Real Isaan Food, Homemade Gang Nor Mai, Thailand.

Yesterday in the afternoon a storm passed through our area, lightning struck and thunder boomed and of course it rained, sideways at times. It was heavy rain for maybe 20 minutes and then drizzled for another few hours after that.

The drizzly rain didn’t look like it was going to stop, so me being the brave one asked what everyone wanted to eat. I would whiz across and grab what was needed a few hundred metres away from our house. You can buy in a 500mtr stretch of road nearly any Thai dish you can think of, and also western ones as well.

Miss Noot says to me, “Gang Nor Mai,” a delicious Thai staple made from bamboo.

I said, “Is that all?” and she replies with, “Yes, but I want to make the Gang Nor Mai.”

This meant a trip to Nong Bua Market, this is about 900mtrs from our house. I smiled and said, “Yes, my dear!”

So the shopping list was then given to me, most we had like garlic and chilli but needed the bamboo and a few other ingredients. Benjawan decided to come as well as they probably didn’t trust me remembering everything.

So we arrived at the market, it was very quiet for this time of the evening, but the rain had kept people away and many little stalls were closed. I headed straight to where the fresh bamboo is usually sold, but it was closed. I caught up with Ben and she had no luck either at another stall.


Off to the next stall, closed. So I went to a stall that sells the pickled variety as a second choice. This being it can be very bitter or sour. This stall was closed. I knew of one other stall and headed to it. Closed, but then a man walks into it gathering a few things.

To cut a long story short, I lucked in. I managed to buy pickled bamboo from him and he told me it wasn’t bitter, the amount of times I have heard that!

When we arrived home the first thing was, “Why didn’t you buy fresh bamboo?” Well I will not print the response I gave.

Miss Noot wanted to get down to preparing the Gang Nor Mai, the problem was Nong Ja, our niece who I reported on not being well as she has German Measles. She has been clinging to Noot for days.

Ja was insistent on helping, she had been propped on the counter with the pestle and mortar.

Ja was making this, a sauce that is used in the cooking of the bamboo.

The vegetable is called “Cha Om” or Acacia Pennata or Climbing Wattle in Australia. If you have ever eaten an omelette here in Thailand the green vegetable in it is this.

What you do is simply add fresh clean water and pound away to make a sauce to add to the bamboo.

I had bought fresh Cha Om but Ben had also bought a bag already made. We have it growing in the backyard, it is like a weed but I like it in a few different dishes.

What you do first is simply boil the bamboo in fresh water, just add enough water to barely cover and cook.

Now this is a very important ingredient. Fermented fish sauce, the one used in many types of papaya salad and other dishes. Foreigners say it stinks, and it does. This sauce has been with us only a short time, maybe 2 months and sits on the shelf in its container, wrapped tightly in a bag. Its smell I cannot describe other than horrendous.

Eventually you add the Cha Om sauce and some of the fermented fish sauce to the bamboo. And continue cooking. Now it smells good.


You add some fresh Cha Om, already it has a lot of garlic and some chilli for kick.

And before you know it, it is ready to eat. The bamboo was bitter, very bitter but yummy. I love Gang Nor Mai, one of my favourite Isaan dishes. It is funny as in these dishes I can eat the fermented fish sauce but in papaya salad, I can’t.

We ate this with sticky rice, and Ja as well gobbled it down as she also loves it.

And then for breakfast today, we had it again along with Morning Glory in oyster sauce and fresh steamed rice. A good way to start the day.

Brunty