Thai Food Blog / ImportFood.com

Thai Food Blog, December 8, 2009 (see below for archives) Today we feature how to make authentic Thai street vendor noodles, Ba Mee Haeng, more complicated than it seems. But sure to please your friends. We also feature some very good deals.


Ba Mee Haeng	Ba Mee Haeng	Ba Mee Haeng

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Pandan Paste "The Asian Vanilla"
Fantastic spice for holiday cooking, pandan is referred to as the "Asian Vanilla" probably because of the addictive natural aroma.

Pandanus extract or screwpine paste, is a delightful scent that's used throughout SE Asia especially Thailand. Pandanus leaves (in Thai "bai toey") are often soaked in water and boiled to extract both the green color, a natural food colorant, as well as the aroma which is a bit nutty and reminiscent of freshly-cooked jasmine rice.

Experiment with pandan paste this holiday, add it to your cake icing or favorite cookies. Or, enjoy pandan in the following authentic recipes:
Thai Rice Balls in Coconut Milk, "Bua Loi"
Pandan Custard
Nasi Kuning, Festive Yellow Rice

Product of Indonesia. We also offer Jasmine, Durian, and Maengda flavors.

$4.85

NEW. All Natural Tamarind Candy, 7 oz
We've been selling a lot of Thai candy in recent weeks, for the holidays. Here is our best, new, all natural candy made of tamarind. Perhaps the best candy of all. High quality standard, in a modern package. Chewy, delicious, sour, healthy tamarind fruit coated in cane sugar and a bit of salt. There is also a sprinkling of chile powder to give it a slight spicy bite. You'll find two or three small seeds inside each piece.

If you like tamarind candy, or if you've never tried it before, give this a try. Generous quantity. We also offer the old-style Thai tamarind candy, which many prefer.

Ingredients: 94% tamarind, 5% sugar, 1% salt (salt with chile for the version that includes it). Product of Thailand. Or, make your own tamarind candy!


	$3.79 without chile

	$3.79 with chile

Mushroom Ginger Sauce, Maxchup
This is a new sauce developed by Maxchup. The flavor is gentle, Chinese-style with the unmistakable flavor of Thai ginger. Use it for just about anything, either as a sauce to fry vegetable or add it to flavor your soup, or even as a dipping sauce. We enjoyed this sauce heated then served over udon noodles. Something similar from the same company: extra hot garlic chile sauce. Ingredients: soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, mushroom, ginger, starch, disodium inosinate, guanylate, sodium benzoate. Product of Thailand. See our recipe for Thai ginger chicken.



	$2.89

Special Offer: Instant Thai Tea, 12 Pack
Made by premium Por Kwan company in Thailand, packed in DeDe brand. This is a quick substitute if you do not have time to make original Thai Ice Tea. This delicious formula can be enjoyed hot or iced. Put one pack into a cup and add 10 oz hot water, stir and enjoy hot or pour over ice. The final product is a nice amber/orangish color just like the original.

A mix of Thai tea powder, sugar, and non-dairy creamer. Ingredients: instant Thai tea, sugar, (glucose, palm kernel oil, casein), artificial color, vanilla flavor. Product of Thailand. We also offer instant Thai coffee.


	1 case (12 packs), $3.29

Handpainted Thai Ceramic Bowl with Lid, and Platter
For 10 years we've offered handpainted ceramics in the traditional Thai style as shown here. We only import the "premium" grade, which is flawless after it's fired (zero mistakes, and perfect glaze). Even in Thailand it's difficult to find flawless, usually markets have grade 2 or below. We're slowly winding down our ceramics offerings at ImportFood.com for various reasons, mainly that fewer people in Thailand are interested/able to do this meticulous traditional painting, so it takes a very long time between placing an order and receiving it. In the coming year we'll phase out our Thai handpainted ceramics line altogether. They are also getting more expensive.

We still have a decent supply of two personal favorites. The elegant 6" bowl with lid is a nice way to serve soups, rice or noodles. The rectangular platter has an extraordinary wide range of uses. It's very thick, and oven safe. We serve Thai food on this platter, placed in the middle of the table and shared with a large serving spoon. We also cook on the platter. For example, placing a nice piece of fish on this platter and cooking it in a toaster oven at 325 degrees for 12-15 minutes yields excellent results.


	Handpainted Ceramic Bowl w/Lid, 6", $8.25

	Handpainted Ceramic Platter, 11" x 7", $12.95

	Set (one of each), $19.95

Click to enlarge

Solid Granite Mortar and Pestle
Over the years we've sold thousands of these handmade tools, especially during the holidays as gifts. Our prehistoric-looking solid granite mortar & pestle is repeatedly mentioned as one of the best cooking tools available, period--most recently by one of Bon Appetit's main correspondents. Read more about it here. Product of Thailand.


	$22.95, 6" size

	$32.95, 7" size

	$39.95, 8" size

	$59.95, 9" size

Limited Edition Square Mortar and Pestle
The same super-dense, attractive solid dark granite machined to a precise 6" square block. The mortar is 2.5" tall and has a 1.5 cup capacity, pestle is 6" long with a nice taper, and the top half of the pestle has a granite polish applied to it which gives the look of it having two colors. Complements any countertop, with an elegant style. The bottom, sides and top are all perfectly smooth, and the inner bowl is machined smooth as glass. It works great as a natural grinder for all kinds of herbs & spices, and it would be a very nice gift particularly for someone who has granite countertops. Based on appearance alone, it looks like it's worth far more than $30 or $40. We've seen something similar in an art gallery for $150.


Limited Edition Square M & P. $34.95

Click to enlarge

Special Street Vendor Feature--Pok Pok Noodle Cart. Here we take you to the streets of Thailand to see a sidewalk chef prepare Ba Mee. There's no better way to learn how to cook authentic Thai food than our street vendor videos.