Make Your Own Yanang Extract

Last Sunday I went to the Asia Markt Fortune, simply because I was curious whether it really was open. I had picked up this information at the cooking course on Friday and was surprised, because here you just do not expect a shop to be open on a Sunday. The location at Freiburg’s main station probably makes it possible.

In any case, among the vegetables there I also found a pack of Yanang leaves. Until then I had actually only known these by name and from the canned Yanang extract. The leaves already looked rather sad, but I took them anyway out of curiosity. Because of the state of the leaves, I only had to pay half the price at the checkout.

Back home, I researched online what one could do with the leaves and really only came across Yanang extract, or “Nam Yanang” ( ), as it is called in Thailand. With this greenish, slightly viscous extract you can prepare curries or soups, such as Gaeng Normai, or sweet dishes.

Disappointingly, at first there was no big difference between my Nam Yanang and the canned version in color, consistency or taste. But after the extract had sat in the fridge for two days, it took on a much more intense flavor and had developed a very dark color.

Preparing the extract is very simple. I have documented and written it down for you in pictures. So here is my “recipe” for making Yanang extract yourself.

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Preparation

First remove any remaining stems from the leaves, then put them in a large bowl and pour over about one liter of lukewarm water so they are completely covered. Let the leaves soak for about ten minutes.

Now rub the leaves vigorously against each other so the juice can escape from them. The water keeps getting greener and the leaves softer. After about ten minutes, squeeze the softened leaves so they release their last bit of juice.

Then strain the Yanang extract obtained this way through a fine sieve. This green Nam Yanang can be used right away or stored airtight in the fridge for a few days.

Usage