Are There Any Lentils Or Pulses Used In Thai Cooking?

[Dorry]

Hi,

I never came across a recipe for lentils / pulses in Thai cooking, and I wasn't able to find the Thai word for lentils. Does that mean that Thais make no use of pulses?

Cheers, Dorry

[Michaelaway]

I believe that would be correct...

[kurnell]

I saw something pulse like in my suki today

[aitch52]

Saw packs of yellow lentils last week in a market in Nachaliang, Phetchabun, asked my wife and she said they use them to make "Kahnum", desserts, with coconut milk. Think I will get some and make some Dhal

[Jingthing]

I haven't noticed them in Thai main dishes but you see the split mung beans for sale everywhere. I personally use them to make soups more hearty and also spice the soup with Thai spices, so I can tell you the flavors work very well with Thai flavors. Thai soups are generally cooked very quickly. My soups with the mung beans need to simmer rather long.

[zzaa09]

I believe that would be correct...

I believe one can find lentils, used as such here. It's just not overwhelmingly common.

[Gonsalviz]

As said mung beans are used. Some for bean sprouts and they have a dessert of boiled mung beans with a small amount of sugar.

As a main course? I doubt it. Rice is the main course.

Edited November 19, 2009 by Gonsalviz

[Michaelaway]

I'm not an expert on lentils or legumes or anything, but I don't think I've ever seen real lentils around here. The local markets and all the supermarkets have many lentil-like dried or split beans available (agree, great to improve slow-cooked soups, stews), but I don't think they're actually lentils. Maybe, though, you can find imported dried lentils at Villa, Central or one of the other big, farang-oriented supermarkets. Probabaly can... good luck!

[Jingthing]

Yes it is easy to find many kinds of lentils and pulses in the big expat cities.

Are mung beans lentils? No.

Are they pulses? I think so because they are a kind of bean and beans are included in the definition of pulses.

Of course mung bean vermicelli noodles are widely used in Thai cooking.

Edited November 20, 2009 by Jingthing

[aitch52]

Different day different market saw yellow lentils again, will get some next time

Cheers

Aitch

[IMA_FARANG]

I guess that depends on what you consider pulses or lentils.

There is a Thai dessert a Khanoom (sp?) that uses Coconut Milk, Sugar, Red Beans (rather like red kidney Beans, but sweeter), and some green Jelly (like the Green "Grass" Jelly you get in Singapore or Penang, whose name I can't remember) that I love.

And Beans and Peas are used in Thai soups and salads.

So if you call those "Lentils", they are in Thai food. Otherwise..No.

[zzaa09]

Different day different market saw yellow lentils again, will get some next time

Cheers

Aitch

I love the reds.....lovely benign flavour and creamy texture.

[tutsiwarrior]

red and yellow lentils are available at the changwat suphan tescos (of all places )..I've used them to make dahl an' they ain't half bad...Macro has pulses/legumes available in bulk, I've noticed...

[sbk]

Black beans and other beans are used extensively in the south, in salabao (steamed buns), sticky rice steamed with bananas and beans, had a coconut milk sweet soup with beans in it. All sorts of beans are used in various sweets as well. I don't see much in the way of savory, interesting that beans are a sweet here and a savory back home.

[bina]

either way, after eating, husband sleeps in salon not the bedroom...

yesterday we made khanom with the red kidney beans but they werent cooked long enough.. we put them in the seghu; good for breakfast which is what im eating this minute....

and we are sprouting mung beans for cheaper sprouts, as anon loves to cook with them....

maybe they are used in more chinese style thai cooking and less in issaan country cooking which is a lot more meat and fish styles and less cooking and stir frying anyhow...

bina

[Michaelaway]

DATELINE: PATTAYA

LENTILS UPDATE- 10-DEC-09

Saw bags of both, brown & yellow lentils today at Friendship, Pattaya. Cheap (under 90 baht), too...

[aitch52]

Saw canned lentils in the farang food shop in Phetchabun so they must be around in other provinces

[Khun Ngo]

I buy my lentils at Pahurat market close to the Old Siam shopping center and behind the Indian Sikh temple.

They have different kinds, priced up to 100 Baht per Kg or less. They also have chick peas, if you like to

make Falafel.

[aircut]

Green beans ( ถั่วเขียว) is the base for the filling of many Thai sweets including but not only ลูกชุบ (look Choop),

ขนมลูกเต๋า (Kanom Look Tao)

ถั่วเขียวต้มน้ำตาล (Tua Kiao Tom Namtan)

ขนมเปี๊ยะ (Kanom Pia)

ถั่วกวน (Tua guan)

ถั่วแปบ (Tua Pep)

เม็ดขนุน (Met Kanoon)

just to start with.....