A Khanom Alone
December 12th, 2008
Khanom Buang Sai off Soi Ari
Flipping Khanom Buang Sai on the Flat Top off Soi Ari
Bangkok, Thailand – The vast majority of Thai desserts (khanom) are made of three ingredients: rice flour, coconut milk and palm sugar. Slightly sweet with a jelly-like or gelatinous consistency, different khanom often have similar tastes and texture, at least to the Western palate, falling within a narrow range. Not khanom buang sai. The French-influenced snack, comes in sweet and savory forms, but the base is the same for all – a paper-thin, crisp, curved tuile cupping a gentle meringue. The tuile is made from a buckwheat batter cooked on a flattop often right on the street. The meringue is doled out from a bucket full of the stuff and most commonly topped with either sweet egg yolk threads that have been cooked in sugar (khanom buang sai wang) or a salty mixture of shredded coconut, shrimp and kaffir lime leaf (khanom buang sai kim). The first time I tried these khanom, the delight with sweet version gave way to the rude surprise of khanom buang sai wan, which was not sweet as expected, but fishy and sweet, a strange combination for the unprepared palate. I’ve since grown to like khanom buang sai wang, but it took awhile to get over that initial shock. Now when it comes to size, I prefer the two-bite khanom buang sai to the massive flapjack-sized ones that are awkward to eat and have way too much meringue in proportion to tuile. You can find khanom buang sai all over town in markets and on streets. Old Siam Plaza is a quieter place to watch them, and other bites, prepared, but I’m not crazy about the ones they have there. Siam Paragon also houses a stall on the ground floor, but again they can be found all over town.
Khanom Buang Sai Kim at the Pak Khlong Talat
Khanom Buang Sai Wang at the Pak Khlong Talat
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