Ten fruits you should try out when you visit exotic Thailand

Some of you wonder what exotic fruits there are in Thailand? Below I have a list of ten fruits that you may want to take a look at whenever you get an opportunity to try them out. The fruits are well abundant in the supermarkets/streets and are very fresh so be sure to give them a shot when you can.

1. Mango
2. Rambutan
3. Mangosteen
4. Dragon fruit
5. PineApple
6. Durian
7. Gauva
8. StarFruit
9. Coconut
10. Rose Apple

 

And that makes up the list of top ten fruits to try out! Be sure to try them out on your next vacation trip!

These are roseapples. Quite delicous if you ask me!

 

Source:

1. https://www.phuket101.net/thai-fruits/

 

Ice Cream with Komasan!

Imagine yourself walking downtown near Seaport Village and bumping into an ice cream stand. For some reason there is no one there but ice cream keeps vanishing. This is the work of a yokai! Yokai watch is an anime about animals and humans that have died and turned into monsters called yokai. Below is a photo of a yokai figurine named Komasan. According to the Yokai wiki (that’s right i used the yokai wiki as reference!) Komasan does indeed love ice cream! Although he looks like a cat, he actually is a Komainu (a lion dog).

 

Cute little thing huh!

Reference:

1. http://yokaiwatch.wikia.com/wiki/Komasan

Your solution to Happiness – Snacks from a Vietnamese store

Feeling hungry but don’t want to spend too much money? Well now there is a solution! You can go to an Asian store and buy snacks and deserts like me. I bought some bowl noodles (no msg) and Asian deserts.

But too much of a good thing will cause you to become ill so don’t eat too much!

 

Snacks and Deserts! The desert is pretty much milk with coconut and jelly in it.

 

Life on a budget : Hot dogs + bread + celery and scallions

I’m living life on a budget now.

This is what i’ll be eating for this entire week

1. Hot Dogs – 2$
2. Celery – 1$
3. Scallions – 1$
4. Bread – 2$

How to make Banh Xeo in three steps(Vietnamese Crepe with Shrimp)

I’m going to try and make some Banh Xeo (Vietnamese Crepe) next week.

It might come out all black but it’s worth a try!

Ingredients needed for Crepe Batter:

• Rice Flour
• White Sugar
• Salt
• Ground Turmeric
• Coconut Milk
• Water

Ingredients to fill up with Crepe:

• Vegetable Oil
• Minced Shallot (Your probably wondering what this is : Small Onions)
• Garlic
• Fresh Shrimp (Peeled)
• Fish Sauce
• Salt
• Mung Bean sprouts
• Lettuce Leaves

Time to get cooking and hope nothing explodes!

1. Cook the meat and fillings first in a nonstick skillet:

• Cook Garlic and Shallot first for 1-2minutes
• Then add shrimp for 3-4 minutes
• Add fish sauce and remove and save the contents in a bowl

2. Crepe making time:

• Assuming you made your batter already, you are now ready to cook the batter
• Clean your Skillet and adjust to medium heat
• Pour 1/2 cup of batter into the skillet
• Swirl it to cover the bottom completely
• Then throw in your fillings!
• When you are ready, fold your crepe in half and remove it from the skillet.

3. Conclusion:

After you are done cooking the crepe. You can place it inside a 200 degrees F preheated oven to keep warm or just eat as is.

Banh Xeo recipe from allrecipes.com

Source :

1. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/247054/banh-xeo-vietnamese-crepes/

Sour Soup with Fish/Canh Chua Cá

I’m leveling up my cooking skills this weekend. I made some Canh Chua Cá. It means sour soup with fish.

You will need to go to an Asian store and buy these:

1. Sour Soup Pack
   1. It contains all the veggies you need for your soup
   2. Tomatoes, Bean sprouts, okra, weird veggies, garlic, chili, and exotic herbs.
2. Catfish
   1. Buy the precut steak looking ones.
3. Tamarind or a pineapple
4. Pepper, salt, sugar
5. A stove, a giant pot, some oil, and cooking utensils

 

 

 

Now that you got all the ingredients you will need to go online and find instructions on how to cook properly (see the video link below). That’s what I did :P.

Below I will sum everything up briefly:

• With your pot add in oil and add in garlic, cook it until brown, then remove them
• Next add in a lot of water then mix with salt and sour ingredients (I used pineapple b/c I did not have tamarind). Bring it to a boil
• Add in the fish, leave for ten minutes and remove the fish to avoid overcooking
• Add in all the veggies except the herbs, bring to boil for few minutes
• Add in the fish again, bring to boil
• Add in the herbs.
• Now you are ready to eat….

Easy right?

 

Online Sources:

1.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO81lQvYodI

How to open up a coconut

In this post I will show you how to open up a coconut using sources that I found online.

I bought a coconut from an Asian store and left it siting in the kitchen for 2 months. It started growing mold so I finally decided to cut it open. The coconut water and the flesh tasted really sour. I ended up throwing them both away in the garden to decompose….

