on dimples and worms

Here by popular demand, the dimpled pans specifically for making Kanom Krok. Also, for your amusement…

No they are not wiggly worms. Not even the green ones. They are wiggly little dessert 'noodles' called Lod-chong. Lod-chong is made by passing the soft dough made of flour, water, and Pandan juice (which gives the noodles the green color) through a special instrument that's like a spatula full of little holes placed on top of a pot of boiling water. The long stream of dough is cut off with a knife every couple of inches, creating little worm looking pieces rather than long pieces of noodles. These little green worms are served in a bowl with sweetened coconut milk and plenty of ice. Trust me, they taste better than they look (and sound). Back in the old days the coconut milk used to be sweetened with a simple syrup that has been infused with fresh jasmine flowers. In that case, they tasted, and smelled, better than they looked (and sound.) Frankly, these days, I'm happy just to find Lod-Chong that are actually made with Pandan leaf and not artificial green color. Jasmine or no jasmine.

The fluorescent green worms in the tub next to the Lod Chong are not worms either. Sorry to have spoiled your fun. They are a sort of Lod Chong, we call them Lod Chong Singapore here in Thailand. Presumably they came from Singapore. (What you think me an encyclopedia or something? How should I know?) They are made in much the same way as Lod Chong, but with mung bean (green bean) flour instead of regular flour. They also have the extra garnish of pieces of jackfruit and young coconut instead of just coconut milk. Quite delicious they are, and a little bit more toothsome than the regular Lod Chong.

Meanwhile -well, not really meanwhile but I am evidently not very good at finding a segue, especially not when begging for votes- January 18th is the last day to vote for Chez Pim's Truffle Don piece, which is nominated for the Best Post award on the Food Blog Award that Kate is running over at The Accidental Hedonist. Go and drop a vote in for us, pretty please?

Comments

[faustianbargain]

sounds like a sweet spatzle. in india, we call pandan, kewra. we get it mostly in 'essence' form.

[faustianbargain]

oops. forgot this > http://www.indiaplaza.com/appliances/pd.aspx?sku=JP0611200420 > we call it aapam or paniyaram. its fermented rice flour with urad dhal with seasonings(asofedita/green chillies/cilantro etc)like yorkshire pudding. only without the eggs. it 'puffs' and rises because of the fermentation.

[Kalyn]

I really want to go to Thailand (it's on my top ten list of places I must go) so I am enjoying these posts so much. Thanks.

[jack]

Hello Pim. Where can I buy those sweets? Do they sell that in The Emporium? I'm going to Bangkok last week of January.

[umami]

The Lod Chong Singapore sounds and looks like our 'cendol'. We typically drown it in thick coconut milk and gula melaka (palm) syrup. I blogged about cendol many months ago:

http://umami.typepad.com/umami/2004/05/cendol.html

[charlene]

i adore your posts on Thailand Pim. Am looking forward to reading your magazine article. When can you tell us who it is for?

[jen]

The worm dessert you mention sounds very similiar to a Vietnamese dessert. I don't remember the name, but the Asian supermarkets sell them.

[Lil]

hmm... lod chong is similar to "cendol" in malaysia indeed... "green worms" served with ice shavings, rose syrup, coconut milk, and for good measure, the local cendol vendor in my hometown even includes some red beans and a spoonful of glutinuous rice... yumm....

[Duncan]

The dimples used to make Karom Krok remind me of a Chinese / Hong Kong dessert called 雞蛋仔 (Little chicks). Instead of coconut milk and what not, a simple pancake batter is used.

[GastroChick]

my husbands from kl and i think i've had those green worms or "cendol" as lil says above. a taste sensation for a westerner but i think i'm getting it! just the durian to go!

[SamanthaF]

I think that the little green worms dish looks nice - I like green food.

Pim, thanks for taking the time to let us all have a vicarious Thai holiday. Have fun.

See you soon??

[shuna]

I feel very lucky indeed to be a person who has used fresh pandan leaf in desserts. All that has been purorted here sounds like yums I could eat ad infinitum. And I love making desserts with a nod to these traditions, textures can be so wildly different!

These posts make me want to meet you there tomorrow!

[anthony]

These things pop up all over the place. The dimpled pans are used to make the octopus balls takoyaki in Japan. These are them similar to the escargot pans which I bought to make takoyaki which I haven't yet but still, there'S something to be said for having too much stuff.

The wiggly worms look like spaetzle but to my credit I've not bought a spaetzle maker yet.

[magixcarpet]

Hi Pim,
We have something similar to "Lod Chong Singapore" in Malaysia, which we call 'bubur cha-cha' (literal translation: cha-cha porridge). My grandmother who lives in northern Malaysia, very close to the southern boarder of Thailand, also includes jackfruit in this dessert; whereas people down south (e.g. Kuala Lumpur) simply add sweet potatoes or yam in their version of 'cha-cha'. The Lod Chong in your pix looks yummy, and like Lil mentioned, it is known as 'chendol'.

[magixcarpet]

Oh, one more thing, is Kanom Karok made with any type of flour?

[Gooseberry]

I've never had kanom karok, but when I was in Chinatown in San Francisco, I saw a dimpled skillet just like that one, in action. I got a brown paper bag of the little crispy popovers, which had a soft centre like eggy custard. Didn't taste like it had coconut milk in them, but they were delicious. The place also sold bubble tea and taiyaki (those little fish-shaped waffles filled with red bean paste, which I actually first ate in Bangkok!). I think it was on Pacific...

[G. Mokarakorn]

Actually the name came form a restaurant on Chrlern Krung Rd In Chinatown. They were famouse for this stuff for a long time. It's probably cheaper to buy Kanok Krok on the street rather than Emporium.