Watermelon in Thai Cooking

Watermelon is everywhere in Thailand, sold by the slice from iced fruit carts and blended into shakes. Thai watermelons are usually smaller than Western ones, with red or yellow flesh.

Pronunciation	taeng mo
Flavour	Sweet, juicy and refreshing
Season	Year-round, best from February to May
Eaten	Chilled, as a shake, with sweet dried fish

How Thais eat it

Chilled and sliced, or blended with ice and a pinch of salt into taeng mo pan. A classic old-style snack is taeng mo pla haeng: chilled watermelon cubes topped with crispy, sweet-salty shredded dried fish and fried shallots. The contrast of icy fruit and savoury crunch is unexpectedly good.

Choosing and storing

Choose a watermelon that is heavy for its size, with a creamy yellow patch where it rested on the ground and a deep, hollow sound when tapped. Whole, it keeps for a week at room temperature; cut, keep it covered in the fridge for three to four days.

In Thai markets

Whole watermelons are sold piled high from pick-up trucks at the roadside and in markets, while fruit carts sell chilled wedges or bags of cubes with a wooden skewer. Yellow-fleshed watermelons are common alongside red ones and taste a little milder and more honeyed. The hot season, from about March to May, is when they are sweetest and cheapest.

Beyond the slice

Fruit carving: watermelon is the classic canvas for kae sa-lak, the Thai art of carving fruit and vegetables into flowers and leaves for weddings and banquets.
Seeds: roasted watermelon seeds (med taeng mo), cracked open with the teeth, are a traditional snack around Chinese New Year.
Rind: thrifty home cooks peel off the green skin and slice the pale inner rind, which can be stir-fried with egg and garlic or added to clear soups, much like a mild squash.

Cook’s tip
Add a small pinch of salt to watermelon juice. It makes the fruit taste sweeter, as Thai shake vendors know.

How Thais eat it

Choosing and storing

In Thai markets

Beyond the slice

More Fruits