Mary M. Payne: Thai Food

Photo by Everypixel.com

If I didn't already love Thailand, the cuisine would convince me that I had come to paradise. Everywhere we went the meals were a highlight.

The first week, Qiu introduced us to an unusual appetizer that we found at the bazaar. We brought it back to our home stay to share.

Miang Kham uses a Chaplu or Thong Lang Leaf as the wrapper then a plateful of ingredients are wrapped in the leaf and it is all dipped into a sauce. Most of the ingredients are shredded and one can choose the proportions before you wrap the leaf and dip it in the sauce.

Here is a list of ingredients.

1. Chaplu Leaves or Thong Lang Leaves
2. Peanuts 1/4 cup
3. Dried shrimp 1/4 cup
4. Ginger 1/4 cup
5. Coconut 1/4 cup
6. Shallot (cut into small pieces) 1/4 cup
7. Lime(cut into small pieces) 1-2 Tbsp.
8. Chilli 1-2 Tbsp.

Miang Kham Sauce

1 Tbsp dried shrimp
1.5 inches galangal, chopped
1 inch ginger, chopped
½ cup water
125 g palm sugar, chopped
1 teaspoon shrimp paste, or more if you like the flavour
1- 1 1/2 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp toasted coconut, ground until mealy
2 Tbsp toasted peanuts, ground until mealy

Then in Chiang Mai we discovered Ta's cooking which was special.

Ta's stuffed cabbage

And even though I do better on animal protein and few starches or sweets, I found something to love about just about every dish we sampled in Thailand. And yes I ate the sweet sauces and the rice accompaniment that goes so well with the curries. It's all about proportion and a rare opportunity to eat the dish as cooked by the locals.

Ta's sauted mushrooms with chives and garlic

When we got back to Chiang Mai after the elephants, Tui took us to another cafe where we basically had fried and boiled chicken for breakfast. It was tender and delicious and so interesting with the accompaniments, the hot chilies and the cucumber to cool the palate. The place was packed even at breakfast.

Breakfast of boiled and fried chicken with sauces and cucumber to cool the tongue

The chicken cafe boilers

The fried chicken has cornstarch and chilies mixed into the breading and is extra crunchy. The boiled chicken was so tender that I couldn't imagine their secret.

One of the chicken cafe workers

It seems that food is a main feature of Thailand and the outdoor markets are especially enticing.

Even though it wasn't the season, Dave and I tried Durian Fruit which is considered by the Thais to be the King of Fruits.

I have to say that it didn't do it for me. A fruit that tastes like a custard is not, in my book, what a fruit is supposed to do. But there are so many to choose from.... many only seen during monsoon, that there is a king and queen fruit for every palate.