Fah Thai Magazine - Inflight Magazine of Bangkok Airways Issue Mar-Apr 2024

OVERTURES
JUST DESSERT
Thailand’s Secret Weapon
Against Summer Heat
Summer in Thailand can be a battle with the
heat, but Thais have developed a delicious
defence: cooling desserts. Loi Kaew, featuring
sweet and sour fruits drenched in syrup with
crushed ice, is one of the most powerful
weapons. Its refreshing flavours and sugary hit
will make any hot afternoon bearable.
Loi Kaew is often given an extra kick by
adding freshly squeezed bitter orange juice and
orange zest. This version is called Som Chun.
The appealingly sour fragrance of the juice
collides with the syrupy fruit drowned in ice
shavings to offer a perfect pick-me-up after the
exhausting heat.
The syrup used in the dessert is easy to make.
Just pour jasmine-flavoured water over a bundle
of pandan leaves in a pot, add sugar and salt, and
simmer until it reaches the consistency of syrup.
To serve up a delicious bowl of Som Chun,
you can opt for sweet fruits with a hint of
sourness like lychee, mango plum, orange,
longan, salak (snake fruit) and rambutan. The
fruits need to be sliced finely and soaked in the
syrup overnight for the perfect dessert.
Here’s a deliciously sweet and refreshing dessert to ease the
gruelling heat of long afternoons in the tropics
Som Chun is ideally served with a topping
of sour mango, young ginger, bitter orange zest
and fried shallots.
It can be tough to find this traditional
dessert – which dates back to the reign of
King Rama II in the early 1800s – on restaurant
menus. But we managed to track down
a delicious version at Anya Authentic
Thai Cuisine in Bangkok. Located close to
the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, this
restaurant is certainly worth a visit.
www.anyathaicuisine.com
WORDS SARITA URUPONGSA
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