Category Archives: food

Rambutans – a common fruit

Pictured below are rambutans, a very common fruit in this part of the world.  They look pretty odd with all the tendril-like hairs coming off of them, but inside is what I would consider a pretty basic, normal, and tasty fruit.  A suppose the flesh is somewhat similar to a grape. If you’re looking for […]

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Mafai fruit

Another fruit I’ve never seen anywhere else before.  I’m not sure of the English name, but I believe in Thai it’s called มาไฟ [mafai].  Similar to longans in appearance and size, but very sour in taste.  Not exactly my cup of tea.

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Dancing shrimp salad

Well, here’s something interesting: dancing shrimp salad, or กู้งเต้น [goong dten].  You might think that’s just a fancy name for the dish until you realize it’s literal.  Yes the shrimp are actually dancing!  How so?  Basically they are scooped right out of a fish tank where they are swimming around and plunked right into a […]

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Durian, the king of fruits

Of course I can’t be in Southeast Asia and forget to mention durian fruit.  This is the first post on this blog about durian, but it is so ‘different’ that I’m sure there will be many more to follow.  Pictured here is one inner segment of a durian.  Basically, you eat the visible flesh and […]

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Jabok – Strange nuts with a story

Here is a photo of some nice-looking nuts.  They are not bad, very similar to almond slivers, but sometimes difficult to slide the thin shell off.  Of course there’s a story behind these nuts. I’m not sure of the English name for these, and only have a possible Thai name: จำบก [jambok] or จบก [jabok]. […]

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Huge artichokes

Now this vegetable here, the common artichike, may not seem so strange to most readers but I figured I’d give a change of perspective.  This is one of those things that we ten to take as normal, but many Asians would look at this with curiousity and intrigue.  A bit similar to cheese which, although […]

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Quail eggs! Maybe not so strange, but tasty!

Here’s some photos of quail eggs which may not be so strange to many of you, but are not all that common in America.  They are quite ubiquitous around Thailand and are usually served hard boiled or fried. They even have special frying pans for the little eggs so the vendors can crack out 7 […]

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Who knew scorpions were edible?

This is certainly not the first odd food I’ve tried in Thailand, but definitely one of the strangest.  I mean, if you just had to guess off the top of your head, would you ever suspect that scorpions were edible?  Well it turns out they are. I’m not sure exactly how they’re cooked.  Possibly a […]

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Insects galore

You can’t get enough bugs in Thailand, that’s for sure. These choice bits were purchased during a brief stay in Udon Thani, far up in the Northeast of Thailand. The first three photos are small crickets and are called jing riid [จิ้งหรีดทอด]. After that we have a bag of silk worm larva (dakdae [ดักแด้]). Not […]

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Where ant eggs come from

If anyone’s been wondering where they get those ant eggs that are used in several Isaan foods, then here you go. This photo is actually from Laos, but these ants are very common all over Southeast Asia. As you can see the red ants live in trees and kind of stick a few leaves together […]

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