Pla shado

I bought it recently at Villa Market, Udon Thani.

There is a plant called บัวหิมะ (bua hi ma) = snow lotus, that looks very similar. I can't 100% sure but it may be a possibility.

On shrimp I really don't mind the heads on thing, from a culinary POV that's good for taste. However in this case I do think there IS something that should be removed.

The poop!

Yes, heads are okay. Lots of flavor in the heads. I don't mind peeling and eating shrimp. I just don't know why partially shelled shrimp are left with the tail intact. That adds nothing as far as I can see. Someone must think it the thing to do as one sees it in all kinds of cuisines. And yes, I agree, the digestive track should be removed if serving shelled or partially shelled cooked shrimp.

NickJ wrote:

When the shrimp still have only the tails still on......

Probably my biggest pet peeve, Thai or any other cuisine. I've heard reasons why this is done but none of them make any sense to me. I guess that's about it. I pretty much just go along with Thai food as it is prepared and served. I like and eat most all of it. My wife prepares nearly all of the Thai dishes I eat but we do eat out occasionally or when traveling. At home I don't care much for the smell when my wife is cooking with pla ra or pla tu but my wife doesn't care much the smell of my bleu cheese either so we just deal with it.

I've eaten plenty of Thai food that I didn't particularly like but just tried to avoid it in the future. I really don't have much to complain about.

My #1 vote would be nam phrik plaa thuu. It's pretty much the essence of Thai food, and what Thais seem to miss the most when not in Thailand.

Yes, I forgot to include nam phrik plaa thuu in the Northeastern list. One of the few salt-water fish that is eaten on a regular basis here. We seem to always have a few plaa thuu wrapped in paper and sitting in the fridge. I don't mind eating it occasionally but not real fond of smell while the wife is cooking it. Thankfully, she nearly always cooks it in the outside kitchen.

Jok moo with an egg + all the fixings is also popular here. It's typically eaten in the mornings but can be served anytime during the day. My wife tells me that jok is a favored hang-over remedy as well.

There are six fairly distinct regions in Thailand; Northern, Northeastern, Western, Central, Eastern and Southern. Each region has it's food specialties and preferences. At out house, which is in the Northeast, comfort food is larb, kway teow (bpet, moo, gai and nuea), kanom jeen, som tam, rad na, khao niao, gang om, gang nor mai and khao niao ma-muang or khao tom mad for dessert.

The Northeastern Thais eat fresh-water fish but not much from the sea as may be eaten in some of the other regions. Lots of fresh (uncooked) vegetables are preferred like cucumbers, long beans, cabbage and carrots. Unripe fruit such as green mango, papaya or guava are also favored.

The foods I've listed are the ones that I see most often when people just want to eat something that could locally be called "comfort food". I'm pretty sure that a list from any other part of Thailand would be much different.

So, according to your wife's remarks, there is also actually a round green (immature) TAENG THAI (TAENG THAI ON). That is another bit of new information. I was under the impression that the immature ones were a long oblong shape.

The way she explained it to me is that any TAENG THAI (Thai melon) eaten in the green or immature stage is simply called TAENG THAI ON (young Thai melon).

You've certainly done your homework Kanga Japan. A bit surprising that so little botanical information can be found. I looked on quite a few sites and never found any definitive information. The Meijo University link you posted seems to cover the varieties pretty well though.

I asked my wife if the round variety of TAENG THAI was ever eaten in it's immature stage (TAENG THAI ON) as is the oblong type. She said that round ones were eaten green and used to make a Thai salad similar to som tam (ส้มตำ) or cut into slices and eaten raw with nam prik (น้ำพริก).

Sorry, but what is 'dtalat soht'?

Sorry Kanga Japan. I hear and use the term "dtalat soht" so often that I rarely think to say fresh market any more. My apologies.

แตงไทยอ่อนลูกผสม ลายทอง (taeng Thai on), Young Thai melon, golden striped hybrid. Sort of makes one wonder what other hybrids might show up in the local dtalat soht.

I'd say you have covered it pretty well. Looking forward to learn of your inquiry results. I've always enjoyed watching Chef McDang's TV programs. A very knowledgeable fellow indeed!

wow64 wrote: "Kua gling moo... very spicy also."

We have some pretty spicy Isaan food where we live in the northeast. I enjoy eating spicy food and my wife and her family will often put food on the table that I can eat only with massive helpings of sticky rice to moderate the heat. However.........my wife also will occasionally make kua gling moo using a recipe that she got from her friend in Surat Thani. That, undoubtedly, is the hottest, spiciest, thing I've ever tried to put in my mouth. The version my wife makes is a dry curry that has an absolutely relentless fiery effect.

