TAAN\u2019s brand new Wasan Ruduu tasting menu (six or nine courses) celebrates the ingredients, flavours and dishes of the Thai rainy season. Teaming up with the best local artisans, we\u2019ve crafted a menu to warm the body and provide vital nutrients during the wetter months.\u00a0<\/span>To learn more about these key ingredients, we sat down with Chef Thep to get the lowdown.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A little sprinkle goes a long way. Meet\u00a0dee plee<\/em>, or long pepper, one of Chef Thep\u2019s secret weapons in the TAAN kitchen. \u201cIt\u2019s half-way between chilli and pepper,\u201d he says, \u201cThey use it in a lot of dishes up north such as\u00a0laap<\/em>\u00a0and it\u2019s like a party in your mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n Try it:<\/strong>\u00a0Dee plee<\/em>\u00a0is peppered (literally) across the Wasan Ruduu menu.<\/p>\n From Loei with love. Bamboo shoots sprout with the monsoon rains and are found throughout the rainy season. Northeastern Thai folk have long known of bamboo shoots\u2019 heartwarming properties, enjoying it in pungent Isaan dishes like \u201csoup nor mai<\/em>.\u201d Chef Thep takes this local know-how and makes it his own.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Try it:<\/strong> Fried bamboo shoots feature in the starter of Crispy Scaled Gobi, Giant Catfish Roe and Seasonal Mushroom Sauce.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s raining frogs! When the heavy downpours hit, these croaky fellows come out to play. Not only do field frogs taste delicious, but they\u2019re also a great lean source of protein, not to mention omega-3 fatty acids, potassium and Vitamin A.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Try it:<\/strong> Think of frog legs, and your mind may jump to French cuisine. But, frog is an ingredient used in Thai cuisine as well, and we think we do it with a very Thai flavour. Try it in Chef Thep\u2019s unique trio of Tamarind Pork, Frog Legs and Grilled Sticky Rice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This is yanang<\/em> leaf, one of Chef Thep\u2019s rainy-season secret weapons in the TAAN kitchen. Or as he calls it, \u201cOne hell of an umami booster.\u201d Yanang is often used to balance out and darken the broth of soup nor mai<\/em>, an Isaan bamboo-salad staple.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Try it:<\/strong> Yanang<\/em> is part of the seasonal mushroom sauce that accompanies the dish of Crispy Scaled Gobi, Fried Bamboo Shoots and Giant Catfish Roe.<\/span><\/p>\n Equal parts sour, sweet, creamy and tart, santol is a tropical fruit that also goes by the names \u201ckraton<\/em>,\u201d \u201cwild mangosteen\u201d or \u201ccotton fruit.\u201d The fruit was originally found only in the south of Thailand, but is now grown all over the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Try it:<\/strong> We poach it to bring out some heat which balances out the coolness of authentic sago in the Coconut & Longan Caramel dessert.<\/span><\/p>\n Another rainy season favourite, salacca, or snake fruit, is a gem native to Southeast Asia. The outside may be scaly and prickly like a cactus, but the inside is sweet, acidic and incredibly juicy. The fruit is renowned for its cooling properties.<\/span><\/p>\n Try it:<\/strong> Salacca adds a refreshing edge to our umami-rich dish of Smoked Duck and Garcinia Broth. It\u2019s all about balance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Ah, the \u201cqueen of fruits.\u201d The sweet and tangy mangosteen–or mung-kod–is beloved throughout Thailand, where the intense heat between April and July, just as the rainy season begins, yields the finest crops. While the white, fleshy pulp has long been a mainstay of local desserts, Chef Thep goes even further, creating a rich, nut-like butter from the mangosteen.<\/span><\/p>\n Try it:<\/strong> Mangosteen seed butter makes a delicious cameo in the Coconut & Longan Caramel dessert.<\/span><\/p>\n We\u2019re having wild, wild, wild thoughts about wild honey. Smooth and intense, the very best honey is collected in the fifth month of the year, right before the rainy season when the weather is at its hottest\u2014hence the name \u201cNamphung Dugon Haa<\/em>\u201d (literally \u201choney of the fifth month\u201d). As the forest is so dry at this time, the honeycomb may pick up the aroma of what\u2019s around it; think notes of coffee, orange, galangal\u2026\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Try it:<\/strong> Namphung Dugon Haa<\/em> features in the dessert of Coconut and Longan Caramel, which rounds out your Wasan Ruduu dining experience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.taanbangkok.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/1.png\")
<\/h5>\nDEE PLEE (LONG PEPPER)<\/h5>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.taanbangkok.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/2.png\")
<\/p>\nBAMBOO SHOOT<\/span><\/h5>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.taanbangkok.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/6-1.png\")
<\/h5>\nFROG LEGS<\/span><\/h5>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.taanbangkok.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/5.png\")
<\/p>\nYANANG LEAF<\/h5>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.taanbangkok.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/4.png\")
<\/p>\nSANTOL<\/span><\/h5>\n
SALACCA<\/span><\/h5>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.taanbangkok.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/3.png\")
<\/p>\nMANGOSTEEN<\/span><\/h5>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.taanbangkok.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/7.png\")
<\/p>\nNAMPHUNG DUGON HAA<\/span><\/h5>\n