Do you have a recipe for sweet Thai iced tea with lemon instead of the condensed or evaporated milk traditionally used? What spices are used? Thank you very much. —Rose in Massachusetts

The thing about Thai iced tea is that condensed milk, cream and/or evaporated milk are key to the traditional recipe, which generally calls for native-grown Thai red tea leaves spiced with star anise, cinnamon and vanilla. Use an Asian-style cloth bag filter for brewing. If you don’t have one, you can brew the tea as you would any other. The tea should be strong, which lends that beautiful orange color (although some people add food coloring). Dissolve sugar in the hot tea, then cool and refrigerate until ready to serve. Pour the tea over ice, add several spoonfuls of milk, and you’re ready.

If you don’t want to use sweetened milk, the tea will have a very different taste. I have not come across any recipes for milk-free Thai iced tea with lemon, but Thai tea is served with lime and lots of sugar (generally too sweet for me). Simply prepare the tea as you ordinarily would, add sugar (to taste) to the hot tea, cool, add lime juice and pour over ice. I have tried making Thai tea with lime but no milk or sugar, and it ends up with a sharp, astringent flavor. Not the best I’ve ever had.

As an alternative, I highly recommend lemongrass tea, which is really a tisane as it is customarily served (no tea, only lemongrass). It offers that great lemony flavor without the harshness of citrus fruit. Simply boil water, pour over smashed fresh lemongrass (dried will work but fresh is always better) and steep 5-10 minutes. Serve hot or cold. It makes a great refreshing summer drink over ice. Most recipes call for sugar, but I like it without. Try tossing in some green tea leaves (if you want actual tea in your tea ). Thai spas and hotels often serve hot or iced lemongrass drinks, with just a touch of lemongrass, in place of drinking water. (Same with ginger and pandanus.) It’s addictive—and good for digestion.

*Here’s a lemongrass tip: save all of the ends and outer peels not used in cooking. Smash them with the back of a cleaver, and they make great tea!

I am traveling to Phuket, Thailand, this month and was wondering if you have any recommended restaurants/cafes. Thank you for your assistance, and happy eating! –Emma, Sydney

Emma, I admit it’s been a while since I’ve seen Phuket. I spent a month there while working on a Fodor’s update just before the tsunami hit in late 2004, then returned to cover the aftermath. Things have changed a lot since then. The answers to your question depend on where you plan to stay and how far you hope to venture in your island travels. Phuket is smothered in hotels and restaurants, spanning numerous beaches – your options run wide, and when you land, you are sure to read and hear about the most popular places (though not necessarily the best places). Here’s what I can tell you about some of the smaller, less publicized gems:

In Phuket town, Nai Yao is a great little on-the-sidewalk seafood restaurant that opens only at night on Phuket Road. Excellent crab and fish.

During the day, try Wilai at 14 Talang Road, in Phuket town. She offers fresh Thai “fast food” made each morning,and her place simply sparkles, it’s so clean. Wonderful cook, great conversationalist. Plus, the Old Phuket neighborhood boasts some of the island’s finest remaining architecture. Check out the China Inn & Restaurant, just a few doors away, for the ambience.

Kopi de Phuket on Phuket Road (again, in town) – best bet for kick-starting your day with sufficient caffeine.

RuamJai (on Ranong Road near the market in town) is a good spot to try classic Thai vegetarian dishes made to look like the real thing. Fried chicken, fish, curries, hotdogs – all purely veg.

On Nai Yang Beach, try the Bank Restaurant for good seafood and tables in the sand. Wife runs the restaurant, husband fishes for your dinner. It’s just south of Pearl Village, right on the water.

About five km from the Bang Thao Beach resorts, heading east, look for a a small sign on the left side of the road noting “Seafood.” If you pass the mosque, you’ve gone too far. It’s a little Muslim streetside shanty offering great local curries, noodles and (obviously) seafood dishes. Ask for anything you want, and the nice woman just might make it – along with an aromatic bowl of cardamom soup.

