Nam taokhu (soya bean milk)

Bangkok and the street markets of central Thailand

Origin

Nam taokhu is soya bean milk, a drink that came to Thailand with Chinese migrants, who brought the bean curd and soya traditions of southern China. It is sold by street vendors and market stalls, often early in the morning, in plastic bags or glasses alongside other Chinese-influenced snacks. Thompson places it among the everyday street drinks of Bangkok, a Sino-Thai tradition now wholly part of the Thai street table.

Description

Nam taokhu is made from dried yellow soya beans, Glycine max, soaked, ground with water, boiled and strained to give a pale, lightly opaque milk. It is sweetened with sugar and served warm or over ice. Some vendors add pandanus leaf, Pandanus amaryllifolius, to the pot for fragrance, and the drink is sometimes accompanied by strips of fried dough or by toppings such as cubes of grass jelly.

III

The Thread

—Both are soya beans soaked, ground with water, boiled and strained into a milk that is drunk freshly made. The Chinese doujiang is often taken unsweetened or salted with savoury breakfast accompaniments, while the Thai drink is sweetened and fragrant with pandanus. Chinese

—Both begin with freshly boiled soya milk sold by street vendors in the morning. Taho sets the milk into a soft curd and serves it with syrup and tapioca pearls, whereas nam taokhu remains a liquid drink. Filipino

—Both rest on the same process of grinding soaked beans, cooking and straining the milk. Japanese tounyu is typically drunk plain or used as the base for tofu, while the Thai version is made as a sweet beverage. Japanese

Flavour Context

Nam taokhu is drunk with fried dough sticks, pa thong ko, and with steamed buns and other light morning snacks, as well as on its own as a cooling drink. The structural reason is balance: the mild, round, lightly sweet milk softens the oil of the fried dough and refreshes the palate between bites. Served warm it comforts at breakfast, and served iced it eases the heat of the day.

V · Quality Hierarchy

Made from whole, recently dried yellow soya beans soaked until fully swollen and ground fresh… Made on the premises from good dried soya beans, ground and boiled the same day.…

VI · Sensory Tests

smell: As the milk heats, the aroma should be sweet and clean, like cooked beans with the fragrance of pandanus.…

VII · Where the dish lives or dies

The pivot is the boil: the ground bean mixture must be brought to a full, sustained boil, with constant stirring to prevent scorching, and held…

Pillars V — VII

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