Understanding the Principles of Authentic Thai Cuisine

 My latest travels have brought me back to a place quickly becoming a second home, Thailand. I spent a significant amount of time in Bangkok with Chef Khun McDang, author of The Principals of Thai Cookery. McDang is Thailand’s leading food expert, chef, TV host, and writer. I had the opportunity to cook side by side with McDang as he schooled me in all things Thai.  Mesmerized and intrigued by just how simple authentic Thai cuisine really is, but how quickly it can become bastardized. McDang‘s book is purposely printed in English to expose the western world to the true Thai cookery and heritage of his countries native cuisine.   

“The most important thing about a country’s cooking is the ingredients.  The ingredients we use reflect the leading tastes in our food: saltiness, sweetness, and acidity.  From these three elements alone you can tell where the food comes from, or in other words, the country’s food profile.”    -Chef Khun McDang  

  

Thailand has a food culture that is like no other I have ever experienced. Thai’s casually eat eight times a day. During sit down “family style” meals there are typically a minimum of five dishes presented. Soup (typically clear), Fried Dish, a Stir fried, Dip with vegetables, Curry dish, and khao (rice) the only component served individually.   

Thailand’s terrain and proximity to the equator make it perfect for year round agriculture.  Thailand also boasts 3,219 kilometers of coast line, which makes the seafood industry a strong hold for the nation’s economy. Thai’s use seafood in numerous applications.  

  

Preserving, drying with salt and allowing the sun to naturally extract moisture.   

Steaming/Boiling, adding moisture and commonly used for larb preparations, dips, curries, and salads  

Grilling, Stir Frying, Deep Frying- Grilling (over charcoal) the most common in Thai culture, deep-frying (palm oil) was  later introduced to Thai Cookery. Deep fried foods are commonly accompanied by a dipping sauce (with chili) to cut the high fat content from the oil.  Green mango salad is commonly paired with fried seafood.  

 

  

   

 

The Thai’s have a phrase which says “gin len” or “play eating”. This references a quick bit or snack. Wherever you go in the streets you will always find food stalls. From dawn to dusk and in some areas, all night. By far the majority are mobile. At the end of their day they wheel their carts back home. Some are pushed and others have bicycles or motorcycles attached. However, an increasing number just leave their cart on the sidewalk and maybe just pull a sheet over it.   

   

This trip exposed me to the deeper layers of “What is Authentic Thai?”, thanks to my friend, Chef McDang. He took me deep into Bangkok immersing me in Thai Food from around the country. We feasted at true hidden gems, most tucked away off the main roads. These streets are referred to as a Soi.   

My favorite of all served E-San cuisine (North Eastern province), which is bold in flavor profiles. Each geographic region of Thailand carries a slightly different basket of staple ingredients. The rules of what defines authentic Thai cuisine will always be the same. SALTINESS, SWEETNESS, ACID (SOURNESS).   

On your next trip to Thailand don’t be shy, wonder down a Soi, stop into a local Thai restaurant and just enjoy! Who knows you may see us at the next table!   

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A Taste of Jakarta, Indonesia

Jakarta, Indonesia. Indonesia holds a mystique and mystery to chefs from around the world.  This stems from the countries gastronomic history, volcanic formations (for agriculture), and their geographical location during the spice trade.  Jakarta, the nations capitol, is nestled on the north western tip of Java (West Java). Indonesia is a nation comprised of some 1,200 islands, each with its own distinct character.  136 million Indonesians call Java home, makes sense why it is the world’s most populated island.  Java houses 60% of the country’s total population.

Have you ever been in traffic before?

I don’t think so, not until you go to Jakarta, Indonesia. The traffic in Jakarta was the worst I have ever experienced, it made the 405 in L.A. seem like the autobahn in Germany!

Jakarta, am I going to like you?

I was greeted by a close friend and chef, “Frenchy”, the Executive Chef at The Dharmawangsa, a 5 star hotel in Jakarta. Remember him from 2009 Thailand adventure?  We caught up for a bit that night and he gave me a crash course in all things Jakarta. Not sure what to make of it, but knew there was a lot to explore in Indonesia.  My time was limited so will plan to travel to Indonesia again in the future.

Was Jakarta going to have that exciting vibe, great street food, and energy of Bangkok or Shanghai?