When you land in Phuket, pick up a dining guide for maps and up-to-date phone numbers. A few of the more famous restaurant names you are sure to encounter: Baan Rim Pa, Joe’s Downstairs and Da Maurizio, a trio of upscale cliffside/waterside restaurants on the north end of Patong; Mom Tri’s Boathouse (and cooking school) in Kata; Panwa House, an antique plantation house restaurant on a secluded beach – good ambience. In addition, Kan Eang is a longtime popular seafood restaurant with two branches in Cholong. Kan Eang I recently went through a complete overhaul; I’ve heard mediocre reviews of the food since (although it ranked highly years ago). Kan Eang II still gets high marks from Thais and foreigners.

Enjoy the trip! And let me know if you discover anything new worth noting.

What are cloves? Where do they come from? A tree? A bush? –Dave, wondering in New Mexico

This rock-hard, nail-shaped nub of spice is the dried flower bud of an evergreen tree, syzygium aromaticum, of the Myrtaceae family, which is native to Indonesia’s Spice Islands (click here to see pictures of living trees and their fruits). In addition to Southeast Asia, cloves are harvested in Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India and Madagascar. The tree grows up to 60 feet tall. Its flower buds are collected when they turn bright red. The unopened petals form the hard ball part of the whole dried spice.

Cloves, long treasured for their intoxicating smell, are used for culinary purposes around the world. In addition, they are very healthy. Cloves are said to lower blood sugar and cholesterol, thus they are often recommended for people with diabetes or heart disease.

A few years ago, I met the founder of a madrassa not far from Kota Bharu in northeastern Malaysia. He was 84 at the time and suffered heart problems. He kept a little dish of cloves by his side at all times. “I eat at least 10 every day,” he said, claiming they were good for the heart, the eyes and the brain.

What is the difference between palm oil and palm kernel oil? — DC

Both oils come from tropical oil palm trees (two species, African and American), which yield a fruit containing a hard kernel (the seed) surrounded by a pericarp (the flesh). Palm kernel oil is derived from the seed, while palm oil is taken from the flesh. The composition of these two oils differs. Palm kernel oil, which is close to coconut oil in its fatty acid characteristics, contains high levels of lauric acid, and it is often used in making soap (as well as processed foods). Palm oil, which is naturally reddish from carotene, is a popular frying oil. Health agencies have warned against the dangers of eating too much of this oil, which is 50 percent saturated fat (although the palm industry, of course, counters with claims of healthy living through palm oil).

Beyond human health is environmental health. With the world steering clear of trans fats, and looking toward bio fuels, palm oil plantations have gained much attention in recent months. Fly over Malaysia or southern Thailand, and you’ll see the evidence: vast tracts of land covered in monoculture. Fly over Borneo, and you’ll see widespread ancient jungles cleared and planted in neat rows of oil palms, with red-dirt roads criss-crossing the landscape. What’s the answer? What’s the best oil to use, for the health of the planet as well as our bodies?

These are complicated questions to which I have no simple answers.

I’ve been meaning to rejuvenate the ASK ME! department for months, so when I received two questions about Thai food from gluten-free readers on the same day, I figured it was time….

My daughter has celiac, and I noticed you mentioned you are gluten intolerant. I have bought her Thai Kitchen brand noodles a lot, and I enjoy making curry chicken and rice with Thai Kitchen coconut milk. With all of the recent news about the safety of Asian food processing, would you still think it safe to buy these imported products? I know everything isn’t perfect, but I really rely on this particular import because of its good taste. Gluten-free cooking and rice go well, so Thai is a good match. —Deena

Deena,
Most of the recent food scares have originated in China. It may be news to Americans, but many Asians have long treated Chinese food imports as suspect (see my posts on this topic at Gourmet’s Choptalk, here and here). Of particular concern are fruits and vegetables susceptible to pesticide poisoning, fish and seafood from contaminated waters, and meat injected with steroids.

