SiamSato, Ceylon Flowers and Abaranth

At the 7-11 I noticed this in the refrigerator.

It was in the beer section...so I grabbed a bottle, because it was so cheap. Only 25 Baht. I opened it when I returned home and poured some in a glass. No bubbles, barely any colour...what’s going on?

I smell it, it smells sort of like beer. The taste, to me, a little like a weak, thin Moselle with a tiny dash of beer. For a wine drinker who can tolerate beer...it’s not bad! I still had no idea what it was, so off to Google I go. Of course everyone either knows about it or is asking why no one has told them about it.

Siam (สยาม) Sato (สาโท Rice wine) Wiki says Siam Sato is a traditional Northern Thailand type of beer. Wiki also says “Due to internal migration of people from Isan throughout Thailand, sato (like many forms of northeastern Thai cuisine) have become increasingly familiar to the larger Thai population, as well as to the expatriate and tourist communities.” It has? Nobody told me.

“The increased awareness and availability of commercially-produced sato have increased its popularity.” Well, I like it.

Alcohol content 8%, somewhere between beer and wine. Made from rice, sugar, yeast, water and a culture. ...and there are others out there.

“Ruan Rak (Sweet Home): 7% alcohol, a drier sato with a slightly sweet aftertaste. A more subtle Sato, but famous for headaches and hangover the next day.

Gru Pli (Long-Horned Bull): 4% alcohol, a pungent nose, reminiscent of overripe fruit. Made from black sticky rice. Nice flavor, becoming more mellow with each sip. The most expensive of the three and my favorite commercial Sato.” - Nakhon Ratchasima

It’s nothing like the rice wines I’ve tasted in China or the Japanese Sake varieties. Have you tried it?

In an effort to stop eating out all the time I headed off to the supermarket to buy supplies. But with no real kitchen to speak of, my culinary delights are limited to raw creations. I like to try new things, so today I picked up some Ceylon flowers (centre) and Amaranth (left) to add to my tuna salad...and white raddish etc.

They're dark green, so that's got to be good. Amaranth (ผักโบม - Vegetable Baum or Pak Baum) comes from a huge family, this one is obviously in the vegetable category (not the grain) and is high in calcium and other goodies.

The Ceylon flower, well that was a little harder to investigate. I like to know what I'm eating :) The Thai label had this written on it คอกผักปวัง...does it really mean 'Wang vegetable stalls last year' ? Wang, does it grow in a pool of water? Also tasting like spinach, but with a slightly gluey texture...I'm probably meant to cook these?

The salad was yummy!

Snap's other blog Chiang Mai Thai