
Thai name: Ma-phrao
Season: all year
Coconuts, available throughout the year, are inescapable at a Thai meal for in some form they figure in almost every dish. Coconut milk is a prominent ingredient of curries and soups,and the sliced or grated flesh turns up in many as well; it is even more ubiquitous in desserts, appearing as the basis of delicate custards, in the form of candy, as crispy strips cooked in brown syrup, and in countless other confections. For a visitor, an especially exotic treat on a hot day is a freshly opened young coconut, whose tender white flesh and sweet juice can be enjoyed whenever the mood strikes.