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Pineapple in Iced Jasmine-Infused Syrup (สับปะรดลอยแก้ว)

By on July 21, 2011 in She Deglutenizes, She Thais, She Veges


Ask any random older Thais who grew up eating traditional Thai sweets — the types that are wrapped and steamed in banana leaves or served from clay pots — to comment on the state of Thai desserts, and you’ll get an earful. They’ll express to you either outrage (“Thai desserts are more fattening than Western desserts? Bollocks!“) or a combination of scorn and despair (“Kids these days don’t know [insert the name of a traditional Thai dessert] anymore. They just want panna cotta and tiramisu!“). Often, you’ll get both.

This discussion is probably best reserved for a later time in a different post. For now, let me just say one thing. Different desserts may have come and gone, but as long as the weather in Thailand remains as hot and humid as it is, one category of traditional Thai desserts will never ever go out of popularity: fruit loy kaew [1] (ผลไม้ลอยแก้ว).


A loy kaew is essentially a fruit (or a mélange of loy kaew-able fruits) cooked gently in simple syrup and served cold, topped with crushed ice along with the syrup in which it’s cooked. The concentration of the syrup and the length of cooking time vary according to the fruit. Firmer, astringent fruits, such as santol (kra-ton กระท้อน) which is often served loy kaew-ed, would require sweeter syrup and longer cooking time than more delicate fruits like papaya, lychee, or pineapple would.

The syrup is often infused with aromatics, most commonly in the form of fresh tropical flowers such as jasmine. Sometimes, dried spices are used. This pineapple loy kaew which you’re looking at here is inspired by a unique recipe in an old cookbook belonging to my mother; it calls for whole cloves which I’ve found to be a brilliant spice with which to infuse pineapple. But being used to the scent of jasmine in my fruit loy kaew, I felt compelled to also infuse the cooled syrup with fresh jasmine flowers. Luckily, the jasmine scent and the warm aroma of cloves don’t clash at all.

Pineapple in Iced Jasmine-Infused Syrup (สับปะรดลอยแก้ว)
(Serves 6-8)
Printable Version

thai dessert
One large under-ripe pineapple
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 whole cloves (optional)
About 1/4 cup fresh jasmine flowers or 1 teaspoon jasmine extract
Crushed ice

  • Peel, core, and cut the pineapple into 1/2 inch pieces.
  • Place the sugar, water, and cloves in a large pot; bring to a gentle boil.
  • Add the pineapple pieces to the syrup, bring the mixture to a gentle boil once more, reduce the heat to a low simmer, and allow to cook, uncovered, for 5-8 minutes.
  • Turn off the heat and let the pineapple cool completely in the syrup. Do not cover the pot.
  • Once the mixture has cooled completely, fish out the pineapple pieces and set them aside.
  • Fish out and discard the cloves.
  • Strain the syrup through a fine-mesh strainer.
  • Stir the jasmine flowers into the strained syrup and let the mixture infuse at room temperature for about 2-3 hours, then strain out and discard the flowers. If you don’t have jasmine flowers, simply add the jasmine extract to the syrup and you’re done.
  • To serve, divide the pineapple pieces between 6-8 dessert bowls, add the syrup to each bowl, top with crushed ice. Serve immediately.

    • [1] The official transliteration for ลอยแก้ว is loi kaeo.

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    Fried Spring Rolls (Po Pia Tod ปอเปี๊ยะทอด)

    By on June 30, 2011 in She Fries, She Thais, She Veges


    Recipes for these fried spring rolls (Po Piah Tod[1] ปอเปี๊ยะทอด) vary so greatly that you’re not likely to find two family recipes that are identical. It’s fairly safe to say, though, that the ones most commonly found in the central part of Thailand usually contain glass noodles or mung bean threads (wun sen วุ้นเส้น), bean sprouts, and wood ear mushrooms. This recipe from my aunt’s kitchen is quite typical in that way. What I love the most about her fried spring rolls – something I don’t always find in other versions – is the aroma of the quintessential garlic-cilantro root-peppercorn paste.

    Good spring rolls must taste good on their own, in my opinion. Poorly-made, bland fillings that exist just to live off of the charisma of crispy spring roll skins and flavorful dipping sauce are too underachieving to be worth the calories.

    Yes, I’m looking at you, cheaply-made $6.99 lunch special spring rolls, stuffed to the gills with cabbage-heavy filling whose raison d’être, apparently, is to keep you tubular. Continue Reading →

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    Thai Iced Tea with Lime (Cha Ma-Nao ชามะนาว)

    By on June 27, 2011 in She Deglutenizes, She Thais, She Veges


    Thai Iced Tea with Lime (Cha Ma-Nao ชามะนาว) is a staple at anything from the lowliest of khao-kaeng (rice-curry[1]) stalls to school cafeterias, to little posh cafés, to sit-down family restaurants. People like it, apparently.

    While pairing wine or beer with Thai food can be tricky sometimes, and soda doesn’t always work (try drinking coca-cola with anything spicy that contains lemongrass and/or galangal — yuck), Cha Ma-Nao — ordinary as it may seem — hardly, if ever, fails. The combination of Thai tea and lime juice seems to go with just about any Thai dish.

    Thai Iced Tea with Lime (Cha Ma-Nao ชามะนาว)
    Makes a little over 1/2 gallon
    Printable Version

    4 cups room temperature water
    4 cups very cold water
    1/2 cup Thai tea[2]
    1 1/2 cups sugar (more or less depending on your taste)
    3/4 cup freshly-squeezed lime juice
    Ice

  • Put 4 cups of room temperature water in a pot and bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat.
  • Add the tea and let it steep for 15-20 minutes.
  • After 15-20 minutes have passed, add the sugar to the tea and stir until it’s completely dissolved.
  • Add the cold water to the mixture to bring the hot tea to room temperature.
  • Strain the sweetened tea into a large pitcher.
  • Stir in the lime juice.
  • Serve over ice.

    • [1]Speaking pars pro toto, of course, since any given rice-curry stall always offers more than just rice and curries.

    [2] If you’re afraid of using a product that contains artificial food coloring, replace Thai tea with the same amount of black tea and 2-3 pieces of star anise. It won’t taste the same, of course, but — I promise you — it will still be delicious.

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