Jakarta Street Food:

The smell of palm oil fills the narrow city streets of Jakarta.  These aromas are carried through the air from the street food vendors.  Unfortunately we did not see more than a handful of street food carts that were not frying something.  I am all for grabbing a little fried food but when you have no other options in hot & humid weather it can quickly turn to be a bust for foreigners.

We snacked on tofu & tuna fish (sorry, no blue fin here!) fried wontons covered or more like smothered in peanut and chili sauce. Caught off guard by the tangy flavor of the chili sauce, I had to do a double take. The Indonesian style chili sauce carried a sweet-tangy flavor and had the viscosity of a thin ketchup. Tasty, yes, but after only 4 bites could not stomach any more. Looking back on that moment I am asking myself why our driver did not care for any (I offered to pay), maybe he knew something? hmmm….

The following evening Frenchy had the Indonesian chefs from the Dharmawangsa Hotel prepare us an authentic Indonesian meal. Curious, after two days of Eating  Jakarta, what is an “authentic” Indonesian meal?  I get it, sate & peanut sauce, but there had to be more! I asked a dozen or so locals to tell me about Indonesian cuisine and they all gave me a mumbo-jumbo answer that was essentially a bunch of bullshit.  Ask any Thai, Chinese, European, American, Australian, South American, and you get a dissertation about their nations food.  Where was the disconnect?

The chefs prepared a large spread for us to sample.  Dishes ranged from fresh vegetables with grated coconut, coconut “Bali” beef, braised beef with curry, pulled chicken with local chili, beef sate, shrimp sate (on lemongrass), corn fritters, tofu with chili, and 4 dipping sauces used as condiments. Yes, the infamous peanut sauce made its appearance. My personal favorite was the coconut “Bali” beef, or was it the pulled chicken, or the Kobe Beef Sates? That was an excellent evening with friends and by far the best meal I ate in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Unfortunately, I had to cancel a trip to Bandung, Indonesia due to time constraints.  Bandung is another city on the island of Java. Bandung, Indonesia is known for its fresh cuisine and produce.  I pledged to EAT BANDUNG on the next Indonesian trip, but for now will have to live vicariously through my friend & chef, Maria.

See photo gallery below:

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Hong Kong China Street Food 香港街頭食品

My cousin Tammy and I went on a food mission to seek  Hong Kong’s best street food treasures! Departing Discovery Bay to  Hong Kong Island (by ferry) as soon as we arrived to Hong Kong Island our minds immediately became stimulated by the fragrant aromas of ginger and popping sounds of oil in hot woks.  I knew I hadn’t died, but was about to be in food heaven!

We ventured into Kowloon neighborhoods that are nestled between the massive sky scrapers.  It was interesting to see (unlike Shanghai & Beijing) the foreign business men & tourists snacking on the street with the Hong Kong locals!  Great, why not join the crowd?

We blew through the first set of small street front eateries, munching on curry fish balls, noodles, dehydrated chili pork (Bee Cheng Hiang), and cow’s stomach soup. The curry fish balls had the texture of a raw butternut squash that was hot tubing in a opaque curry broth. (See picture above)

The Bee Cheng Hiang was semi soft, translucent, cured, charred, and had the consistency of a tough fruit roll up.  I ate an entire square.  The salt cure made my mouth dry out so felt a glass of boba was in order!

We took off to meet my cousin (Tammy’s husband) for lunch (Part XX of eating frenzy!)… OMG, so full, we went lite, heading to a vegetarian restaurant high up in a sky scraper.  We managed to put away six different dishes and enjoyed great conversation.  Then the three of us went to walk the local food markets.

First stop, wet market (live seafood), 2nd stop, produce markets, 3rd, pastry shop!   The foul smells and abundance of produce transported my mind back to the Asian markets in San Francisco. We nibbled our way through the market, drinking freshly made soy milk, and chomping on egg custard pastries.  They are the “hot thing” in HK, apparently.  Not the biggest fan, but managed to consume 4 while walking around!  Yes it was a 5,000+ calorie day (packed into 4 hours).  Call the cardiologist please!  I will never know how the Chinese can stay so thin with all that great food at their finger tips!

Tammy LIVES to EAT! Don’t miss the intoxicating food scene in Hong Kong!  Look forward to returning, stay tuned for the next adventure into food!  Where, when, with whom…

see the gallery below for more shots from the street.