Like most dishes in most countries, one particular kind of food will be prepared a bit differently from region to region, but in my personal experience the kua gling moo, as prepared in south Thailand, is the hottest thing I've ever eaten in Thailand or anywhere else.

I suspect there are quite a few varieties of cucumis melo. I believe the honey dew melon is simply called แตงหวาน (taeng waan) "sweet melon" in Thai.

Here is a link (that you may have already seen) that I ran across while looking around for info on cucumis melo.

http://library.cmu.ac.th/ntic/en_lannafood/detail_ingredient.php?id_ingredient=194

I wasn't sure if you were asking about: "Could you possibly tell me what this is?": The melon photo or https://www.gotoknow.org/posts/389476 the link. So, I tried to include both. I'm un-confused now.

In discussions with the wife, I get the feeling that cantaloupe (แตงแคนตาลูป) is something of a catch-all word for several varieties of melon. I don't recall ever hearing the term musk melon being used locally.

To complicate things even more, the Isaan word for taeng Thai is แตงกิง (taeng ging). Taeng ging on (young Thai melon) and taeng ging sook (mature Thai melon). When I show my wife photos of both the young Thai melon and the ripe Thai melon she immediately recognizes them as being the same fruit at different stages of maturity. However, she does not call taeng Thai a cantaloupe. She really has no good explanation why. She does say that cantaloupes are "round", like a ball, though.

You certainly have been busy Kanga Japan. Yes, we buy and eat the melons with the net-like surface and I've only heard them called cantaloupe by Thais. My wife tells me they may have either green or orange flesh. (There must be several varieties) There are round, smooth skinned melons they also call cantaloupe. I know that's no help.

Also, of little or no help, is the local name of the mature taeng Thai (musk melon) which is แตงไทยสุก (taeng Thai sook) สุก (sook) simply meaning ripe or mature.

I'll look around for a botanical name for the melon variety in question but I'm pretty sure it will just lead back to Cucumis melo. Undoubtedly, there is a definitive name out there somewhere.

Here is the "gotoknow" home page: https://www.gotoknow.org/home#/

^{#3: Yes, water morning glory is a better description for phak boong.}

^{#5: Yes, แตงไทย is musk mellon. อ่อน (aawn) meaning young, fresh or green. I believe แตงไทยอ่อน (taeng Thai on) is a species of musk mellon but probably has a more descriptive name.}

^{This is what it looks like when ripe.}

^{https://www.gotoknow.org/posts/389476}

^{AyG would most likely have a better answer about where to post than me. He has much more experience using Thai Visa than I do.}

Note: Photo 2: sesbania (dok sano)? Dok sano is the similar, yellow flower.

#1 = Yes, makhuea yao

#2 = Katuri flower = ดอกแค = dok khae (they grow in our yard and our older neighbors love them)

#3 = Thai morning glory = ผักบุ้ง = phak boong (could easily have other names)

#4 = Yes, thua phu

#5 = Young melon (Cucurbits)) = แตงไทยอ่อน = dtang Thai aawn

Note: #4 is commonly called bitter gourd as well as bitter melon.

#1 = Small green Thai eggplant = มะเขือเปราะ, = makhuea pro

#2 = Young coconut for roasting = มะพร้าวเผา = maprao pao

#3 = Pomfret = ปลาจาระเม็ดทะเล = bpla jeramet talay

#4 = Bitter melon = มะระจีน = Mara jeen (Chinese)

#5 = Frog crab or Spanner crab = ปูจักจั่น = bpuu jak jan

My wife calls bay leaves ใบเบย์ (bai bay). Bay being the English loan word. It is a leaf (herb/spice?) that she never uses in her Thai / Isaan cooking. I'm the only one in the house who uses bay leaves. The Thai label on our bottle of Durkee brand bay leaves also says ใบเบย์.

Yes, excellent reply AyG. I've learned a great deal from the Kanga Japan treads.

I would also love to know how กะบ่ could be translated as "Huckabee". This is more interesting that the math behind a random number generator.

Yes, that is a bit of a mystery. Living in Isaan I hear กะบ่ often. It's sort of like saying "nah" or "nope". Heck, for that matter, other than being the name of a former Arkansas governor I don't even know what a Huckabee is.

It may not apply to all of Thailand but here in Isaan we presently have lots of first time vehicle owners. While many of us from western countries may have had driver's education and years of experience on the roads and highways, many Thais learn to drive a car or pickup truck at age 30, 40, 50 or older. Those of us, say, 55 years or older may have 40 or more years behind the wheel. There are lots of drivers here who are 30, 40 or 50 years old who may only have 5 years or less driving time. Along with the other factors mentioned on this topic it seems to me that simple inexperience also contributes to accident causes.

Happy holidays to you as well Kanga Japan. Hope the weather there doesn't get too cold for your celebrations.