Most nights I usually cook myself something to eat. I don't really do this to save money as it is quite often cheaper to eat outside. That is as long as you know where to eat. Take this dish as an example. It is called khao mun gai ( ข้าวมันไก่ ) which is basically chicken on rice. A normal plate like this, around the corner from me, costs only 20 baht (about 50 cents). For an extra 5 baht, called "piset" in Thai, you get some extra chicken. Not bad for a meal.

On the other hand, if you go to KFC, which a lot of Thai people do, a plate of Spicy Chicken Rice would set you back 49 baht. A Zinger burger would cost you 55 baht. Three pieces of chicken cost 87 baht. See what I mean? You are better off eating by the side of the road. Who cares about the secret recipe they have at KFC. If you like fried chicken, like they have at KFC, all you have to ask for is "khao mun gai tod" which is the same price! They even give you some cucumber and a bowl of soup!

Chinese Chicken Rice is quite easy to prepare. All you have to do is place the chicken in a pot, add water, salt and coriander roots, and cook over a low heat until done. Skim off any froth to get the clear broth. Remove the chicken, de-bone and cut into slices. Strain the broth and set aside. Then wash the rice, drain and set aside. Heat some oil in a wok, fry the garlic over medium heat until fragrant and golden. Add the rice, stirring well and cook for 3 minutes. Transfer to an electric rice cooker, pour two cups of chicken broth over the rice and cook until the rice is done. Spoon the rice onto a serving dish, arrange the chicken slices on top, garnish with sliced cucumber.

Source: "Popular Thai Cuisine" published by Sangdad Books

The above picture shows you the two different dips available for this dish. Actually, for the first timer it can be very confusing about which sauce or dip (known as "nam jim" in Thai) that should be used for each dish. If you go to a restaurant, it is quite normal to have a half dozen dips put on saucers on your table. Believe me, it takes a while to get used to which one is meant for which dish. This kind of thing is not taken lightly by the Thais. Remember I told you a few months back about my experience at one of the local "pork on a hot plate" places. Here you can eat as much as you can cook yourself for only 69 baht. These places are really popular and there must be at least a dozen within a 10 minute radius of my house. What makes or breaks these places is their secret recipe for their "nam jim". Forget about the ambience or range of meats on offer. Thai people are only interested in the dips!

Anyway, back to “khao mun gai” and “khao mun gai tod”. The dip on the left is for the former and the one on the right is for the latter! The brown looking one is made from soybean sauce, chili, ginger, sugar, vinegar and dark soy sauce. The red one is much sweeter. It is made up of sugar, red chili, garlic, vinegar and salt. I do like this one and have a large bottle in my kitchen cupboard. You use it for dips for food like fried chicken or fried shrimps.

As you probably know by now, I live in Paknam which borders the Gulf of Thailand. As you can imagine, seafood features quite heavily in menus at numerous restaurants in this area. Even the roadside stalls sell plenty of dishes which have seafood as their main ingredients. Today I want to tell you about a popular dish in this area called "nam prik pla too" ( น้ำพริกปลาทู ). This basically translates as Fried Mackerel with Shrimp Paste Sauce.

As you can see from the above pictures, the meal is served ready cooked. You choose your fish, which raw vegetables you want and even the spicy sauce. This meal costs 15-30 baht depending on the size of your helping. The "nam prik pla too" sauce is made up from dried shrimp paste, garlic, green chili, shrimp paste, fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar.

This is a nice snack you often see being cooked by the side of the road. It is called khanom buang ( ขนมเบื้อง ).It looks a bit like Mexican tacos but the taste is of course very different. The pictures here were taken near Paknam market.

It looks simple but I assure you that it is harder than it looks. First he spread a batter mix onto the hot plate. When this was just starting to set, he then spread on top a generous helping of coconut cream.

He then placed on top of this a variety of different toppings. One version has shredded coconut and golden threads. This is made from strips of egg yolk. It is the lighter orange mixture. Another version has shredded coconut and either coriander or chopped spring onions. In the photos you can see a darker orange mixture which is in fact shredded coconut with a colouring agent.

