This is the maple sugar of the tropics. With its mild caramel-like flavor, it’s as enjoyable in a cup of tea as it is in curries, stir-fries, and sweets. It is made from the sap of young coconut trees, which is boiled down into a semisoft paste, or to a firmer consistency, and is sold in cans or jars. Golden-brown sugar may be substituted.

Coconuts, young green  Maprao on
Very young coconuts are filled with a refreshing liquid. Their meat is soft and jellylike, perfect for custards and other desserts. A few specialty markets carry fresh young coconuts, which have pale-color shell. Young coconut flesh is also available frozen and canned.

Dried coconut                    Maprao hang
Flaked or dried, unsweetened coconut can often be used in place of fresh grated coconut. They’re available in most health food stores.

Dried fish
Before refrigeration, people preserved fish by packing them in salt. Salt-preserved fish have interesting, useful characteristics. They’re crispy, dunking them into dipping sauces makes for a nutritious snack. In a soup, they soften into tasty morsels, while their saltiness enhances the overall flavor of the broth. Several kinds of dried fish are found in Asian markets, including squid, rabbit fish (gourami), mackerel, and herring.

Dried shrimp               Kung haeng
An important source of both flavor and protein, sun-dried shrimp are salty and intense, like a seafood version of bacon. Dried shrimp are usually cellophane-packed. They should be a light orange-pink.  Squeeze them to test for plumpness and resiliency. They should still have enough water content to “give” slightly under pressure.

Fish sauce                               Nam pla
No ingredient is more vital to Thai cooking than this thin, flavorful, vitamin-rich sauce. Its aroma may seem strong, but Nam pla quickly cooks down to a demure undertone that helps to “marry” various flavors within a dish, as Thai do today. Nam pla can be made from various types of fish. Like olive oil, it is available in different levels of quality-the lesser are for cooking and the best for table use. Better grades, usually made with shrimp or anchovies, are pale amber in color. Contrary to what a Thai chef will say some Vietnamese fish sauce is the best available especially when made with black anchovies.

Ginger                                      Khing
Ginger ale and gingersnap cookies gives only a hint of this herb’s stimulating pungency and celestial aroma, which can only be experienced from the fresh herb. Choose heavy, firmed-skinned pieces and peel them with a light hand- the flesh nearest the sin is the most flavorful. Avoid ginger with a low moisture content and darkened withered skin.

Baby ginger               Khing on
Young ginger shoots are full of peppery-sweet juice, with tender, opalescent, pinkish skins that need no peeling. The flavor is milder than that of mature ginger. Because it is picked at the moment of perfection, much of the baby ginger crop is preserved by pickling.

Lesser Siamese ginger     Krachai
This relative of ginger has a mildly spicy flavor, perfect for fish curries. It is quite aromatic, with a light brown skin and yellow interior. Krachai is often sold fresh in Thai markets, and also found powdered or frozen under the name “rhizome”.

Siamese ginger                  Kha
Also called galangal or galanga this is the type of ginger Thai cooks use most. The flavor is both more lemony and more peppery than that of common ginger, and it has a richer aroma. The skin is pale yellow, with pink-tinged knobs, the interior is cream-colored. Kha is never eaten alone, it is used as a flavoring component. We float large slices into soups or chop and pound pieces into curry pastes. Sliced and dried kha, available in cellophane packs, is the best substitute when the fresh variety is unavailable, otherwise, use common ginger.

Jackfruit                               Kanoon
Related to durian and breadfruit, jackfruit grows so large that it anchors itself around the trunk of its tree, rather than out on the limb. Markets and street vendors usually sell it in chunks ,it is also available canned. The rind is green and covered with little spines, the flesh is yellow and juicy, with a delightful taste and pineapple-like odor.

Kabocha                              Fak thong
This goldfish bowl-sized squash probably came to Thailand centuries ago with Spanish and Portuguese traders. Its greenish, usually mottled skin is tough. You’ll find yourself carving off chips rather than long peels. But the flesh inside is sweeter and finer in flavor than that of the common pumpkin. In California, kabocha is now popular enough to appear in non ethnic supermarkets.

Kaffir Lime                               Magroot
Imagine a cousin to the common lime-smaller and covered with a dark, thick, wrinkly skin. The peel, the zest, and the leaves of the Kaffir lime are used for cooking, not its per fumy juice. Kaffir lime trees grow well in Southern California and Florida.

The intensely aromatic leaves of the Kaffir lime tree grow in pairs, end to end, and are sold fresh in small plastic bags. Use them whole in soups and curries, as an aromatic ingredient not meant to be eaten. Or slice them into very fine, edible slivers. Either way, they add a wonderful flowerlike fragrance and taste.

Lemon grass               Takrai
One of the most-used herbs in Thai cuisine, lemon grass adds a lemony flavor and aroma without acidity or sharpness. A thin reedy plant, it grows in long, sheath like stalks. The usable inner core is about the thickness of a finger.  When finely sliced, it can be eaten, larger pieces are used just for flavor and aroma. Lemon grass is also pounded into curry pastes and used, in dried form, for beverages. In mild climates, lemon grass will grow outdoors years-round, spreading to form clusters of stalks. It can also be grown in pots in a sunny window. Cut the plants off at ground level when you harvest.

Mango                         Mamuang
Mangos grow abundantly in Thailand, with more than 100 varieties available. Mangos are very popular world-wide and have been cultivated for over sixty centuries. When unripe, mango flesh is pale green and very tart and is used as a vegetable. When ripe the flesh is yellow-gold and extremely luscious, like a peach.

Noodles                          Mee

Bean-Thread Vermicelli                 Woon sen
Fine thin noodles made from mung beans, are white when dried but almost translucent when cooked. Some times called “cellophane noodles” or “silver noodles”, they’re flavorless and take on the taste of their accompanying sauce or broth.

Khanom Chine                  Khanom Chine
Made of white-rice flour, this noodle resembles white angel hair pasta
And it made sold fresh daily in Thailand. Usually served looking like a nest adorned with a curry sauce, condiments and chopped vegetables.

Rice Noodles Dried           Kwaytiao sen lek, sen jahn, sen mee
Dried rice noodles come in various shapes and sizes and widths. They are sometimes cooked after softened in water and sometimes by being dropped directly into hot oil. Sen lek and sen jahn are thin, flat noodles often called rice sticks. They’re opaque and white. Sen mee are very narrow and brittle, like vermicelli. They must be softened before cooking or else crisp fried for mee krob.

Rice Noodles Fresh           Kwaytiao
Sometimes called fat noodles these are soft, thick, ribbon-like, chewy noodles made of rice flour. You’ll find them in plastic “wet packs” either pre-sliced or in folded sheets that you can cut into wide strips prior to unfolding. When pre-sliced they are called sen yai which means “big path”

Pandanus                            Toey hom
The long slime leaves of the pretty tropical tree are used for weaving and for cooking.

Pandanus Essence                        Krin bai toey
This extract has a sweet, floral quality with a hint of smokiness. It’s especially refreshing in drinks such as Pandanus Iced Tea.

Panadanus Leaf                Bai toey
Chicken in pandanus leaves with sweet black bean sauce is an example of how Thai cooks wrap food in this fragrant leaf during cooking to infuse the dish with it’s flavor.

Papaya                                 Malakaw
There are many varieties of papaya, some growing quite large. In Thailand Thai’s use them when they are green and unripe (sour) or when they are ripe just like mangos. Green papaya salad is one the most popular salads with Thai’s.

Peppercorns                        Phrik Thai
Fresh green peppercorns grow on vines that clutch the trunks of coconut palms and other trees. Best when fresh picked, they are also bottled and canned. When dried the husks turn dark black. White pepper comes from the black peppercorns with their husks removed.

Pomelo                                  Som O
The largest citrus fruit of all, the pomelo is related to the grapefruit. Pomelo’s are sweeter, less acidic and more fragrant than grapefruits.

Rice                                        Khao

Jasmine Rice                      Khao hom mali
A favorite style of rice for central and southern Thailand, jasmine rice is a long grain high quality, white rice. Slightly translucent with a delicate, flower like flavor.

Sticky Rice                           Khao  niao
Thai people in the northern and northeastern regions eat sticky rice (also known as sweet rice) in place of long grain rice. It is eaten with your hands by making a little ball and dipping it into other dishes.
While most people used to make it with a steamer, the microwave seems much easier. The grains come out a little stickier, but unless you are eating with your hands, you barely notice