Thai Dessert: Durian Chips
ทุเรียนทอด Durian Chips (Deep Fried Unripe Durian)
Durians are a Thai fruit. They might be hard to find in your Asian grocery - or they might have a whole stack of them. They are huge - watermelon size or larger. They have spikes on their brown skin. They are smelly like the most horrible smell you can imagine. Their flesh is tasty like nothing you’ve ever had when they’re ripe. Hope you find one!
ทุเรียนทอด
Durian Chips
(Deep Fried Unripe Durian)
Prepare:
1 Kg. Unripe durian (Sliced)
1 tsp. Salt
3 cups vegetable oil
Cooking Instructions:
1. Slice the durian into a very thin piece or think piece. The most important thing is to make it at the same thick size, so that when you fry them part of them won’t get burn first.
2. Separate the pieces into a group of same size. Leave it drain first. This way will help you save the cooking time.
3. Heat the pan and pour vegetable oil in it. Use medium fire.
4. When the oil is ready, fry the group of sliced unripe durian. Keep your eyes on it 
don’t let it burn. If it’s possible, flip the pieces every 2 breath. :p
5. I can’t tell how long it will take, depends on the thickness you slice the piece. Mostly, take short time. Pick up one piece and try it to make sure.
6. When durian chips is ready, remove from the pan and leave it drain on paper towels.
7. Sprinkle the salt all over and time to CHIM! (CHIM = taste)
Durian chips should be very thin when you slice. It’s made from the durian and maybe bugs took some part of it or big storm make it fall down from the tree before it get ripe.
It is one of my favorite snacks!
You can’t just eat a whole bag in one time, as it will make you feel sick of it. Never get sick from it.. However, it is not as famous as potato chips.
Thai Food Lifehack: Rice Cooker Hole Fixer!
Lifehack: Rice Cooker with Hole in It? Fix it!
Recently we went riceless for a few weeks. Apparently I had burnt a hole in the rice-cooker somehow. It’s an aluminum bowl that fits into the electric cooker and it’s fairly thick.
HOW it gets a hole, I’m not sure. But it did. So, being from the USA I figured - gotta get a new rice cooker, right?
Joy says, “We can just get some tape to fix it.”
I said, “HUH? Hon, tape won’t fix this - it’s aluminum and we’d need someone to weld something aluminum to fix the hole. Aluminum is difficult to weld to - exceptionally difficult for some reason and I think we should just throw it out and get a new one.”
Joy was quiet, but she knew inside that there was a way to fix it.
Joy returned the other day from the morning market with a plastic baggie with what looked like some aluminum foil inside and a small piece of… sand paper.
I said, ‘What’s that?”
She said it was for the rice-cooker. I said, “No. Can’t be.”
“Yep!” She said…
Oh my god I said under my breath. I commenced to sanding the aluminum at the hole. Joy said the sticker goes on the side that faces the heating element, not the side that would touch the rice. I sanded for a minute and cut a small square to fit over the hole. I pressed it on very hard. It went on so smoothly - like it was MADE for this or something. hahah.
She fired up the rice cooker and made us some great Gwit Diao Gai (Chicken noodle soup).
It WORKED!
So, don’t throw away your rice cookers! If you need some of this stuff - just email us and we’ll send it to you. You’ll have to pick up shipping - but the metal sticker is cheap!
Just let us know!
Thai Dessert: Durian Jam (Durian Guan)
ทุเรียนกวน Durian Guan (Durian Jam)
ทุเรียนกวน
Durian Guan
(Durian Jam)
Prepare:
1/2 kg. Ripe durian (pick the one that is very ripe)
8 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
Cooking Instructions:
1. Mix durian and sugar into the pan. Use low heat and stir until it gets thick.
2. Notice when you stick your finger on it, it won’t get on your finger.
The durian meat which is too ripe will have some juice that will help the jam not to get burn on the stove. Anyway, keep stirring and always use low heat.
Hard work, you will get a big arm muscle as a benefit. :p
3. When it is ready. Leave it cool off and pack in a container.
I don’t know what to call this call of dessert as the way we cook is like western food called Jam but actually, Durian Guan is much more sticky and dry. It is how we preserve the durian that was too ripe and can not be sold. With this way we can keep it in the fridge for a long time, as for our next enjoyment.
I love this dessert so much!
Last few days, when I found it at our favorite food store, I almost jumped on it and screamed (in my mind).
I would scream louder because the price was so cheap! but I didn’t…hehe
My husband was there too, I didn’t want to embarrass him. :p
Well, 10Baht/piece the cheapest price I have ever seen. (about 33 cents usd) If I were going to get it from the Isaan, it would be around 100 Baht?? I don’t know the exact rate but I am sure that this dessert is not the kind that you can have it everyday in my hometown.
The one that I got from the store was too brown because of it was made from a different Durian type. The best durian to make on this recipe is called Mon-Thong, the color will be yellow not dark like in this picture. The taste is like chewing gum but good thing is you can swallow it.
Note from Vern: The bad thing about it is that you need to handle the durian in your kitchen to make the jam. Durians have a smell like sulfur and spoiled eggs… and boiling broccoli. I hope you’re getting a good visual image of the faces of your family members and neighbors as you’re making this - if you’re lucky enough to find some durian in the Asian market in your town. Durians are brown and rather large - watermelon or larger size. They have spikes on the outside. Brown skin on outside… yellow on inside. The taste - is amazing. I love it - but many foreigners are turned off by the smell. Oh well, more for us!
See my next post on Durian Chips soon!
Thai Dessert: Fried Pig Skins (Cab Moo)
แคบหมู Cab Moo (Fried pigs skin)
แคบหมู
Cab Moo
(Fried pigs skin)
Once I have mentioned about this food Cab Moo and introduced that it was one of my unhealthiest Thai food lists (but I like it :p)
Cab Moo is made from pig’s skin, deep fry in the hot vegetable oil. We can save this food outside the fridge for a long time and it will still be okay to eat.
If you eat potato chips when you are watching T.V at home, my aunts and I eat Cab Moo as a snack.
Prepare:
2 Kg. pig’s skin
1 tbsp. Salt
1 tbsp. light soy sauce or 1/2 tbsp. black sweet soy sauce
Oil from pork
Cooking Instructions:
1. Cut pig’s skin 1.5 inches long. Clean very well, use a thin blade scrape the hair and unpleasant spot out. Clean with water again and leave it drain.
2. Boil in boiling water until the skin is cooked and then leave it drain. Make sure there’s no water left. You can use hand towel press on each piece, now we really know it is really dry out. After that, add salt and light soy sauce.
3. Fry pork skin in very hot oil (can be vegetable oil or pig’s oil). However, the oil from pig will leave strange smell on the food. When each piece turns gold, remove from the pan.
4. Next, eat with Som Tam. !!! My Favorite food.. Or serve with northern style dipping sauce, Nam Prig Ong.
The other kind of Cab Moo is called Gag Moo, this type has a lot of fat from pork and I think that makes it taste better.
To do this one, just choose the skin part that has lots of fat. Cut it to dice shape and fry on medium heat until it turns gold.
Don’t burn them. Be careful.
Lastly, sprinkle salt all over. It taste as good as Cab Moo when you eat with Som Tam.
Well, anything tastes good with my Som Tam!! Haha