Try some the next time you are next in Thailand. They are very tasty.

I went out to eat at one of our local seafood restaurants tonight with some friends. I took the camera along so that I could show you what you missed! The only dish I didn't take a picture of was the fish as we ate that last time. The or-suan dish is interesting - it is like the hoi tod that I gave you the recipe for not long ago. However, this one is about ten times more expensive as it also has crab and shrimp. The meal we had today was vegetarian so the green curry had fish balls instead of chicken. Our other option was shrimp.

This five dish meal, which included rice and two large bottles of Singha Beer cost about 180 baht each. That is about US$4.50 each. Not too bad. As I mentioned before, at restaurants like this, you usually end up paying about 200 baht each. We were thinking about going for the crab curry which is really nice. But, the starting price was 800 baht! To put this in perspective for newbies, the pad thai meal I had by the side of the road last night cost only 20 baht. It is nice going to the restaurants, but I hope you can see why I don't go too often.

One of the famous desserts for our province is Khanom Jaak ( ขนมจาก ). I quite often see them selling it down by the market near the jetty for the cross-river ferry. The dessert is prepared inside the leaves of a nipa palm and then roasted over a charcoal fire.

Like anything, there are local variations, but here is a recipe that I managed to get hold off from a local person:

Sticky rice flour (1.5 kilos)
Palm sugar (half a kilo)
2 Shredded coconuts
Salt (2 teaspoons)

As you can see from the pictures, the mixture is spooned onto the leaves of a nipa palm which is then joined together with toothpicks. It is then roasted over a charcoal fire.

A bundle of khanom jaak costs about 20 baht. Now you know what it is, try some the next time you are in Thailand.

Visit the Thai Food archives at enjoythaifood.com. You will find hundreds of pictures as well as many sound clips to help you pronounce the name of each Thai dessert.

You know me, I just love blogging about Thai food. I love cooking Thai food and I love eating Thai food. If I am walking down the market and I see my favourite dish in the distance, I will cross the road just to buy it. That is what I did yesterday afternoon when I spotted haw mok being sold by the side of the road near Paknam Market. I haven't had this dish for such a long time.

This curry dish can be made with either fish, chicken or pork. I don't particularly like seafood but I love this dish. (Sorry, I think I said that already.) Anyway, it is quite simple to make. Stir red curry paste with one cup of coconut milk and mix in the fish. Break in an egg and season with fish sauce (I will try and do a blog on sauces soon). Add some more coconut milk and keep stirring and stirring for up to 20 minutes! Then add half a cup of basil leaf, two tablespoons of coriander and one tablespoon of kaffir lime leaves. Stir again.

Next, make cups out of banana leaves. Line the bottom with plenty of basil leaves. Fill the cup with the mixture and then steam for about 15 minutes. Next you add the creamy topping. This is made from coconut milk and rice flour. Sprinkle on top some chopped coriander and a kaffir lime leave. Add a slice red chili for a bit of colour. Steam for a further one minute and then it is ready. Delicious!

You can find this recipe in an excellent cookery book called "Popular Thai Cuisine" published by Sangdad Books.

Today I am going to share with you some pictures of the meal I had earlier today. It is a Thai style omlette called khanom beuang yuan. It is almost like a crepe as it is fried thin and the contents are then wrapped in the egg encasing.

It looks quite simple to make but I am sure you need to practice a lot to get this right. First, heat up the wok and add a little oil. Two eggs are beaten and then poured over the entire surface of the wok. Tilt the wok so that it is evenly spread.

Start adding the ingredients of chopped peanuts, tofu, chopped spring onions, Chinese turnips, beansprouts and grated coconut that has been coloured orange. Once this has been done fold the omlette around the ingredients so that it becomes like an envelope. Add a little more oil and then turn the envelope over to finally seal the package.

Here is a close-up of the ingredients, starting from the top and going clockwise: peanuts, tofu, grated coconuts, beansprouts, spring onions and Chinese turnips.