Although many foreigners’ image of Thai cuisine is based on experiences of southern Thailand cooking where coconut milk is freely used, the reality is there are many regional food styles to choose from other than the old favourites (green chicken curry, Tom Yam Kung soup etc). Coconut milk is rarely used in the more northern provinces where vegetables form the basis of many of the culinary delights. And there is an abundance of these healthy foods not only in the ubiquitous fruit and veg markets but also, if you care to go foraging, in the hedgerows – free of charge!
Slowly boiled bamboo is especially delicious and the seeds in these Thai bean pods are nibbled in vast quantities as an accompaniment to many regional dishes. Throughout Thailand the fruits of the tamarind tree
are used extensively as a flavouring agent for many Thai dishes and can also be found in both Worcestershire and HP sauces as well as being good for polishing metal or so I am told! Tamarind trees are everywhere and the fruit easy to pick – another example of how cheaply it can be to live off the land if you only care to look.
Although pineapple is the main fruit grown in this province (most of the production going to Del Monte!) a dazzling array of other fruity delights are to be found on the numerous roadside stalls.
The Gulf of Thailand is a veritable treasure trove of sea food and so fishing is still a major industry here, most of it seemingly done at night.
Apart from sleeping and generally relaxing, daytime is for mending nets and preparing for the evening’s work ahead.
And once the evening draws in, it’s off to work we go.
In the countryside it’s impossible to go more than 500m in any direction without finding some kind of eating establishment most being small, family affairs. In the towns and cities, street food is readily available but so also are larger eateries.
This one fills the entire basement of a large hypermarket where you can find every conceivable regional Thai dish as well as many other international favourites.
Occasionally, though, a foreigner yearns for an old fashioned western BBQ which my good friend Bob was happy to supply with a slightly less than old fashioned method of getting the fire going!
His wife prepared, amongst other delights, some astonishingly tasty kebabs
all washed down with copious amounts of Singha beer. BBQ-ing is thirsty work and unfortunately, Bob was so busy cooking he forgot to eat!
It was a memorable evening!
I enjoy trying as many of the local specialities as possible and have to say that I have liked most of them. On the minus side, though, I’m too enamoured with locusts,
considered a delicacy by many locals. Each one to their own, I guess!
All this talk of food and I’m feeling hungry!
Phileas
thelasthurrahsite 