The good news is, Thailand doesn’t have quite the reputation for food poisoning that China does. I lived in Thailand for several years, ate on the street and shopped in the wet markets regularly. I also bought from the Royal Project, which was established to give hilltribe farmers an alternative to opium production. Many of the Project’s foods are organic, and they’re tested for safety. The Thais do care about what they eat and how their foods are grown.

But I also exercised caution. I didn’t buy mandarin oranges or strawberries unless they were organic (both are heavily sprayed in northern Thailand). And I took the advice of a young Thai woman who told me to look for veggies with holes. Holes = bugs, bugs = no pesticides. I’m wary of farmed shrimp from anywhere in Asia (for reasons of health and ethics).

Bottom line: I think you should be OK with imported Thai Kitchen foods. The company was founded by an American. That’s not a guarantee of anything, of course, but I think it is important to consider cultural thought processes in this whole issue of food safety. You can also check the company’s online chart of food allergy information to ensure your purchases contain no gluten. If nothing else, you can rest assured that Thai Kitchen’s founder comes from a country that has long-established food-safety laws. In theory, anyway.

If you’re really concerned, you can usually find organic rice-based foods at your local health-food store. Look for certified organic.

I lived in Phuket for a while and loved everything about it. However, that was before I realized I am allergic to gluten! So I ate all the green curries, the phat thai, the stir fries…. everything! Now my family is planning a trip to Koh Samui in about a week and I am wondering if you can give me tips on what you eat there? I know I won’t be able to explain that I am gluten-free to the Thais at the food markets, and those are absolutely my favorite places to eat! In your experience have you found certain dishes that you know will never contain gluten, or is it always a risk in that sauces and their ingredients change from place to place? —Erica

Erica, you’re in luck. Gluten is not a big part of the Thai diet. Wheat doesn’t grow readily in Thailand (not like rice), so using it as an additive in processed foods is not nearly as common as it is in the United States. The diet is based largely on rice and soy, as opposed to corn and wheat in the Americas. Most traditional Thai dishes are completely gluten-free.

That said, you will want to watch for soy sauce (which often contains wheat), a common ingredient in some stir-fries, fried noodles and dishes with Chinese origins. Soy sauce is also used in vegetarian dishes in place of fish sauce. Your phat thai should be fine, but avoid Chinese-style yellow noodles.

Western-style flour-based desserts are becoming more and more common, even on the street. Instead, stick to traditional Thai desserts, based on rice or mung bean flour, palm sugar and coconut.

Go ahead and eat those curries. A note of caution, however: while your phat thai and green curry may be gluten-free in Thailand, that’s not necessarily the case at your neighborhood Thai restaurant back in the States. Wheat is an easier find in the US, and gluten often creeps into packaged goods (e.g. soup stocks and sauces). Many traditional recipes that call for fish sauce are made with soy sauce in the US. Read your labels carefully and ask questions. A Thai cook in Thailand may make her soups and curry pastes from scratch, but the US restaurant version may come from a can or bottle.

Is clean, fresh drinking water a serious problem in Southeast Asia? Is it becoming more of a problem since the Chinese want to dam things up along the big rivers there? If so, how does it affect life there for the locals and travelers? — Joanna, Albuquerque

A timely question, considering the Indochina Media Memorial Foundation class I just worked with just spent a month investigating the effects of dams and rapids blasting on the Mekong. And the effects are disastrous — unstable water levels, much smaller fish catches, the death of gai (a popular seaweed eaten in Mekong areas), muddy and polluted waters. The changes have led fishermen to land, where they now rely on farming rather than fishing. The younger generations are leaving their home villages for work in the cities; some are finding jobs at the new port, built to handle the increase in river traffic.

Clean water has always been an issue in Southeast Asia, where diarrheal diseases are still common, as are many other dangerous conditions. Last year, Indonesia suffered a polio outbreak, which was linked to contaminated water. In the poorest countries (Cambodia, Laos, Burma, East Timor), infant mortality rates are high and water is a common a factor, in one way or another.

Stay tuned. Cambodian reporter Sin Putheary has given me permission to post her IMMF article on the Mekong Giant Catfish. Her story will further explain some of the issues raised above.

