Thai Potatoes

[sante]

I decided to make myself an American type breakfast this morning so I bought grilled sausages from a nearby vendor and then eggs, potatoes and onions from the local market. The meal tasted good but nothing like the ones I made in California mainly because of the potatoes. They were sweet so I'm wondering if I bought sweet potatoes by mistake. The potatoes have thin yellow skin. They were delicious and much tastier than the American yellow thin-skinned potatoes.

Also I didn't wash or peel the potatoes but first microwaved them and then fried with the onions and eggs. Did I commit a health mistake? I know I should have washed them, something I always did in California. Guess I was very hungry.

[BuddhistVirus]

I decided to make myself an American type breakfast this morning so I bought grilled sausages from a nearby vendor and then eggs, potatoes and onions from the local market. The meal tasted good but nothing like the ones I made in California mainly because of the potatoes. They were sweet so I'm wondering if I bought sweet potatoes by mistake. The potatoes have thin yellow skin. They were delicious and much tastier than the American yellow thin-skinned potatoes.

Also I didn't wash or peel the potatoes but first microwaved them and then fried with the onions and eggs. Did I commit a health mistake? I know I should have washed them, something I always did in California. Guess I was very hungry.

I am with you on this, I mean regarding Thai potatoes. It's sweeter than sweet potatoes. I usually make alu dam or variants of potato curries, but have since given up.

[uptheos]

Do you really need TV members to tell you whether or not it's healthier to wash vegetables?

[DGS1244]

Yes you did, buy sweet potatoes that is, try Rim Ping they have good local un seet potatoes which seem to fry up better than some here. I found with many it is better to par-boil them first then fry, seems to get them crispier.

[ChiangMai2]

Do you really need TV members to tell you whether or not it's healthier to wash vegetables?

Really if you have time you should polish them, ideally whilst listening to Tristan und Isolde's prelude or something similar..

[sante]

Uptheos, unless you're using tainted water to wash potatoes, yes, it is obvious that washing first is healthier. However, in California there are laws prohibiting the use of very poisonous insecticides on produce or harmful fertilizers in the soil but I don't know the situation here. And so maybe non-washing is extremely dangerous and the only people who do it are the newly arrived like me.

Sorry if I annoyed you with what you consider a stupid question....

[weary]

However, in California there are laws prohibiting the use of very poisonous insecticides on produce or harmful fertilizers in the soil but I don't know the situation here.

The laws tend to be fine, but there is virtually no enforcement.

[butterisbetter]

Yes you did, buy sweet potatoes that is, try Rim Ping they have good local un seet potatoes which seem to fry up better than some here. I found with many it is better to par-boil them first then fry, seems to get them crispier.

I doubt that the OP mistook regular potatoes for sweet potatoes. Thai sweet potatoes don't look at all like potatoes. And, in fact, when the variety of Thai potato most commony found here is fresh, it does have a naturally sweet taste. Supposedly their high sugar content makes them less suitable for making french fries or chips. Rim Ping is now carrying a variety of potato called Challenger. Supposedly it makes for excellent chips and may have more of the taste that the OP is looking for.

That said, I think the local potatoes are delicious.

[David006]

....sweet potatoes or yams are great for brekky I usually scrub with ss wool from the kitchen sink....I assume if some thing is cooked to crispy most of the bad stuff is killed...lots of chemicals in so much stuff these days figure a few more won't kill ya much sooner.

If wife deigns took cook brekky she peels 'em...prefer regular potatoes or even frozen french fries in the pan with hunk of thin sliced pork belly, tomatoes ,papaya. mango and beans. and of course three eggs.......ooh getting hungry!

Wife is throwing together her version of spaghetti sauce ( pork/prawns,chicken and a tonne of spices)as I type and while I continue to hit the sauce......

.....will it ever stop raining!!!

[DowntownAl]

Have to agree with washing them since there is really no way to know if they have insecticide on them. I just came back from Mae Sai and you could see farmers out (standing) in their fields, with a canister containing something(?) on their back spraying veggies. I use a dish scrubber, sponge on one side coarse green on the other. Only takes a sec. BTW - I tend to cube,(add a tad of oil) and then nuke mine (80% cooked), wait till they cool, toss on a little sauce, skewer them (sometimes with sliced onion and cherry tomatoes) and onto the BBQ where they tend to crisp up a bit. The cool part is you can make up a bunch of them, and if you cook them they'll keep in the fridge for several days for brekky or, dinner whatever. Reheat on the BBQ or in a frying pan. I'm hungry.

[Semper]

The meal tasted good but nothing like the ones I made in California mainly because of the potatoes

They were delicious and much tastier than the American yellow thin-skinned potatoes.

Can you make up your mind?

[hellodolly]

Had French Fries at Dukes and had to ask him what he fried in the oil before he fried the potatoes. He said nothing it is just a different potato.

I was not complaining as they were the really good tasting was just curious.

I will occasional stop in Sunie's for a breakfast with fried potatoes. They are the best I have found in Thailand. Of course I haven't been in all the restaurants in Thailand.

[barefoot1988]

potatoes and everything are fine here. i once bought afew thai sausage, man that thing taste funky.

after awhile, i actually liked the one with rice and taste alittle sour, but there is another one that look like chicken franks in every angle but the texture is real weird. i dont know, it taste sweet and mushy, what is that?

