Deep Fried Bananas

An all time favorite snack, deep fried bananas are easy, fun and de-licious!

To make the batter you'll need 1/2 cup shredded fresh coconut, 1/2 cup white flour, 1 cup rice flour, 1 egg, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp sugar and 1 cup water.
First mix the flours with the egg. Then add salt and sugar and mix again. Finally add the shredded coconut and knead into a dough (Shredded fresh coconut may be difficult to come by outside of South East Asia. Instead, You can soak dried coconut in a few tablespoons of coconut cream to retrieve the moisture to the dried flakes).
Transfer the dough to a large shallow container. Pour water and mix with your hands until the dough is completely incorporated into the batter. For extra crunchiness you may add 3 tbsp soda water. Finally, add about 1 tbsp roasted sesame seeds and mix well.


Heat oil in a wok, slice the bananas lengthwise, 1/2 cm thick, and immediately dip in the batter. Throw the slices into the oil and fry for several minutes until golden on each side. Be sure to use low heat so the bananas won't burn.
Frying the bananas takes a bit of practice so don't feel discouraged if you don't get it right the first few times.

Not only bananas work with this recipe. The batter goes well with many vegetables like sweet potato, taro or squash. experiment!

Khao Kiab Pak Moh

After we tried Khao Kiab Pak Moh at the market in Sukhothai we craved it for weeks. The steamed dumplings filled with savory-sweet peanut mix became a culinary mystery. Lucky for us Lee knew the recipe and even though it took some time to figure out (folding the steamed batter was not easy) it turned out exactly as we remembered it. Try this at home at your own risk though, this is not an easy one.

The filling is made from a paste of shallots and coriander root crushed in a mortar and pestle and sauteed with palm sugar and finely chopped pickled radish (you can use Japanese pickled daikon). It is then mixed with crushed roasted peanuts.


The batter, made of rice flour, tapioca flour and water, is applied like a crepe on a tightly stretched cheese cloth which covers a special pot with boiling water. The steam, coming through the cloth, cooks the liquid batter into an opaque thin dough which is then folded around the filling.

Fried cloves of garlic are poured over the dumplings as garnish.

Absolutely delicious.

Khao Mun Kai, Chinese Chicken

Khao Mun Kai is one of our favorite lunch options in Bangkok, so learning how to make it (and discovering how easy it is) was a big treat. Simply a boiled chicken, it is served with steamed rice and a small bowl of chicken broth. But what makes the whole dish worth your search for the stall is the extraordinary sweet - sour - salty - spicy sauce. Yikes.

To make the chicken and rice just boil 2 cups of water with 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. sugar. When the water starts to boil add one chicken breast with skin and let cook for 15 minutes. That's it. The chicken is done, but leave the remaining stock as it will be used for the rice.

For the rice, first saute 1 tbsp. chopped garlic in 1 tbsp. vegetable oil. Then add 1 cup of long grain rice mixed with 1/4 cup of sticky round rice and continue to saute for a few more minutes. Add 1 1/4 cups of the remaining chicken stock and cover on low heat for 15 minutes or until done.

The broth is minimal. Two coriander roots, a garlic head, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. of white pepper and chicken neck and bones boiled in 3 cups of water for 15 minutes over low heat. Make sure to skim the fat off the top while cooking.

And now for the sauce:
In a wok over low heat, pour 3 tsp. of sweet black soy sauce, 4 tsp. white vinegar and 1 1/2 tsp. soy bean paste. Mash the soybeans while stirring. When it comes to a boil, remove from the wok and into a small bowl.
Add 2 birds eye chilies (one red and one green), 1 clove of garlic and 1 1/2 tbsp. ginger, all finely chopped. Then add 1 tbsp. of lime juice and mix. Add more ginger and sugar to taste.

To serve the dish cut thin slices of chicken breast and spread them a little with the knife.


Pour the sauce and serve with the rice, sliced cucumber and chicken broth.