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Eating Hong Kong China 吃閎空

Welcome to Hong Kong, a city 1/4 the size of New York with 7 million bustling people.  Luckily for this chef I have cousins who have called this East meets West city home for nearly 25 years.  Slipping away from Shanghai like a fish that doesn’t want to get caught for dinner I picked up an early morning flight and flew to Hong Kong.

Facts that travelers should know about Hong Kong before they get there. Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated cities in the world with an average of 6,250 people per square mile. This acorn size metropolis was under British rule for nearly 150 years.  And let me add the “Hong Kongers” are quite happy they have a sophisticated and unique place to call home.

My eyes turned around like a flounder once I stepped off the plane!  3 languages make up Hong Kong; English (thanks to the Brits), Mandarin, but the native tongue in the south is Cantonese.  Thank god I had my cousin “T” and bizarre foods eating partner to help out in the other two!

Hong Kong has a sophisticated system of public transportation and ways of doing basic day to day commerce with what they call the Octopus Card.  Swipe and go! We spent several days eating our way through Hong Kong and sadly we were only able to patron a small fraction of the bustling city’s food scene.  The day I arrived I was ready to EAT, so packed onto a boat like a sardine headed in on a food mission!  We went into one of Tammy’s favorite sit down joints where sampling shrimp sates, noodles, and other various dishes.  All were a huge hit and flavor profiles differed quite a bit from Mainland China food.

After we ordered 1/2 the menu at dinner my cousins took me around Hong Kong’s night markets and a variety of neighborhoods before heading home.  I found the entire city to be like the Las Vegas Strip but with hills and much better food!

Winding down and back in Discovery Bay it was time to drink some  Chinese tea and head off to bed.  I better get some sleep Tammy and I have some big bites to take tomorrow!  My rules for Eating Hong Kong are:  Street food, weird food, organs, brains, all okay, embrace me with all Hong Kong has to offer!  I sense the best street food stands in Hong Kong are in my future!

Please, no fermented tofu (stinky tofu)!

Stay tuned for Mission Food Scene, HONG KONG.

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Ko Lanta (Yai)

The trip to Koh Lanta was driven by my passion for SCUBA diving (in between meals of course)!

Koh Lanta is off the beaten path for most tourists due to the travel time and steps to embark on  this under developed oasis.  My journey began at 6am, with a 1 hour car ride to the pier, catch the ferry from Phuket (city) to Phi Phi (2 hours), transfer (by means of hopping across a wooden board) to another boat, make 2 stops and finally to Koh Lanta (2 hours).  However, there are other ways, but for me this seemed the least painful of the three! Total trip time 6 hours!

Koh Lanta, or “Lanta” as the locals say is a melting pot of Buddhists, Thai-Chinese, Muslims and even sea gypsies. Possessing little knowledge of the island beyond what a few quick Google searches provided, figured how rough can life be? I there to SCUBA dive, check out the Southern Thai style of food, and get some well needed R&R before heading back home.

The beaches are peppered with dive bars, restaurants, and one massage place after another.  Sign me up, already in heaven!  My stomach was growling  for neglecting it of Thai food for more than 4 hours, time to find the local eateries! Rumor has it that the farther south you head in Thailand the spicier the food.

Prancing through the rain I took in the surroundings and then started picking off one  local joint after another.  The first stop was a tree house made of huge pieces of what appeared to be drift wood (probably left from the Tsunami) over looking the sea.  The sign outside simply said, *BBQ *Papaya Salad *Curry, sounds good, I’m hungry!  I hike up the uneven wooden stairway only to find a tucked away paradise. I quickly order Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad ,medium spicy), and a 350g  fresh BBQ snapper .  In heaven, out of the rain, listening to my Ipod, and rereading one of my personal favorite books The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss (see photo)!

The food was dynamite!  The chilies from the Som Tum salad lit me up to consume over 1.5 ltrs. of water before the perfectly BBQ-ed fish arrived.  Now proven the Southern Thai food, even at medium heat, is too hot!  Just imagine someone rubbing all your innards with scotch bonnet peppers and then tossing in Thai Prik peppers to garnish!

The snapper was finished off with the traditional wedge of lime and small salad of tomato and fresh sliced onion.  I waited out the rain here for a few hours and simply embraced the surroundings of my new port of call, Koh Lanta.

Where next…more food? beers?, Thai massage?

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