Nam bai toey (pandan drink)

Central Thailand, Bangkok and the street markets

Origin

Nam bai toey, the drink of pandan leaf, belongs to the Thai tradition of cooling sweet drinks sold from street carts and market stalls, alongside nam manao and nam krajiap. It is carried by the vendors of the central plains, where the pandan plant grows in every damp garden and the leaf scents rice, custards and sweets. David Thompson records it among the street drinks of Thailand as a plain infusion of the leaf, sweetened and served over ice.

Description

Nam bai toey is an infusion of the leaves of pandan, Pandanus amaryllifolius, called bai toey in Thai, sweetened with sugar and served chilled. The long, blade-like green leaves are washed, tied in a knot or cut into short lengths, then bruised or pounded so that the fragrant green liquor is released. The result is a pale green to clear drink with a sweet, grassy perfume reminiscent of warm rice and vanilla, and it is poured over crushed ice.

III

The Thread

—Both draw the perfume and green colour of pandan leaf into a sweetened liquid that is served over ice as a cooling drink. Cendol carries coconut milk, palm sugar and green rice-flour noodles, whereas nam bai toey is a clear infusion with nothing added to it. Malay

—Both rest on pandan, Pandanus amaryllifolius, as the aromatic that scents a sugar-sweetened iced drink. The Indonesian drink is a layered, milky dessert in a glass, while the Thai drink is a thin, clean leaf infusion. Indonesian

—Both steep the fragrant pandan leaf in water and sweeten it to make a refreshing drink that is taken cold in a hot climate. The Vietnamese version is often taken as a tea or with added flavourings, while the Thai street drink is kept to leaf, water and sugar. Vietnamese

Flavour Context

Nam bai toey is drunk on its own in the heat of the day and beside the salty, chilli-hot dishes of the street stall, such as grilled meats, fried rice and noodles. Its gentle sweetness and cool temperature refresh the palate between fierce mouthfuls, and its grassy perfume rests lightly against the fat and spice of the food without competing with it.

V · Quality Hierarchy

Made from young, deeply green and freshly cut pandan leaves, washed, bruised and simmered briefly… Made from leaves grown in the cook's own garden or bought fresh from a trusted…

VI · Sensory Tests

smell: As the bruised leaves meet hot water, the cook should smell a sweet, warm, rice-like fragrance rising from the…

VII · Where the dish lives or dies

The drink lives or dies in the steeping of the bruised pandan leaf: a brief, gentle simmer that draws out the perfume and the green…

Pillars V — VII

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