Cooking Again, Bangkok

Our last day in Thailand was well spend with a final cooking class conducted privately by Lee at "Cafe The Flow". We collected a list of our favorite street food dishes and presented it to her a few days before. Lee showed no hesitation. She immediately jumped into her research, asking endless family members and "hawkers" (food stall owners) and came up with a fantastic one day workshop of Thailand's best: Fish ball soup, Satay sauce, Khao Mun Kai (Chinese chicken), Khao Kiab Pak Moh (steamed dumplings), sticky rice with mango and fried bananas. Yum, yum and yum.

Noum Bai Chok by the Waterfront, Sihanoukville

Noum Bai Chok (not sure about the spelling), yet another yummy Cambodian dish that came straight our way as we were slurping our mango smoothies, is rice noodles and herbs in a fish curry soup. It's made on the spot by the trusted smiling vendor who wanders around the beach carrying all the products on her shoulders. First she piles a bowl with assorted fresh herbs: mint, banana blossom, green beans and others we could not identify.

Then, she adds a handful of fresh hand-made rice noodles and covers the lot with a hearty fish curry broth.

All that was left for us was to add the condiments of dried/fresh chili, salt and sugar to our liking. God bless.

A word of advice: the best food on Cambodian beaches is sold by these mobile vendors.

Prawns on the Beach, Sihanoukville

Snack vendors roam the sands of Sihanoukville (as in the rest of the coast), offering fresh homemade local treats. We courteously flagged down a passing woman carrying a large platter of piled steamed prawns. After choosing our desired creatures (10 for $4) she cracked them open and peeled the outer layer, so our fingers won't get messy. She then sliced the sides sprinkled salt and pepper and added a squeeze of lime. All we were left to do is indulge.

Sticky Rice in Bamboo, Cambodia

Our first day in Cambodia included lots and lots of tastings by the side of the road. We hired two friendly moto-bike drivers/in-the-know guides to show us the many makeshift family businesses in the villages of Battambang. Most villagers grow rice, but the profit is meager and not enough to support their families. So, many add some income by producing hand-made food products.

One of the more common products is sticky rice in bamboo. This fun snack is picked by the side of the road and has a dense and glutinous texture of sticky rice with a delicate tase of coconut. It is made from rice, coconut cream, salt and black beans all roasted in a bamboo shell. The process is long and difficult:

First the bamboo is cut into 30cm pieces (using a manual saw)


The pieces are cleaned and filled with the sticky rice mixture.


The tops are sealed with crumpled banana leaf and then placed to roast on a grill for half an hour.


When they're ready, the burned shell of the bamboo is removed with an axe.

The final product is peeled like a banana, and you eat it with your hands.

Loi Krathong Street Snacks, Chiang Mai

We happen to be in town during the Loi Krathong festival. While the sky was lit with drifting lanterns and floating candles crowded the river, stalls took over the streets, selling local specialities. Unfortunately we could not taste them all (nor completely identify them). Sit-down dinner was gladly replaced by an all night snacking frenzy. This just might turn into a habit...

Grilled omelet in a folded banana leaf mixed with a choice of mushrooms, crab or shrimp.


Take away sticky rice in different ways: sweet, savory, with coconut or chillies and folded in pretty banana leaf packaging. Hard to resist.

Pumpkin fritters smothered in batter.

Northern Eats, Chiang Mai

In Chiang Mai you are never too far from a hearty and incredibly delicious bowl of Khao Soi. This egg noodle curry soup, made from red curry, coconut milk and pieces of chicken, is topped with pickled mustard greens, sliced shallots, fried noodles and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. The place to get it is on Faham Road where many local restaurants serve the dish.

Pink Deserts in the Market, Chiang Rai

We stumbled upon these pretty fluorescent coconut deserts in mid preparation. We didn't have the chance to taste them, but as they were so pretty, we had to share them with you.

Lunch in Chiang Rai

Today for lunch we had Lahp Gai, minced chicken fried with herbs and topped with crispy deep-fried shallots and garlic. It was a nice change from curry and Yum soups as it was dry and crunchy.
We had it with steamed rice at Loong It, a shack on Th Phranorn in Chiang Rai.

A Snack Stall in Sukhothai

As we returned from our long day at the Sukhothai Historical Park, a stall with a queue caught our attention at the market. Like all stalls in Thailand which usually specialize in one or two dishes, this one does only two snacks, found in Central Thailand.

