In response to several requests for Thai Khanom recipes, we feature a favorite Thai snack -- Khanom Krog. Snacking is a favorite pastime on a typical family veranda, where it's cool and ideal for socializing, northern Thai families usually have a large colorful mat for family members and visitors to sit and relax, large pillows for those who want to sit back, khan toke tables with fruit and various other snacks on them, and a table in the center for serving snacks and refreshments.

Khanom krog are an hors d'oeuvre made of rice flour, onions, coconut meat and various other ingredients. They're light and delicious and are baked on a specially made Baking Tray with round indentations on the surface. It is usually made of local pottery and coals or charcoal is burned in the bottom area to heat the baking plate. Many northern Thais enjoy the simple Khanom Krog without added condiments or snack items, but just as often this snack is topped with shrimp, egg pudding, pumpkin or other sweet or salty snacks to add to both the decoration and the taste. This is a typical way for the Khanom Krog to be served in the home when visitors come. Many Thai women engage in the baking and decoration of Khanom Krog in the same way that western women enjoy baking cookies for visitors. There is not much comparison in taste, but the idea is similar.

Khanom Krog are not only a delicacy and an hors d'oeuvre. They are often eaten in the morning as a breakfast snack and the many markets of Chiangmai always have at least one Khanom Krog baker preparing loads of these delicious snacks for morning customers. This has long been a morning favorites because of the soft texture, the nutrition in the ingredients, and the fact that Khanom Krog are always served warm.

The Thais use the special Khanom Krog cooker to make this snack, and if you're in Chiangmai and wish to try your own hand at this, you can obtain one of these crock cookers at one of the local markets. If you wish, you can also try your own versions of the Khanom krog by using the aluminum sheets available at stores for making cupcakes or indented cookie sheets. It's a snack you'll love to eat, and those with a knack for baking can have as much fun making the Khanom Krog as the many other baked items people enjoy. Here we provide a list of the ingredients and instructions for making the Khanom Krog.

Ingredients :

• 0.5 kg of rice flour
• 1 cup of ground fresh onion stems
• 1/2 cup of fresh coconut flaked

• 1/4 cup of sticky rice flour
• 2 1/2 cups of fresh water
• 1/4 cup of white sugar
• 2 teaspoons of clear
• A few dashes of vegetable oil

1. Thoroughly mix the rice flour and sticky rice flour along with fresh water. Leave sit for some time. Squeeze the fresh coconut meat with water to obtain 2 cups of coconut cream. Add salt and sugar. This coconut cream will be used for the topping later.
2. Each ceramic baking tray has several cups with lids. The entire set must be put on top of a charcoal stove. Clean the tray neatly and dry it. Each cup is wiped with vegetable oil.
3. When the baking tray becomes hot, add the mixture to the level of 2/3 in each cup. Add coconut cream to the top along with onion and cover with the lid.
4. When each cup is cooked well, remove and serve.
5. Each piece of Khanom Krog can be put together to form an oval bite - sized piece.

In addition to the Khanom Krog there are many other types of northern Thai snacks. Many of these are served in banana leaf and are much more likely to be found in the countryside markets that flourish in downtown Chiangmai. These banana - leaf wrapped snacks are the traditional northern Thai countryside delicacies that are an everyday affair for the common man. A favorite in the morning is a jelly - like square with mung bean or red bean paste inside, and this is a refreshing morning snack with a lot of protein and energy. Two small jelly - cubes are placed in banana - leaf, and the leaf is secured with a thin bamboo splinter. This splinter is then used as a toothpick to spear the jelly - cubes for eating. Another favorite banana - leaf snack in the countryside is egg noodles in a light morning and wrapped for the day. The wrapped noodles are eaten at breakfast, lunch time, and as between - meal snacks. They are kept fresh by the banana - leaf wrapping and they're just as good at noon as they are in the morning.

Other northern Thai snacks, on the sweet side, are the jellied fruits and rice - flour snacks in coconut milk and ice. These are served in bowls Chiangmai's markets and they're a colorful and refreshing sweet snack on a hot day. In addition, North that are some of the most delicious in the country. You may see these at street side vendors or in market areas, and they're usually sold in plastic bags to take away. One of these is tapioca in a coconut milk; another is sweet - corn in a coconut milk mixture, also served warm; and a third is sweet yams, also in coconut milk, and depending on the fruit season, one may find stewed lychees, rambutan, or mango slices in a sticky rice and coconut sauce. All of these are unique snacks to Thailand and they are most popularly found in the North.