Kai Pan (Crispy Seaweed)

Dear all,

How are you? Hope you are fine.

At 08.30 a.m., Friday, I watched a TV programme on TPBS channel “Asean Focus”, presented by a Japanese man—Hiro Sano. Or, most people call him Khun Hiro. He is good looking and he speaks Thai very well.

The programme was about Asean food. Khun Hiro visited Brunei and Laos to try famous food. Unfortunately, I did not remember the Brunei food he recommended, but I learnt about one type of Lao food he discovered at a local market.

This food is called in Lao “Kai Pan” (ไคแผ่น)—crispy seaweed. It is the same type as Japanese seaweed sold in our country. Let’s imagine of a crispy sheet of seaweed topped with white sesame. Khun Hiro bought one bag of Kai Pan. It cost kip 20,000. I think its net weight was around 1 Kg.

Later, he dropped in a Kai Pan shop to see how the seller made the Kai Pan recipe.

It was so easy. The seller (who was the lady) brought a sheet of dry Kai Pan topped with white sesame to soak in a bowl of tamarind juice. Then, the Kai Pan was set aside. Next, she poured some oil into a pan. She heated a pan and fried the Kai Pan. When it was served, Khun Hiro tried it. He said it was crispy and yummy.

Learning from the programme, the Kai Pan is a kind of seaweed growing in the shallow river, which is clean and free from pollution. The Laotians use a fishing net (or known in Thai “Sa Wing”) to catch the Kai Pan. Then, the fresh bunch of the Kai Pan is exposed on the boulder. Next, the Kai Pan is beaten by a round-bamboo stick to keep it flat. Last, it is exposed again.

As Nong Air said last week, Asean Economic Community will be established in 2015. I hope Thailand will import lots of food from Asean group.

Thank you for the helpful information from TPBS channel “Asean Focus” broadcasted on Friday 6^th July 2012.

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Letter-Writing Competition

Dear all,

Today I would like to tell you about Thailand Letter-Writing Competition 2012 organised by my company. This activitiy is a part of International Letter-Writing Competition Week which hold in October each year. The objective of this contest is to emphasis the value of letter writing.

In the past few years, Thailand faced with flooding, natural disaster and conflict which made many people unhappy about the situation.  However, Thai people still managed to give their help to other people who were in need regardless of what they'll get in return. And because this year is ended with 55 which sound like a laugh. Therefore, this year topic is "The Happiness of Giving" which require you to write a letter to someone to share your experiences about the happiness of giving.

The submission deadline has been extended from 31 July 2012 to 31 August 2012. The winners can win the prizes from 1,000 Baht to 10,000 Baht and receive a certificates. Even though, you don't win any prize, your letter will be valued and will be kept in The National Archives of Thailand.

For more information, please see the attached poster.

Hi!!!! Guys today I would like to share some information about the advantage of brown rice. These is good for your guys and you can tell other to change their behavior to eat something that get a lot of benefit more than the jasmine rice.

whole grains are important part of any diet and have often been labeled the healthiest grains that anybody can eat. One of those whole grains is brown rice, which is rice that is natural and unrefined. Many people choose to eat brown rice instead of white rice because of its health benefits. But what makes it so healthy? Read on to find out

1. It Lowers The Risk Of Developing Diabetes : Harvard researchers have discovered that eating at least two servings of brown rice per week can lower the risk of developing diabetes.

2. It’s High In Fiber: Brown rice supplies 14 percent of the recommended daily value for fiber, an important nutrient that protects against colon cancer and breast cancer.

3. It’s A Good Source Of Manganese And Selenium : One cup of brown rice contains 88 percent of the recommended daily value of manganese, a nutrient that plays an important part in fighting free radicals. Selenium also plays a role in the antioxidant process and can destroy cancer cells and even repair DNA

4. It Can Prevent Weight Gain: Harvard researchers shows that women who incorporate whole grains, such as brown rice, into their diet were more likely to maintain a healthy body weight.

5. It Can Lower Cholesterol

6. It Offers Many Cardiovascular Benefits: Studies have shown that brown rice can have many cardiovascular benefits for postmenopausal women, including slowing the progression of atherosclerosis,

7. It’s A Good Source Of Phytonutrients: Phytonutrients are compounds naturally found in plants that act as an antioxidant.

8. It Reduces The Risk Of Developing Metabolic Syndrome: Eating whole grains on a regular basis can reduce the risk of weight gain and insulin resistance by up to 38 percent.

9. Brown rice is a good source of magnesium, a mineral that is essential to bone health.

Vinegar

Hi friends,

I have no idea to write this week. I just want to write about sour liquid I usually use for household—vinegar.

Vinegar contains acetic acid so it benefits a wide range of practical household uses. I always add some vinegar into a softener drawer of a washing machine. It helps prevents from musty mildew smell—unpleasant smell caused by damp weather. It also prevents clothes from colour fading and colour running.

In addition to odour removal, I use vinegar for cleaning purposes. When I do the glass-window cleaning, I mix vinegar to water. Then, my glass windows become shiny. Vinegar is good for cleaning stainless kitchen sinks, aluminium utensils. Also, you can soak vinegar to get rid of grease that splatters all over the kitchen tiles.

Do you know vinegar help me with constipation? I sometimes drink apple cider vinegar before meal—just add 2 teaspoonful of it into a cup of drink water.

According to a book “Vinegar: 1001 practical household uses”, during World War I, vinegar was used to treat wounds on the battlefields. Also, during in the Black Plague in Europe, thieves poured vinegar over their skin to protect themselves from germs before robbing dead.

I think you can search on the net to learn more about vinegar.

Enjoy and happy weekend!