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!   

(more…)

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?

(more…)

The best way to enjoy a day of “Seafood, Suds, and Sucking”- Phuket (Kata Beach, Kata Noi Beach, Patong Beach)

Paradise all over again in Phuket, Thailand!  I went to see my friend Lek remember her from last years post?  I gave her the best street food award of 2009?  Her pork and duck soup was the best I had ever had!  I went for dinner in Patong Beach with my good friend Hari (from Kata Beach).  The rain was piercing my arms, as we drove on Hari’s moped.  Yes, stupid idea, what one will do for great food!

Hari and I grabbed some seafood at the local restaurant, I did the ordering and per usual my eyes are bigger than my stomach!   I ordered one whole 450g Snapper, 2 massive prawns, and 1 squid weighing in around 400g.  Add the salad and veg to that and we had a food orgy!

After this massive meal, I introduced Hari to Lek and with the warmest hug and hello’s Lek not only remembered my name, but also got upset with me. She quickly reminded I promised her I would be back by summer 2010.  This is why I love Thailand, they are the kindest people but will give you a ton of grief if you don’t follow through, how she remembered blows my mind!

It rained EVERY SINGLE DAY, the Phuket weather is unpredictable. The sun was scarce this trip so spent the majority of my time  visiting friends and exploring areas of Phuket I did not make it to in 2009.  The blistering sun broke for a few hours so went to get some color on my pathetically pale skin!  (In Asia taking your shirt off and catching some rays is culturally unacceptable, unless at the beach)

I walked Kata Noi beach several times hoping to turn my “blanco skin” a few shades darker. In heaven I stumble upon one of the best local dives named Ska Bar.  Hmmm, do I stop in?  The thought of a frosty Chang beer sounded excellent, mental thought to self- make another lap then indulge.  Yeah, that didn’t work out so well…after a few quick camera shots I ended up just hanging at the bar and meeting a few Swedes (boy do they love their afternoon alcohol consumption!) At Ska Bar you can expect lots of reggae, dreadlocks, Bob Marley look-alikes and that ever so chill atmosphere. My kind of place, and for you future visitors to please add intoxicated Sweds to the list.

The clouds began to form again, rain soon to follow, it was time to bail or I was going to end up like Ernest Hemingway “aka Sloppy Joe” at the bar.  Thanks, but another time!

I headed back to my hotel and on the way passed a Thai massage shop that had this massive fish tank outside. The tank was filled with Garra rufa - doctor fish.  I had read about these little critters that nibble all your dead skin away… why not?  In go the feet, my eyes are bugging out and all the girls are laughing at me… as soon as my feet hit the water thousands upon thousands of these pulse sucking “guppies” start attaching themselves.  How do I get myself into these situations?  Finally, I accept the fact that there are fish sucking my legs and feet, I have a deep  internal thought, “Are my feet and legs really that bad?”

After all it was a fun experience, and it gave the group of employees something to laugh at… glad I could make their day! (Even if on my expense!)  Soon off to Koh Lanta for SCUBA diving, exploring, and most important EATING!

(more…)

Thailand Tour. Places to Travel and Pictures of Thailand. More Thailand Travels to Come!

What an Adventure!

I have just returned home from Thailand, what a day of flying Phuket to Bangkok to Tokoyo to Dallas! The one very nice thing about having all that time was that it gave me the chance to look back on all the highlights of my adventure!

Beyond the Kitchen will post some of my “out takes” soon on video- and I have to say some of the first takes are rather humerous… but hey, everyone gets a little camera shy at first.. especially when you look like the weird-o holding your own camera in front of you recording yourself! After a few times, I quickly got over it, and just had fun!  After all it is all about showing everyone what is really going on out there is this amazing world!

The Ultimate Highlight -was the Thai Food! I mean, WOW! I ate everything there I could get my hands on… okay, the insect thing was a bit weird.. but I think I just discovered where the term “I have butterflies in my stomach” comes from! I am a chef through and through, and all great chefs are passionate about food, but more so the ingredients that go into making a great dish!  The Thai’s have nailed it 100% from an ingredient stand point and a flavor profile stand point!  They have the magic of combining the ying and yang of flavors.. they just melt together perfectly!

Reflecting Back- The one thing I realized on this trip is just how much I enjoy writing- not always being politically correct, just being myself… being real- writting about what people want to read about… THE REAL DEAL… not some “tour guide” to restaurants and attractions type nonsense… where to really go, what to really see, and how great it is to interact with people and embrace their culture and customs!

I have many of special thanks to give….

Mr. Bussey owner of Left Right Now.  He has been a great inspiration of this adventure and journey through Thailand.  He is also the creator of Beyond the Kitchen, and was my techinacal support from Asia! So Thanks Bussey, and remember i still have the Sanchez Hat! Perhaps it will make an appearance somewhere again!

My parents, for supporting my wild idea of taking a culinary adventure to Asia! Not exactly I think what they had instore for their son, but see the great benefits it had! They had all their friends following my blog while I was gone!  So thank you! I have had so many of their friends say to me “I can’t beleive you ate the bug!” hahaha!

Family friends, thanks for following, please stay tuned, there will always be more to come! And during the down time, there will be posts, so don’t worry, the great humor will never end!

My friends (professional and personal)- Mike thanks for taking care of the casa, and everyone else for following and checking on me while I was gone…

My sister and my great brother-in-law Lance- thanks for following and keeping me in the loop, and not thinking that this was an insane idea!

Skype- thank god you exist!

And last but not least- O’neils (flip flops & board shorts), THANK YOU for having a durable flip flop that I wore every day and not once did you break or give my feet any trouble! Finding a great flip flop is hard to do these days.. and you passed the test!

Stay tuned for more blogs and content from Beyond the Kitchen

Thank You EVERYONE for the support!

Always remember….

TRAVEL. COOK. EAT.

Hand Tailored Clothing. Tailored Clothing from Thailand.

Thailand is known for many things, but one of the most prominent is their textiles… I was told by a very close family friend to make sure to get a few suits made, etc. before I left…   I had a tuk-tuk driver stop at one of the fabric/tailor shops with out me knowing, and wha-la it opened my eyes to many things (standard tuk-tuk game)!

Well, it freaked me out a little bit until I met Hari , this great guy from Nepal who recently took over a tailor shop in Phuket.  He worked with me and even kept his shop open to 1am (while he sent one of his employees to get us some beer and peanuts)… the long and short of the story is that I had 4 beautiful shirts made, 2 dress, 2 casual and a 100% linen sports jacket… let me say the cost is MINIMAL compared to what you would pay in the states, and he had everything wrapped up for me in 36 hours!

At this point I had moved hotels and was in Patong Beach, Hari (without even a hesitation) told me he would deliver me the rest of the clothes to my hotel.  He was even 15 minutes early while I was the one who walked into the lobby on time… (I was too busy getting another foot massage! )

(more…)

« Previous Entries