You’re unlikely to find this served in any Thai restaurant in Singapore. It is usually taken by Northern farmers as a breakfast and is a relatively dish easy to prepare.

All you need to do is to boil vegetables like kang kong, cha om (a mimosa-like, pungent weed) and okra. The fried fish is a bonus. This goes with steamed glutinous rice. The dip is called nam prik noom and it takes a bit of time and effort to prepare. You’d need to toast some small and spicy green pepper (prik noom) until they start to smart your eyes. Scoop out the pulp and seeds. Boil some eggplant, also scoop out the pulp. Mix with fish sauce, minced garlic, sugar and lime juice.

Some folks add belachan. In this case, the sauce is called nam prik kapi. Here’s a video of how to prepare it.

Traditionally, everything is eaten with bare hands. Prepare it yourself. Enjoy. I actually love the taste of nam prik kapi, but bear in mind that this sort of food is not very healthy and should only be eaten in moderation.

This is one easy soup to prepare to help you beat the heat and the haze. Ingredients are really simple and everything is done in just 45 minutes.

I left the soya bean sticks out so you can see the ingredients in the water. Just rock sugar, green beans.

Rather than coconut milk, you can use soya bean sticks and boil them so long that they turn milky. This gives you a richer, more fragrant and flavourful soup.

This is what is looks like when it just starts to boil. And after boiling for 45 minutes, it looks completely different.

The soya bean sticks have all disintegrated and you’ve made for yourself a nice, rich yet low calorie soup to help you beat the heat and the haze. Try it at home. The kids will love it.

© Chan Joon Yee