Khao Yum Nam Kuk is a crunchy cold spicy salad. The base of this salad is deep fried rice balls made from white rice, egg, garlic, pepper, soy sauce, coriander root, fried bread crumbs (panko) and coconut flakes. To make the actual salad you have to mash these with your fingers adding ground pork (may substitute with chicken or tofu), chili pepper, shallots, sugar and fish sauce. Vinegar, dried shrimp and more fried bread crumbs can be added to taste. Top with fried peanuts and eat wrapped in a green mustard leaf.


Khao Kiab Pak Moh is a savory and sweet Thai dumpling steamed over a pot covered in thin white cloth. The batter is a mixture of rice flour, corn starch and water and the filling is a combination of salted preserved daikon raddish, fish sauce, palm sugar and peanuts all ground together.
The batter is treated like a crepe on the cloth, when the color becomes opaque it is divided, filled and swirled into a dumpling.


The finished product is served with coconut cream and flakes, with a side order of coriander.

Our Banana Lady, Bangkok

Our favorite lady vendor in all Bangkok makes the most delicious fried bananas we have had. Her stall was dangerously situated around the corner from our guesthouse (Samsen Road Soi 1, Bangkok, for those of you in the area). We think her secret lies in the sesame seeds added to the batter.
Deep fried bananas are a simple but divine delicacy. This one calls for a shorter yellow banana with a firmer body, sliced 1 cm thick (1/3 inch). The pieces are drowned in batter (the contents of which remain a mystery to us) and deep fried in a wok. Praise the Lord!

Deep fried bananas.


Our favorite woman in Bangkok.

Chicken and Rice Two Ways

Chicken One:
A very tasty dish found in many street stalls around Bangkok is Khao Mun Kai, a Thai version of Chinese Chicken Rice. We had this one in Chinatown for 35 Baht (1 dollar). The chicken is boiled and served sliced over steamed rice (cooked in the chicken stock of said chicken). The secret to this dish is the special sauce, a mixture of soy sauce, soy bean paste, ginger root and chillies. Pour liberally.

The stall in Chinatown.


The Chicken. We were also served a small bowl of broth on the side.


Chicken Two:
Thais like to eat their Yums, spicy and tangy salads with chili as the most important ingredient. We tried a cold spicy chicken salad with red onions, mint, lime juice and of course chili. The mint was a nice addition to the usual Thai fare.

Crispy Coconut and Other Stuff

Miang Khum:
This one is a very interesting and fun snack we tried at one of restaurants around the block. Bits of diced lime, red onion, fresh ginger, chillies, tiny dried shrimp and roasted peanuts are all arranged around a pile of roasted coconut flakes. A little bit of each is placed in a green mustard leaf and drenched in the accompanied sweet fish syrup. Enjoy.



You can also find this snack on the street, prepackaged for your convenience. Each ingredient is wrapped separately.

Things to Do With Coconut

Crispy Pancakes with Fillings, Khanom Buang, are incredible! We found them on the sidewalk near our hotel. The vendor spread the batter on a flat griddle, added coconut cream and topped the pancakes with shredded coconut and egg yolk strips. A savory alternative is a topping of shredded coconut, dried fish flakes and chopped green onion. They are both out of this world!



These are called Shredded Coconut Puddings, Khanom Paeng Jee. A batter of glutinous rice flour, palm sugar and shredded coconut. The pudding is spooned on a pan and baked for a few minutes until browned. They come in a variety of sizes.

Going Bananas!

Bananas are everywhere in Bangkok. They come in different shapes and sizes and are prepared in many ways. Even their leaves are widely used in Thai cooking as plates and wrapping.

Grilled Banana, Kluay Ping, is a simple banana grilled over a charcoal oven. Depending on the type, these can come peeled or unpeeled.


The perfect way to eat it is sliced with dribbled delicious coconut syrup on top! Yum.


Some vendors prefer to flatten the bananas after they are grilled, drizzle some syrup and keep them warm only to be served later on a stick.


The winning variation is none other than Banana Roti (Loti). A ball of dough is thinly stretched and thrown on a hot flat griddle with oil and butter. Fresh banana slices are added and the dough is folded and browned on both sides. A topping of sweetened condensed milk is a must!