[T_Dog]

We bought a large bag of young yellow potatoes yesterday at the Mae Taeng open market as they were almost free. There was heavy rain here the other day and the farmers took them out of the ground to sell before they had a chance to rot. They were as good as any potatoes back in the USA for sure, and I am from Idaho. Be on the lookout for these when they hit Chiang Mai as they are delicious.

[Gonsalviz]

Uptheos, unless you're using tainted water to wash potatoes, yes, it is obvious that washing first is healthier. However, in California there are laws prohibiting the use of very poisonous insecticides on produce or harmful fertilizers in the soil but I don't know the situation here. And so maybe non-washing is extremely dangerous and the only people who do it are the newly arrived like me.

Sorry if I annoyed you with what you consider a stupid question....

Insecticides in Thailand work. Something that cannot necessarily be said for the watered down samples they have in the USA. Yes everything should be washed here.

[bhatmasterson]

Coincidentally, I was about to post a question about sweet potatoes. Where in Chiang Mai can I find some that would be suitable for making a pie?

[stuartd1]

Sante, I would suggest you in out in future!

[exfarmer]

To make it clear lets call potatos Irish potatos and the various other types Sweet potatos.

[daoyai]

To make it clear lets call potatos Irish potatos and the various other types Sweet potatos.

Irish? you mean South American? The one from up north are similar to Yukon Gold spuds, great for smashing with garlic.

[Semper]

Coincidentally, I was about to post a question about sweet potatoes. Where in Chiang Mai can I find some that would be suitable for making a pie?

My wife bought some in Muang Mai market.

[bhatmasterson]

Coincidentally, I was about to post a question about sweet potatoes. Where in Chiang Mai can I find some that would be suitable for making a pie?

My wife bought some in Muang Mai market.

Thanks! Where would that be exactly?

[kaptainrob]

Coincidentally, I was about to post a question about sweet potatoes. Where in Chiang Mai can I find some that would be suitable for making a pie?

Suthep market has them, also the Organic Shop on CMU Campus next to Arts Centre.... on the NW corner of the Canal and Suthep Road intersection. The lady who runs a little stall just inside the gate also had fresh sweet potato, regular spuds and her stuff is usually cheaper than the markets.... maybe grown on CMU site(?)

[bhatmasterson]

Coincidentally, I was about to post a question about sweet potatoes. Where in Chiang Mai can I find some that would be suitable for making a pie?

Suthep market has them, also the Organic Shop on CMU Campus next to Arts Centre.... on the NW corner of the Canal and Suthep Road intersection. The lady who runs a little stall just inside the gate also had fresh sweet potato, regular spuds and her stuff is usually cheaper than the markets.... maybe grown on CMU site(?)

Thank you. I know where that is.

[uptoyoumyfriend]

great spuds at the friday market across from the mosque behind galaree -night bazaar -

potatoes here are excellent and if they are sweet they are yams

[daoyai]

great spuds at the friday market across from the mosque behind galaree -night bazaar -

potatoes here are excellent and if they are sweet they are yams

Um...no, yams and sweet potatoes are both tubers but not the same, some yams can grow to weigh 25 kilo each! I think that potatoes, grown in the tropics have a slightly higher sugar content than if grown in a temperate climate. After awhile you probably will not notice.

[Lite Beer]

An inflammatory post has been removed.

[sante]

Everything I've read from my recent Google searches agrees with daoyai's statement--that potatoes grown in the tropics have a higher sugar content. And the ones I cooked were noticeably more yellow than the idaho potatoes in the US. They'd probably be delicious as fries or chips or mashed with butter but when fried with onions, eggs, and sausages, the taste is decidedly different than that standard American breakfast. And I usually add grated cheddar cheese as an additional ingredient but didn't have any on hand. The sweetness of the potato combined with melted cheddar cheese doesn't seem very appealing but I haven't tried it yet.

[nicksal37]

I have always found Thai potatoes very good for roasting,mashing and for chips ( UK/Aussie chips). I did buy some potatoes at Muang Mai once that were very sweet.These were a different type of potatoe that the farang is used to. These were not yams.Normally we buy the white ones for 25baht/kilo and they are very versitile.The one thing I do miss here in Thailand is the early Jersey Royals we used have in the UK in early spring.Cooked with some salt and searved with Cornish butter. Oh off subject...does anyone here know if runner beans are available?

[Gonzo the Face]

Coincidentally, I was about to post a question about sweet potatoes. Where in Chiang Mai can I find some that would be suitable for making a pie?

If you have the time, stop by The Pun Pun. We have regularly sweet potato pie. Have had it now for some years , since I mistakenly made sweet potato pie for a Thanksgiving Day Dinner, instead of pumpkin pie. It was such a sucess we had to continue making it...... never told them that it was by mistake.

...And on breakfast we are regularly complimented on the home fries included with our Superman Breakfast.

For an American, a breakfast is not a breakfast without the homefries...... much like a Brit without baked beans or a Aussie without the fried tomato.

G

[Gonzo the Face]

Strange that there are no comments on the correct way to spell 'potato' or 'potatoes'

Brings back memories of , who was it , George Bush or Dan Quale spelling the word.

G