Desserts and Drinks

The Thais love sweets. Known as khanom, they are usually eaten as a snack, although in fine dining restaurants they may be served as a final course to a meal. A simple sweet that highlights the fruit is the Fresh Mangos in Sweet Coconut Cream with Roasted Peanuts (page 112). Eating fruit at various stages of ripeness (great way to use under-ripe fruit) with a chili infused salt is something you must taste. Try the recipe for Fresh Sweet Pineapple with Chili Salt (page 109), once you try it you will definitely begin to experiment!

Thailand’s climate is usually hot and so the Thais drink a great deal of liquid. What they might traditionally drink with a meal and what they drink at other times is very different. There is a great sensibility to this. Why would they want to contaminate the pure flavors of a lime leaf fragranced green curry with a soda?

Water, weak tea, or even soups are very common drinks. Weak tea is created to show that the water has been boiled (to sterilize it), technically the water in Thailand is potable (I drink it, although I get surprised looks when I do), so pitchers of this tinted tea sits on tables for those to help themselves to before, during, or after a meal, not infecting the delicate balance of flavor. This is where soup steps in as one of the most logical component to act as a beverage.

Most meals are comprised of several dishes, and one of those is a mildly seasoned broth based soup. This soup is great for cleansing the palate, allowing you to savor the nuances of each recipe as you consume various dishes.

Between meals, I sustain my energy with the local jet-fuel, comprised of strong brews of coffee or tea subdued by condensed or evaporated milk creating the Thai Iced Coffee (page 114) and Thai Iced Tea (page 114) that have become favorites to most “farang,” western foreigners. I also like the lighter Lemongrass Iced Tea (page 115), not only refreshing, but a great way to use up your lemongrass tops leftover from other recipes. Fresh fruit juices and modern day sodas are also common place on street carts and restaurants around Thailand, the energy giving Red Bull energy drink was actually invented in Thailand. Creating cocktails is fun and I have included one recipe for you to sample, the Spiced Mango Cocktail (page 113), which combines fresh basil, limes, chilies, ginger ale, and vodka into one slamming drink.

Grilled Pineapple with Caramel Sauce

Slightly charred slices of ripe pineapple drizzled with caramel sauce are a decadent treat. Not a traditional Thai recipe since Thais generally eat fruit without many enhancements, nevertheless a recipe your friends and family will love. I have found that the coconut caramel sauce is great to have in my refrigerator for spooning onto ice cream, drizzling over a warm bread pudding, or even a few spoons stirred into my morning coffee … really!

Serves 6–8
 Preparation time: 10 mins
 Cooking time: 20 mins

1 ripe pineapple

1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter

¼ cup (20 g) toasted shredded un-sweetened coconut

CARAMEL SAUCE

1 cup (200 g) sugar

¼ cup (65 ml) water

¾ cup (180 ml) coconut milk

¼ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

4 pandanus leaves

1 Prepare the Caramel Sauce by combining the sugar and water in a medium saucepan, cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Do not stir. Uncover and boil for about 5 minutes, long enough to achieve a dark amber syrup. The sugar will be at 360°F/182°C. Remove from the heat and slowly whisk in the coconut milk. The mixture will boil rapidly and will give off a lot of steam—be careful!! Stir in the salt and pandanus leaves, let it steep until room temperature. Remove the pandanus leaves, squeezing out all the liquid into the sauce. Discard the leaves. This sauce can be stored at room temperature for a few days, otherwise refrigerate for a month.

2 Peel the pineapple, cut in half lengthwise, then cut the halves in half exposing the core. Make a cut lengthwise to remove the core, leaving you with four quarters of the pineapple. Brush both sides of each slice very lightly with the butter.

3 Preheat grill, clean well, wipe with a cloth towel. Grill the pineapple wedges for no more than 2 minutes on flat sides only, you are really just trying to infuse the flavor and not cook them too much. If they are slow to brown only cook one side and serve them that side up for presentation.

4 Slice across the narrow diameter into ½ -inch (1.25 cm) thick slices then arrange the pineapple on plates or a platter, drizzle with ¼ of the Caramel Sauce (serve the rest on the side). Sprinkle with the toasted coconut before serving.