A floating fish house in Prek Toal, on the Tonle Sap Lake of Cambodia. Every year, when the Mekong floods, it backs into the Tonle Sap, causing it to rise 30 feet or more. The area, abundant in fish, feeds 70 percent of the nation. It’s also one of Asia’s most important breeding grounds for water birds. Yet, if China’s plans for additional dams on the Mekong go through, Prek Toal could be changed forever — as would Cambodia. Read more about Prek Toal here.

It’s traditional for Americans to have appetizers, Italians have antipasto (out of the menu), the French have hors d’oeuvres (outside the work), etc.  Is there a similar tradition for foods before the main course in Asia? — Helen, Wisconsin

Some people might say the Thais eat nothing but appetizers! Thais love to nibble all day long. Street food stalls are full of bite-sized offerings so a person can graze up and down the sidewalk, selecting skewered meatballs, fruit slices, small bags of fried herbs, the ever-popular som tam, rice-based sweets… on and on.

But yes, appetizers are served in Asia before the main meal. We attended a formal gathering last week (formal in the Asian sense: planned ahead, a lengthy guest list, buffet snacks before a sit-down meal and dinnertime music with dancing). They served springrolls with a sweet chili fish sauce, and fried corn cakes and tofu wedges with a spicy fish dipping sauce. Springrolls are always popular appetizers, as is satay (meat skewers) with peanut sauce. Tod mun pla (fish cakes) are common in Thailand, too. One of my personal favorites is miang kham, a snack found in Thailand and Burma. It consists of numerous goodies (peanuts, toasted coconut, lime, ginger, etc.) wrapped in a betel leaf (or other bitter leaf available in your area), dipped in a sweet/spicy sauce.

So many Asian dishes are meant for nibbling, and the possibilities for appetizers are endless.

My husband and I are planning some Southeast Asian travel revolving around food markets. Wonder if you have any favorite food markets, defined any way you like — size, what’s on offer, outgoing vendors, unusual/interesting produce, setting, etc. — Robyn, Kuala Lumpur

Thanks for the question, Robyn. Here are some of my favorites. I’d be interested in hearing what other readers have found, too.

• Phuket, Thailand: If you happen to be in southern Thailand in October, don’t miss the Vegetarian Festival in Phuket. For 9 days, it’s an unparalleled spectacle of parades, temple ceremonies, self-mutilations and vegetarian eating. The streets turn to markets and local restaurants transform their menus into vegetarian versions of their normal fare.

• Luang Prabang, Laos: The night food market in Luang Prabang sets up in a narrow corridor off the nightly main-street Hmong handicrafts market. It serves up yummy Lao specialties with sticky rice, as well as vegetarian dishes. And it’s embarrassingly cheap.

• West Timor, Indonesia: Mid-way between the town of Soe and the Kingdom of Boti (the last remaining kingdom within Indonesia) is a little weekly market that attracts villagers from near and far. They sell their homegrown vegetables and free-range chickens, as well as woodworks, ikat cloth, and a number of colorful souvenirs. If you book a trip to Boti (which requires a local guide), you’ll pass through the area. Be sure to ask about the market.

• Phonsavan, Laos: Every Sunday morning, EARLY, Hmong folks gather at a market a few miles outside of town. It’s a great place to buy fresh noodles, vegetables, Lao snacks and Hmong baskets or cloth.

• Jaffna, Sri Lanka: This is obviously South Asia, not Southeast, but I was thoroughly impressed with the Hindu vegetarian market in this war-torn town. (It has become much more difficult to reach northern Sri Lanka since tensions have risen between the Tamils and Sinhalese.) In Jaffna, the meat and fish market is kept entirely separate from the fruits, vegetables, spices and kitchen supplies. It’s an amazingly vibrant display of curries and vegetables, without the flies and muck of many Asian markets. Plus, we found some interesting goodies: grape wine made by the local nuns, and a string hopper press that made an interesting Christmas gift.

