made out of banana leaves newborns receive to invite protective spirits, and continues their entire life with the endless uses for banana leaves, trunks and fruits; finally ending with the female spirit ghost, maae praai taanee (แม่พรายตานี), who resides in banana trees and Thai beliefs.
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Gain access to NEW MONTHLY masterclasses as they become available.
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When you design or build a new menu for an event or restaurant or even prepare for dinner with friends.
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