Mushrooms - Vegetables

Vegetables

	Bamboo Shoots (naw mai) – The edible shoots of bamboo. Available fresh when in season, otherwise preserved in jars or canned, Fresh shoots should be blanched (possibly more than once) if they are bitter.

	Banana flower or blossom (hua plee) – This is the purple, teardrop-shaped flower of the banana plant. The purple leaves and pale yellow buds that grow between them are discarded. Only the inner pale core is eaten and this needs to be blanched in boiling water to remove any bitterness. It is advisable to wear rubber gloves to prepare banana flower as it has a gummy substance that can stain your fingers. Shredded banana flowers appear in salads and sometimes in curries.

	Bean Sprouts (thua ngonk) – These are used in stir-fries, soups and salads. Keep them in a bowl of cold water in the fridge to prolong their life.

	Corn (khaw pod) – Now commonly grown in northern Thailand, corn is eaten freshly grilled as a healthy snack. Baby corn is often used in stir-fries and curries.

	Thai Eggplant (ma-kheua yaow) – Long shaped, shiny light green skin, and is cooked on the grill or stir fried.

	Apple Aubergines (ma-kheua phraw) – They range in color from pale green, orange, purple, yellow, or white. Golf ball size in shape.

	Pea Aubergines (ma-kheua Puang) – They are tiny, bitter, and shaped like large peas. Normally used in green curry.

	Snake Beans (thua pak yaow) – Also called long beans or yard-long beans, these are sold in coils or tied together in bunches. Eaten fresh and cooked. Green bean can be used instead.

	Betel leaves (bai cha-phluu) – known also as piper leaves or wild tea leaves, they are used to wrap some snacks such as “mieng kum”

	Water spinach (phak bung) – This is a leafy green vegetable that has hollow stems.

	Napa cabbage (pak kard khaow) – This is a very versatile vegetable and it can be used in stir-fry, stews, soups or salads. It absorbs the flavors of other ingredients as it cooks.

	Asian shallots (hom lek) – reddish purple shallots used in South-East Asian, including Thailand.

	Cha-om – A bitter green vegetable resembling a fem. Cha-om is used in omelet-style dishes and in a stir-fried, mostly Thai people eat with chili dipping shrimp paste sauce (nam prik pla to).

	Luffa (buab) – Also known as angled luffa, silk gourd, silk squash or Chinese okra. It has a mild, delicate taste, very similar to that of cucumber and the two are interchangeable in most cooked dishes, used mostly in stir-fried with shrimp (buab pad goong).

	Daikon (hua chai tao) – This large, thin cylindrical vegetable looks rather like a carrot, but with a smooth, white skin. A member of the radish family, it is sometimes known as the oriental radish. Thai people normally make daikon for the soup with ground pork.

	Bitter melon (ma ra) – As the name implies, the flesh of this vegetable tastes quite bitter, especially when it is green and immature, but it has rather sweet and fragrant smell. It is made into a soup, and this could be one of the healthy dishes.

	Chinese chives (thon kui chai) – Chinese chives have a much stronger aroma than the ones grown in the West. They don’t rally taste of onions, but have a flavor that resembles a cross between garlic and leek.

	Chinese celery (kun chai) – Chinese celery is smaller and more delicate than the common American celery. The long stems are thin, hollow and crispy. Deep green stems and leaves are well flavored, popular in stir-fried and soup.

	Chinese mustard green (pak kwang tung) – It has dark green oval leaves and thick fleshy stalk. They are boiled and added with noodles dishes (ba mee moo dang).

	Chinese leek flower (pak mai kward) – A very popular homemade Thai dish features chopped chives stir-fried with lever.

	Chinese broccoli (pak ka na) – Every part of this vegetable is edible. The flower, leaves and stalk and each has its own individual flavor and texture. Chinese broccoli is often stir-fried with Thai fried rice or gravy noodle(Lard na).

	Winged Bean (thua phu) – Almost every part of winged bean is tasty and edible. The fresh young pods are similar to green beans with a chewy texture and a slightly sweet taste. When cooked, the leaves taste like spinach and the flowers like mushrooms. The firm-fleshed roots have a nutty flavor.

	Okra (kra jeab) – Okra is one of the most popular vegetables in subtropical Asia and Eastern Africa. In Thailand people like to eat it for side dish which is good to be eaten with chili dipping sauce.

	Taro (puak) – Deep fried taro with sweet and sour sauces (puerk tod) is seemed to be common food on the street, and it can be used in a lot of dessert dishes.

	Snow peas (thua lun taow) – They are similar to sugar snap peas but have slightly plumper pods.

Mushrooms

	Oyster mushrooms (hed nang fah) – In the wild, oyster mushrooms grow in clumps on rotting wood. The caps, gills and stems are all the same color, which can be pearl grey, pink or yellow. They are popular in soups (tom yum soup) and stir-fried.

	Straw mushrooms (hed fang) – These small, grey-brown mushrooms are grown on beds of rice straw, hence the name. Because they have an almost neutral flavor, straw mushrooms can be combined with all sorts of ingredients in stir-fried, braised dishes and soups.

	Enoki mushrooms (hed kem thong) – These mushrooms have a mild but delightful flavor and a pleasantly crunchy texture. Cut off and discard the bottom of the cluster of mushrooms (up to the point where individual mushroom stems can be separated). No washing is necessary. Normally, enoki is lightly cooked, and served in soups or in stir-fries with vegetables and meat.

	Wood ears (hed hoo noo) – Also known as cloud ears, tree mushrooms or simply dried black fungus, these are widely used in Thailand. They are almost tasteless, but have an intriguing texture, which is slippery yet crisp. Normally, they are used in stir-frying, braising and soup.

	Silver ears (hed hoo noo khaow) – Also known as dried white fungus, this earned its Chinese name of silver ears. The texture is similar to wood ears but they have a sweeter flavor and more expensive than wood ears.

	Dried black mushrooms (hed hom) – Also known as fragrant mushrooms, they are wonderfully versatile as they can be stir-fried, braised, steamed and used in soups. They form an important part of the vegetarians and diet people.