• Kota Bharu, Malaysia: You live in Malaysia, so I’m sure you’re well aware of the Kota Bharu markets. The multi-story central market, with its yellow walls and ground floor of vegetable vendors, is one of the most photographed markets in Asia. It’s beautiful. The night food market in Kota Bharu also has received its due attention, as the curries, fish, chicken and rice dishes (wrapped in brown paper and eaten straight from it) were wonderful. I also found the market to be a fantastic place to strike up enlightening conversations with local and Middle Eastern Muslims. But I understand it’s been moved in the past few months and isn’t what it used to be. That’s a shame.

• Phnom Penh: The Russian Market. It’s well known among travelers; one of the most popular places to buy trinkets before heading home. I bought an entire set of dishes here before returning to the US after living in Phnom Penh the first time. But the market also serves great local coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice. It used to be that a customer could buy a whole package of pot from old ladies right at the market entrance. That’s changed somewhat in the past eight years, but you can still find pot in the market (and it really is used as a local spice; it’s not just for “happy pizza.”).

• Lhasa, Tibet: Heading north (again, not exactly Southeast Asia, but interesting nonetheless) don’t miss the activity around the Jokhang Temple. You’ll find dozens of perambulating devotees swinging their prayer wheels, while vendors peddle all manner of yak (yak butter, yak cheese, yak fur, yak meat); mountains of saffron that sell for pennies; turquoise baubles; Afghan rugs; bricks of Tibetan tea; hand-made prayer books and bottles of chang (barley beer). It’s a spectacular gathering. But then, one would expect no less of Tibet.

• Singapore: Little India. I love shopping in Singapore, and I really love the city’s Indian area. These streets are perhaps the most lively of Singapore (and unlike China Town, which mostly caters to tourists these days, local Indians actually work, live and shop here). You’ll find fresh produce, bouncy Bangra music, beautiful saris, Indian sweets, luggage, curry shops, cheap clothes… you name it. Don’t miss Mustafa’s, the well-known department store that sells miles of items; everything from TVs to papadams to underwear. Not only does it carry all the necessary Indian ingredients and spices, but coffee, chocolate, olives and many other treats.

• Mt. Kyaiktiyo, Burma: It’s worth hiking up the back side of this popular pilgrimage mountain, known as the Golden Rock, where vendors set up shop every few hundred meters. You’ll find a number of tea and noodle stalls, little stands selling kitschy souvenirs, lots of traditional medicine displays (including smoked monkey skulls), fermented tea leaves and a number of other Burmese specialties. The sprawling market along the trail makes this trek much more of a pilgrimage than the alternative road and cramped public truck up the front side.

• Why are Thai oranges green? – Curious reader

I’m going to defer this question to my sister-in-law Joanna, a PhD biology student, who can best answer the question.

Joanna says her sources say: “The color of citrus fruits only develops in climates with a cool winter. In tropical regions with no winter, citrus fruits remain green until maturity, hence the tropical ‘green orange.’

“There you go! Pretty neat, huh? Also, there are only three species of citrus; the rest are all hybrids, crosses between the species. Imagine, only three species have created probably over 100 different varieties of citrus. Pretty crazy. I love citrus fruit. I do.”

Thanks, Joanna!

 

• Where do curry leaves come from (tree, bush)? – JoJo, New Mexico

Curry leaves come from a tree (sometimes referred to as a shrub), Murraya koenigii, which is native to India and grows wild in the subcontinent and lower Himalayas. The tree generally reaches 4-6 meters, depending on the variety.

These aromatic leaves are essential to Indian and Sri Lankan curries. They are used fresh, roasted or fried briefly before tossing into a dish. Curry leaves lose their flavor when dried, although they can be frozen.

The English term “curry” comes from India. The Tamil word kari means soup or sauce, and kariveppilai means curry leaf.

Curry leaves can be hard to find in the United States; it may be easier to grow your own, depending on where you live. Bhatia Nurseries in New York sells three varieties of curry trees (regular, dwarf and gamthi).