Pun Pun Vegetarian Restaurant Chiang Mai
Pun Pun – meaning a thousand variations is run by the extremely courteous Khun Kratai or Mr Tai from Udon Thani, whose long established organic restaurant is buried behind Wat Suan Dok just off Doi Suthep Road, north west of the old city.
Closed only on Wednesday’s, Mr Tai’s 8 year old establishment boasts a strong portfolio of organic cuisine with particular detail paid to sauces and dips like narm prik pao which excludes staple ingredients like shrimp paste and oyster sauce making sure your choice of dish is a 100% organic experience.
With the recipes created from seasonal foods, Pomelo or Yam Som-O features on the menu in April which is accompanied shiitake, oyster and mouse ear mushrooms, ground peanuts, onion, carrot, devained kaffir lime leaves, tamarind juice which is made by boiling one part tamarind and two part coconut palm sugar, plus lemon juice, narm prik pao, raw mango and finally topped with phakchi or parsley.
As with most Thai dishes they are complimented and rounded out with the 5 flavors – a sweet, sour, sugar, salt & herbal flavor and this time with a stiffer, creamy, smooth grainy texture provided by ground peanuts.
Key health benefits:
Pomelo promotes tight skin, longevity weight loss, healing, healthy gums & heart
Fends off cancer, anemia & osteoporosis
Wedged with vitamins & nutrients
Helps maintain & produce an alkaline reaction once digested
Pomelo aids in digestion by helping to retain elasticity in the arteries
Yam Som-O – Organic Pomelo Salad
Recipe & ingredients:
Boil the mushroom mix for 15/20 secs
Mix in some tamarind juice (1 part tamarind/2 part coconut palm sugar – fused through boiling)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp prik pao (no shrimp in this organic creation – your choice)
Add a sprinkling of grated carrot
Sprinkling of grated mango
1 tbsp ground peanut
1 sliced shallot
1 tbsp of chopped lemon grass
1 tbsp of devained kaffir lime leaves
Finally, break apart the pomelo and add
Top off with phakchi (parsley)
NOTE: The beauty of Thai food is that you’re allowed to explore different ingredients to add and remove and change portion sizes etc – nothing is written in stone.
If you’ve eaten at the Pun Pun Organic Vegetarian Restaurant – we’d love to hear your comments below: