Can I find strong leafy vegetables in the fresh markets?

[californiabeachboy]

i am heading back to Thailand for a visit again and I am determined to do more of my own cooking (I have reserved a serviced apartment with a basic kitchen).

Here in the US I like to cook kale, collard greens, etc - something stronger than spinach.

If I go to the fresh markets in Thailand, is there something that is similar? I have done some Internet surfing and not sure if kale is widely available there. Maybe what we call gai lan (Chinese broccoli)? Or anything else that you could boil a bit, with some onions or whatever, and make a flavorful healthy side dish?

I will be shopping mostly in Ari neighborhood in Bkk and tannin market in Chiang Mai.

Thanks.

[iluvthailand]

Are you vegetarian? I heard that for a country that is mostly Buddhist, there are not a lot of vegetarian options.

[Bpuumike]

My Thai wife is not a vegetarian per se but tends to eat that way.

The local street markets have plenty of what you are looking for, perhaps find an 'advisor'

[AyG]

Gai lan is widely available in Thailand where it's called "khana".

Also of interest might be phak bung (water spinach, ong choy in Chinese I think) and bok choy. You'll see plenty of similar vegetables in the supermarkets and markets.

[californiabeachboy]

Thanks for the info. I will look for the khana and phak bung.

[Jingthing]

Thai kale WIDELY available in markets and in restaurants.

It is added to noodle dishes like Pad See-ew and popularly served as a dish in itself w/ crispy pork.

Kale is a super food.

Thai Kale

Gailan

In my opinion, Thai kale and gailan (Asian brocolli) are NOT the same vegetable.

In my experience gailan is common here but less pervasive than the Thai Kale.

There are other greens that will be more exotic, not found at every restaurant, but most markets have a bunch of choices.

You might also want to explore cooking with BITTER MELON.

The Chinese and the Indian varieties are both widely available but Chinese more common.

Some people hate it, some people love it, I love it.

Cheers.

Edited November 10, 2013 by Jingthing

[californiabeachboy]

Thanks for the good info JT. The image of the Thai kale you posted looks nothing like the kale here in the US (see below). It is all the rage here in the US now - healthy with lots of flavor.

Anyone know how I pronounce Thai kale in Thai?? Trying to learn some Thai, starting with food! Will google bitter melon

Cheers.

Edited November 17, 2013 by californiabeachboy

[Farma]

This link to the Melbourne university plant names in Thai maybe a bit more indepth than you need.

http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Thai_index_new.html

[AyG]

Chinese kale is pronounced kháˑnáa.

Bitter melon is máˑrá.

[Jingthing]

Just have a look in the markets. There are plenty of leafy green options. You just won't know what they all are or how to cook with them right away.

[wayned]

Or you could act like a Thai and just walk along the side of the road and pick what you want. My wife once had me stop along AH1 on the way home from Bangkok so that she could pick yellow flowers which were in the dish we had for dinner

[californiabeachboy]

Thanks. I have my homework for my next ramble through the amazing Thai food markets.

[PoetDrunkInTheBoat]

Gai lan is widely available in Thailand where it's called "khana".

Also of interest might be phak bung (water spinach, ong choy in Chinese I think) and bok choy. You'll see plenty of similar vegetables in the supermarkets and markets.

What you mean is JieLanCai, and it is widely available,

Is also THE greatest green leafy veg known to me.

[Jingthing]

To me the greatest leafy green BY FAR is Da Dou Miao (Chinese) which are the pea leaves/vines NOT the sprouts.

In Thailand I see the sprouts in markets but have not noticed the leaves version in markets or restaurants.

It is a rarer and more expensive vegetable than the sprouts. In Chinese restaurants in the U.S. it is VERY seasonal.

Chinese people have told me it is not available in Thailand but then I found a website saying it was but hard to find.

Can someone assist with locating in Thailand with the Thai name (in Thai and pronounced)?

Edited November 26, 2013 by Jingthing

[PoetDrunkInTheBoat]

To me the greatest leafy green BY FAR is Da Dou Miao (Chinese) which are the pea leaves/vines NOT the sprouts.

In Thailand I see the sprouts in markets but have not noticed the leaves version in markets or restaurants.

It is a rarer and more expensive vegetable than the sprouts. In Chinese restaurants in the U.S. it is VERY seasonal.

Chinese people have told me it is not available in Thailand but then I found a website saying it was but hard to find.

Can someone assist with locating in Thailand with the Thai name (in Thai and pronounced)?

Da Dou Miao.jpg

As you say,

I don't think this looks like a group of wok-stir-fried banana leaves.

But there still is a problem, in that this vegetable should really be stir-fried with garlic to enjoy the flavor.

[Jingthing]

That's right, it's not banana leaves. Why is the need for GARLIC a problem? More like a FEATURE.

[PoetDrunkInTheBoat]

Thai kale WIDELY available in markets and in restaurants.

