| When the Thais are not growing them for pleasure, wearing them, abstracting them into symbols, or using them ceremonially, there is something else they like to do with flowers: eat them. The bright magenta stamens of the mamio or rose-apple flower and the huge, waxy bloom of the torch ginger plant are made into yam, or hot-sour salads; chrysanthemums and jasmine are dried and steeped in hot water to make teas; white flowers shaped like parrots' beaks are taken from the mimosa-like khae tree and cooked into the hot-sour-sweet, soupy dish called gaeng som dawk khae; and the heavy purple inflorescence of the banana tree finds its way into many dishes, including the delectable yam hua plee, a salad with a complex sour-creamy-spicy flavor that comes from coconut cream, toasted black sesame, lime juice, crisp-fried onions, prawns, chicken meat, and the chewy banana flowers. |