Fresh oysters

Bag full o' oysters

Here we have a freshly purchased bag of oysters (hoi nang rom [หอยนางรม]). Oysters are plentiful and cheap in Thailand, although not as good as those from abroad. I find the Thai ones to be quite large and somewhat sweet. They are very cheap, though. That bag there cost about $1.

No matter where your order the oysters around here, they are always served the same way: on a bed of ice with the following accompinaments.

• Crispy fried shallots
• A green, bitter vegetable known as gratin [กระถิน]. I don’t know of any common English name, but leuceana leucocephala might be its scientific name
• A thick sweet chili sauce called prik pao [น้ำพริกเผา]
• Freshly sliced chilis and garlic
• Sometimes another type of sauce which is the typical spicy-sour seafood sauce that comes with anything from the ocean
• Some lime wedges

All in all, a nice tasty dish.