Below I will show you some steps on how to open up a coconut (1):

Step 1: Buy a coconut from a an Asian market.

Step 2:  Cleave the top part of the coconut slightly and look for the soft eyes

Step 3: Get a screwdriver or a nail and puncture some holes in it.

Step 4: Now drain the coconut water and drink it or something.

Step 5: Take it to a tropical island that has a tennis court and draw faces on it with your blood. Then name it Wilson or Babolat.

Fun ideas huh!

I found out better ways to cut open up a coconut by using a butter knife or smaller sharp knife (see videos below).

1. For this method you will need any kind of knife to expose to upper part of the coconut’s shell.
   

   Taken from fitfortwotv’s youtube video

2. Next you will puncture that top part of the coconut shell with a butter knife or any knife. Look for the soft edges and try not to cut yourself.
3. If all else fails you can try and break it up with a hammer.
4. Be careful, your coconut might have pesticides on it!

Footage from okraw: See Video here

Sources:

1. http://www.wikihow.com/Open-a-Coconut
2. How to open up a coconut in 45 seconds : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7adnlycAbs
3. How to open up a coconut with a butter knife :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsP1ZZtuffU
4. How to open up a coconut in 30 seconds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMeYi0IAoH4

Easy Foodie Strategy : A Cheap Body Building Diet

Look it’s a duck. It’s food.

Being a foodie is an expensive hobby. And sometimes not all the strange exotic food from the fancy restaurants are mouth watering enough to be eaten. Is there a way to bypass the “Expensive” part?

In an effort to save money and time I will be conducting some research on how to eat cheap and still get all the calories/nutrition needed to gain muscle and body mass. Get my money and time’s worth by cooking my own food.

So according to the bodybuilding website I will need to

• Eat six times a day
• Stay away from brand name or processed food
• Avoid Sugary Drinks
• Eat more Carbs – Rice, Bread, Pasta, fruits and vegetables
• Lean Protein – Whey protein between meals, and casein protein before bed.

 

Onwards to specific examples:

Looks easy and tasty. A restaurant would charge 10$ for this.

 

What’s for lunch?

The bibb lettuce burger. Looks easy to make right? Cook yourself a $10 Gourmet burger.

 

What’s for Dinner?

Cook the Shrimp and brown rice. And then throw in all the vegetables. Simple right? Now you can save $15 because that’s how much you would pay if you ordered this at a restaurant.

Congratulations. You just learned how to save 35$ a day and still be a foodie at the same time. This method is called the cheapo Foodie technique.

I’ve tried expensive food at restaurants before and I know that I can save more money if I cook them myself and be creative with it. Tune in next time for more “cook your own exotic food blog entries!”

 

References:

1. http://www.bodybuilding.com/content/meal-plan-for-every-guy.html

My breakfast creations : Oatmeal with Sugar Cane and Hibiscus Tea

I decided to try something new by creating my own breakfast menu instead of going out to eat other people’s food.

Below I have invented the oatmeal with sugar cane, bananas, and hibiscus tea.

 

How did I made it?

That’s a very good question fellow traveler. To make this you will need some oatmeal, boiling water and a sugarcane.

1.Get a small bowl pour some oatmeal over it.

2.Then add boiling water to it.

3.Then drop in a sugarcane and…..  voilà!

 

What about the Hisbiscus Tea?

For the hibiscus tea you will need to purchase a box of hibiscus tea from your local supermarket. Then get some boiling water!

1. Pour boiling water into your mug
2. Add in the hibiscus tea bag and let it seep for 5 minutes. (or however long you would like it.
3. When you are done, you will get this red looking liquid: 
4. 

 

What about the Bananas?

For the bananas you will have to get a butter knife and cut out small slices of the banana. After that throw it into the oatmeal (photo not shown).

How would you rate your own dish?

The food I made was quite inexpensive but it was missing texture. The sugarcane added a nice sugary feel to it but it was still hard to eat. There was no flavor in the oatmeal at all!

 

I would give my dish a 1 out of 5 stars. One for being creative and a negative 4 star for having no flavor.

Maybe some chicken and fried eggs to the oatmeal would increase the rating.

 

Thanks for reading! Be sure to come back next time for more food stories/food photography from me!

New menu: Oatmeal with Sugarcane. And those bubbles what are those?

 

 

Share : Starbucks Japan releases Matcha White Chocolate Frappuccino — RocketNews24

This is cool! I found this post from rocketnews. Follow the link below to see their full post:

The new limited-edition release surprised everyone when it appeared virtually unannounced around the country today. You know you’ve got a winning product when you don’t even have to officially advertise it to draw attention. That’s exactly what Starbucks Japan has been doing lately, with last month’s custard puddings, and now again with their latest Frappuccino release, the Matcha White…

via Starbucks Japan releases Matcha White Chocolate Frappuccino — RocketNews24