All fruits we use in our recipes:
Maybe fruits are not common ingredients used in cooking in other cuisines. But in Thai and Akha cuisines many types of fruits are used as the main ingredients for cooking.
For example, papaya, you may think of yellow, ripe, sweet, and soft papaya fruit. But for cooking papaya has to be green papaya or unripe papaya fruit. The common dishes that you may already know are Papaya Salad, Keang Som Ma La Gor (Thai sour curry with green papaya), etc. Papaya can be used to create many different types of dishes from salads, soups, curries, and stir-fry dishes.
Jackfruit is also another example of using fruits for cooking. Young, immature fruit is used to make various dishes for vegan and vegetarian food. The texture and flavor of cooked Jackfruit are similar to pulled pork or chicken and full of nutrition.
In our recipes, there are a few fruits we mentioned but there are many kinds of fruits that can be used for cooking. Some may be easy to get in fresh, some may not but canned fruits also work well for cooking.
List of Fruits – ผลไม้ – Pon La Mai
Apple – แอปเปิ้ล – App Plen
Apple is an edible fruit from the apple tree, originated in Central Asia. Apples have been grown for thousands of years in Asia and Europe and were brought to North America by European colonists. The apple that you saw in Thailand is imported from China. It becomes the common fruit that available in the local market.
Banana – กล้วย – Giwy
Banana is a classic fruit that Thai people used for making Thai sweets or desserts. You probably had seen green banana at the local market, and wondering what that green banana for? The green banana or unripe banana is used to make various Thai sweet. For example deep-fried banana or banana in coconut milk.
Grapes – องุ่น – Ar Ngun
Grapes are the fruit of botanically a berry that grows in clusters of 15 to 300. Grapes can be eaten fresh or can be used for making wine, jam, grape juice. Wine is not historically a part of Thai culture. The grapes grow in Thailand are consumed as fruit than making wine.
Green Papaya – มะละกอ – Ma La Gor
Green papaya is a young papaya. When it ripens, it changes color from green to a yellowish-orange color, and becomes sweeter. The green papaya is used in Thai cuisine for its crisp, youthful flavor e.g. in papaya salads.
Guava – ฝรั่ง – Fa Rung
Guava is a tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions, originated in Central America. The fruits are oval in shape with light green or yellow skin and contain edible seeds. Its leaves are boiled in the water used as a medicine to clean wounds, suck pus, neutralize wounds. Pound the fresh young leaves to stop bleeding.
Jackfruit – ขนุน – Ka Noon
Jackfruit is an exotic fruit grown in tropical regions of the world. It has a distinctive sweet flavor – reminiscent of a combination of fruits including apple, pineapple, mango and banana. It can also be used to make a variety of dishes.
Lychee – ลิ้นจี่ – Lin Chee
Lychee or Litchi is a tropical tree native to the Guangdong and Fujian provinces of southeastern China. The outside of the fruit is pink-red, roughly textured, and inedible, covering white flesh with big dark brown seed. The flesh has a sweet, aromatic taste like a grape with a hint of rose.
Mango – มะม่วง – Mamu-Mung
There are over 9 different varieties of mangoes used in Thailand, so you will see them everywhere in the country. The mango is one of the most delicious seasonal fruits grown in the tropics, and its frequently used in Thai kitchen. The mango tree is believed to have originated from the sub-Himalayan plains of the Indian subcontinent.
Passion Fruit – เสาวรส – Sao Wa Rot
One of the most popular fruits Thai people use to make juice and smoothie. There are two types of passion fruit you will find at the market. The yellow and the purple skin. Its skin is inedible, cut open the fruit and scoop out the pulp and seeds to eat it. It tastes fruity, sweet, and tart with a strong characteristic perfume.
Pineapple – สัปปะรด – Sap Bpa Rot
Pineapples are a tropical fruit that grow from a terrestrial plant. The pineapple got its name from Spanish word “piña”, literally meaning “pinecone”. Pineapple is displayed in various Thai dishes.
Tamarind – มะขาม – Ma Kaam
Tamarind is a type of tropical fruit grown from a leguminous tree, originating in Africa. The tree produces bean-like pods filled with seeds surrounded by fibrous pulp. The pulp of the young fruit is green and sour, but becomes juicy and more sweet as it ripens. Tamarind is known to reduce inflammation in the body, improve digestion, and strengthen the immune system.
Excited to participate in a Cooking Class?
From your Home or in our kitchen in Chiang Mai
