I tend to be hit or miss with dressings, but this one turned out fairly well for a first attempt. I was originally thinking of trying something close to salsa – chopped tomatoes, coriander, lime juice, etc. – but when I found the sun-dried tomato pesto in the supermarket, it seemed like a simpler solution to give a little tomato taste to the dressing.

Corn and Black Bean Salad

If you can’t get long beans, regular fresh green beans will probably do just as well. I used dried black beans, although canned will also do.

Ingredients

Dressing

Preparation Method

• Make the dressing first. I prefer to add the vinegar to the spices and let it soak for a while, then add the oil just before using.
• Mix all the vegetable together, then pour the dressing over and mix it in.
• Like many cold bean salads, this one improves after a day or so in the refrigerator.

I got the original recipe for this off the Internet many, many years ago, and I don’t think I’ve changed it too much. This is a really easy recipe, as it basically just takes "one of everything" – one whole onion, a whole bell pepper, a whole can (standard can size of 15.5 ounce or 425 gram) of corn, another of beans (I prefer black beans, but pinto beans are good). The ‘secret’ to getting the taste right is probably the salsa. Use a "fresh" salsa (not taco sauce) made with chopped tomatoes, onions, chilies, etc.

Prepared vegetarian burrito filling

Ingredients

Preparation Method

• Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the oil and sauté the onion and bell pepper until soft.
• Stir in the sweet corn, beans, salsa and seasonings. Mix well and allow it to come to a simmer, then remove from heat.
• For the best taste, store the filling in the refrerator overnight before using. The mixture will keep in a tightly covered refrigerated container for at least a week.

Prepared vegetarian burritos (with cheese)

Serving Suggestion

Warm up some of the filling in a microwave. Using a non-stick skillet, heat up a soft flour tortilla. Spoon one or two tablespoons of the filling onto the tortilla. Add some cheese, lettuce, sour cream or whatever is your taste, and roll up the burrito.

Alternatively, you can add one or two tablespoons of the mix to rice as it’s cooking. It works best if you add it 5 to 8 minutes before the rice is done.

Nutty Corn Cakes with dabu-dabu sambal

Ingredients

Preparation Method

• Place half the corn, the peanuts, spring onions, ginger, garlic and cumin in a food processor. Mix until finely chopped and a bit mushy.
• Transfer the mixture to a bowl and mix in the egg, rice flour, red peppers and the rest of the corn.
• Head the vegetable oil in a skillet. Once hot, form the corn mixture into patties and fry both sides until golden brown. I had a bit of trouble with this until I hit on the idea of using an egg ring to hold the patties together until they were cooked well enough.

Serve with dabu-dabu or some other spicy sauce.

Barbecued corn on sale in a Chiang Mai stall.

If you travel into the hills around Chiang Mai, you will likely come across some fields of corn, especially during the rainy season from May to September. Like carrots, corn is grown by the Meo villagers who live in the mountains. They are one of many ethic groups commonly referred to as "hill tribes" in the guide books. Most of the corn will be taken down to Chiang Mai and sold in the Muang Mai wholesale market once it is ripe. Some of the corn, especially ears that aren’t quite up to size, will be sold at road side stalls that you will find if you travel through the hills. The sellers will steam the corn without removing the husks and silk. For these simple country folk, "nature’s packaging" is the best. Customers buy a few ears, peel the husks back and eat the corn right off the cob. A half dozen ears may set you back as much as 25 U.S. cents.

While fully ripe sweet corn is popular as a dessert in Thailand, baby corn is what most people think of when you mention Thai food. The small undeveloped whole cobs are used in everything from curries to stir-fries. As most people know, corn is a New World vegetable, so it must have come to Thailand at about the same time as the chili pepper. There is no tradition regarding why Thais began eating baby corn. It is probably simply because the small cobs are crunchy and not too sweet. Whatever the reason, cultivating baby corn is much more labor intensive than growing the corn to maturity. Farmers must remove the tassels from the ears to prevent them from being pollinated.