It is added to noodle dishes like Pad See-ew and popularly served as a dish in itself w/ crispy pork.

Kale is a super food.

thai-kale.jpg Thai Kale

gailan.jpgGailan

In my opinion, Thai kale and gailan (Asian brocolli) are NOT the same vegetable.

In my experience gailan is common here but less pervasive than the Thai Kale.

There are other greens that will be more exotic, not found at every restaurant, but most markets have a bunch of choices.

You might also want to explore cooking with BITTER MELON.

The Chinese and the Indian varieties are both widely available but Chinese more common.

Some people hate it, some people love it, I love it.

Cheers.

I am glad to see that you do know your vegetables, and I also think that you might more accurately use the term JieLan instead of GaiLan, when referring to the thick stemmed variety you show here.

As stated, I love this vegetable, and enjoy eating its yellow flowers, and its stems, and leaves. It has a marvelous slightly bitter flavor, even though it is sweetish and good.

This is very hard to find, the highest quality stuff, unless you are in Hong Kong, I have found.

It is here though, and I have had it cooked with garlic.

But they crazily enough add fish sauce, which should never be done.

Garlic and a tiny bit of salt is all you need.

[Jingthing]

I would like to use more Thai leafy greens in my own cooking but I'm not confident how to use them. I don't do juicers and yes I know you can stir fry anything but I'm looking for lazier ways to get a greens fix daily for health. I make soups often but use Chinese veg bok choy or cabbage in them. What specific Thai greens can I just toss in like bok choy? Also any other easy ways to use specific Thai greens?

Sent from my GT-S5360B using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[tutsiwarrior]

the more rigid leafy thai greens I use like I used chard in the US: wash them well and then chop and slice to your desire and add to the wok during the last stage of cooking of the main ingredients (chicken, tofu, etc.) and cover and then the leaves shall steam and become just right...and they will give up a lot of their own moisture so that when you get started with a new vegetable check the progress when it's cooking...and be a maestro with the gas nobs on the cooker and remember that you are the master and you can make that wok do anything that you want...

it ain't the same when you put something in the oven...and here's tuts with a fresh 25lb pacific salmon to prepare for his mate's wedding buffet and there was his mum who was an aged but vigourous jewish lady...and I screamed: ' Vera!! this goddam fish cost $100 and I don't wanna screw it up!!!" and she pushed me aside and said: ' gimme that...dress with fresh dill and some butter and then in the oven on low heat for about 2 hours...can't go wrong...'

and it was a wild success, let me tell you! tutsi drove up to the wedding venue from the East Bay to Sonoma County and set the fish on the buffet then went fer a piss after the long drive...when I got back the fish was eaten!! and my sister who doesn't like me as I was an abuser when we were young yelled: 'got some fer ye over here tuts!' she had saved me a portion when she saw the feeding frenzy...and with her impossible beauty and dark smouldering eyes she intimated that she should have smashed the fish inna my face but blood is thicker than anger...and so it goes...

[tutsiwarrior]

and then later I was within earshot and heard Vera with another guest at the reception: 'ye see that fish? I cooked that fish wid the assistance of dat guy over dere...dese goys dey don't know know nuttin' about fish...'

and then later: "hey! Vera! the fish was a success!" and then 'oh yeah? well if you hadn't been my son's best friend from primary school I woulda tole ye t'get stuffed...anyone that don't support Israel ain't no fren' ob mine....'

she coulda stepped outta a Woody Allen movie and I loved her to bits and later when her youngest son married my sister we became inlaws and she then bullied her to convert to judaism: 'ye see dem kids that ye have?...well, they can't be jews if their mom ain't a jew...and that's right!'

what's a bolivian half-breed to do? and she really hated me mum, as they were the same age but me mum looked 20 years younger...and she snorted: ' bolivians are like arabs; there's too many of them...'

and my mate is always on the email: 'say, man...when ye comin' back to Pasadena?...'

[Michaelaway]

Try pak boong, it's really good. The leaves fry up soft and the tube-shaped pieces of stalk absorb the flavors around them and get supple, yet stay a bit crispy.

Delicious the Thai way: Wash the long stalks & leaves. Cut off about 1 1/2" of the root ends & discard and then cut the stalks & leaves into 1 1/2" pieces. Heat your wok really hot; add oil, lots of chopped garlic and some chopped red chilies. After a few seconds, when the garlic starts to turn golden, toss in the pak boong and stir it all around. It'll sizzle a lot. After a minute or two of stir-frying, add a little oyster sauce, a bit of soy sauce, a tsp of salted yellow bean paste and stir-fry a couple of minutes more until done. Adding sliced moo krob, shrimp or fish balls makes it a main dish.

[tutsiwarrior]

Try pak boong, it's really good. The leaves fry up soft and the tube-shaped pieces of stalk absorb the flavors around them and get supple, yet stay a bit crispy.

Delicious the Thai way: Wash the long stalks & leaves. Cut off about 1 1/2" of the root ends & discard and then cut the stalks & leaves into 1 1/2" pieces. Heat your wok really hot; add oil, lots of chopped garlic and some chopped red chilies. After a few seconds, when the garlic starts to turn golden, toss in the pak boong and stir it all around. It'll sizzle a lot. After a minute or two of stir-frying, add a little oyster sauce, a bit of soy sauce, a tsp of salted yellow bean paste and stir-fry a couple of minutes more until done. Adding sliced moo krob, shrimp or fish balls makes it a main dish.

the veg at the top of the photo is widely available and can be steamed with the other ingredients in the wok as I described above after the washing and chopping...

that other stuff that is stir fried in hot oil is unappetizing and is prepared around here a lot; basically just a bunch of stir fried stalks that get stuck in yer teeth and ye haveta spend the rest of the evening removing them...

but it is a quick dish to prepare usually with some ground moo to give it flavor...

[tutsiwarrior]

there are a lot of nice soups that can be prepared using the usual and widely available ingredients...one of my favorites is prepared here at home by the step daughter using the chinese cabbage and the store bought tofu that comes in a cylindrical package in the dairy section of some supermarkets...the step daughter has 'a trick' with the broth using ground pork and this is what gives the soup it's flavor...

I experimented using the 'homade' tofu blocks available at the fresh market but it didn't work out...you need the custard-like tofu that you get from the supermarket as it sorta breaks up with the other ingredients and absorbs the flavor...

quite nice as the cabbage soup with tofu with a hearty pork broth does the trick when down in the dumps with a bad hangover...

[tutsiwarrior]

there are a lot of females in my house and they can all cook...

and here's tutsi sneaking up on the little niece who is preparing an omlette with a lot of 'WHACK' of the garlic with the cleaver and the chopping of onions and my heart melted...she's not my 'little girl' anymore...

and then she turns around with surprise and sez: 'have you been spying on me uncle tutsi?' and then she flips the omlette with a deft wrist movement and sez: 'not just another pretty face, eh?'

where's Elvis?

[tutsiwarrior]

and then later I was within earshot and heard Vera with another guest at the reception: 'ye see that fish? I cooked that fish wid the assistance of dat guy over dere...dese goys dey don't know know nuttin' about fish...'

and then later: "hey! Vera! the fish was a success!" and then 'oh yeah? well if you hadn't been my son's best friend from primary school I woulda tole ye t'get stuffed...anyone that don't support Israel ain't no fren' ob mine....'

she coulda stepped outta a Woody Allen movie and I loved her to bits and later when her youngest son married my sister we became inlaws and she then bullied her to convert to judaism: 'ye see dem kids that ye have?...well, they can't be jews if their mom ain't a jew...and that's right!'

what's a bolivian half-breed to do? and she really hated me mum, as they were the same age but me mum looked 20 years younger...and she snorted: ' bolivians are like arabs; there's too many of them...'

and my mate is always on the email: 'say, man...when ye comin' back to Pasadena?...'

and then when Vera died in 2006 I was on the phone from Suphanburi as a blubbering mess and I said to my mate her youngest son: 'I gotta at least send some flowers...' and he said: ' fergit it, tuts...she's dead and you loved her like we loved her and that's all that counts...'

oh, waahhhh....

Edited December 7, 2013 by tutsiwarrior

[Bpuumike]

Thai kale WIDELY available in markets and in restaurants.

It is added to noodle dishes like Pad See-ew and popularly served as a dish in itself w/ crispy pork.

Kale is a super food.

thai-kale.jpg Thai Kale

gailan.jpgGailan

In my opinion, Thai kale and gailan (Asian brocolli) are NOT the same vegetable.

In my experience gailan is common here but less pervasive than the Thai Kale.

There are other greens that will be more exotic, not found at every restaurant, but most markets have a bunch of choices.

You might also want to explore cooking with BITTER MELON.

The Chinese and the Indian varieties are both widely available but Chinese more common.

Some people hate it, some people love it, I love it.

Cheers.

Apologies, but I am on the side of those who hate it.

Can't understand why a sane person outside of India would want to eat it.

No offence intended lol.

Back to the OP, there are just so many local street markets with leafy greens you are spoiled for choice, anywhere in Thailand.

[tutsiwarrior]

the broad leaves can be made to taste like anything with judicious use of aromatics like garlic and etc...ye just need to strip out the rough fiber bits as the stuff that gets into yer teeth ruins yer dining pleasure...

in Vietnam we had wonderful spinach that was suitable for salads not like the bitter vegetable in Thailand...

just take the leaves and turn over on their 'face' and strip out the big ridge that presents itself...you want nice supple leaves and not a maiden to communist punishment...