A Week in Foods

I LOVE FOOD. This blog entry shows some of the delights I have been consuming here in Southeast Asia, specifically Thailand. You won't find the fried crispy bugs or crazy food in these photos. Aside from the ants I accidentally ate when I bit into an Oreo cookie about a month ago, I have not been consuming any arthropods.*** (As far as I know, anyway!) These, instead, are just a few of my favorite things....

SUNDAY

I had this on my way to the airport coming home in KL. Pastry stuffed with chicken, potato, 

and a medium-spicy curry seasoning- you could definitely taste the cumin. Delicious.

Most places I've been to in Malaysia were Indian-Muslim style, which is a real treat for me, 

being able to get out of the Thai curry style for a bit more variety. Because I hardly ever get it,

I think Indian is my favorite type of cuisine right now. Look at the flaky, buttery goodness wrapped around
more goodness...

Chicken Curry Puff from Kafe 15
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

MONDAY

This is probably my favorite Thai dish. Scratch that. Hands down, it IS my favorite. 

The first time I ate it, it was basically two tablespoons of it over a bowl of rice, 

because it was so spicy. But I think I may be gradually building up a tolerance, because now the ratio 

is virtually reversed. It's this flavor explosion of hot and sour with a twinge of coconut milk sweetness, 

containing copious amounts of both green and red little hot chiles, lemongrass, ginger, 

prawns, sometimes tomatoes get tossed in, galangal, lime leaves, and mushrooms, straw and/or oyster mushrooms. The soup is always a little different every time, but I am never disappointed!

Tom Yum Goong from THE Issan Restaurant
Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand

TUESDAY

Bacon is a relatively new addition to my favorite breakfast at our school. It's like my comfort food because it's familiar. I can count on it, you know? My favorite 

thing to do is make a sandwich, piling on the egg, bacon, and tomato between the two slices of 

toast. The "sausage", as they like to call it, stays on my plate- not so into it. I love, love love the eggs here- They're brown eggs, and the yolks are so rich. I've never seen them like that anywhere else.

The OJ is so good- sweet and delicious! This is how the OJ is all over Thailand. I have it every school morning. I had to include this because while it's not Thai, it's a staple. And, the egg's heart shaped. 

Thai "American" Breakfast from NICS Cafeteria
 Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand

WEDNESDAY

I love, love, love, love getting these heavenly little morsels when we are on our way to Khanom. They

sell them everywhere, but so far, the little stand off to the right of the bus station is the best. The lady

who makes them uses the little bananas, the ones with fuzzy peels. She just dips them in 

a batter containing shredded coconut- so simple, so fried, so GOOD! The other item in the bag

are fried pineapple/potato balls and/or...something? Haven't quite figured it out yet. They're

good, but nothing compared to the fried 'nanners!

Coconut-Breaded Fried Banana from  The Stand by the Bus Station to Khanom
Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand

THURSDAY

Okay, I have to admit, this is from the same meal as the Tom Yum Goong. It's my favorite restaurant!! 

These two dishes plus the soup are staples every time we go. It's just SO good- 

it's where I take all my visiting friends. You sit in little thatch booths outdoors

and eat the best food ever. All around, it's amazing! So, the Thai-style cashew chicken is different

than the familiar Chinese version. First, the sauce the chicken is slathered in is thicker- I am pretty sure it's the oyster sauce that does the trick. Anyhow, the chicken is smothered in it, the cashews are toasty and delicious, and I think it's stir-fried with green onions, little pearl onions, garlic, bell peppers, and red chiles for a little kick.

Yam Plah Duk Foo and Cashew Chicken from THE Issan Restaurant
Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand

FRIDAY
Yam Plah Duk Foo (photo is above) is fried shredded catfish. When I heard this,
I was a bit scared. This dish actually ends up being the crowd favorite almost every time.
They bring out a plate with the fish on it, topped with, yes, more chiles, onions, and peanuts.
Accompanying it is the little bowl you see to the right- this is basically a som tom, which is a kind of shredded papaya salsa of sorts. The papaya is unripe- served green, so it is tart and crunchy rather than soft and sweet. Fresh lime juice, chiles, something sweet (probably sugar), fish sauce, and little dried shrimp (which I pick out, thank you). When the dish comes out, you break up the catfish a little
with the spoon, and then turn the bowl with the papaya salad over it. The juices soak into
the fried goodness that is the catfish. I like to mix it with sticky rice.

SATURDAY

I couldn't not include my favorite treat I get when I am traveling to the islands- Roti! Roti is actually 

made all over Thailand, but it is generally sweet rather than savory. Roti generally describes Indian

flatbread- much like a tortilla- thinner than naan but similar in taste. They have

that here, but that's not what this is. This roti, also known as pancake (although it's not like the pancakes

we know and love at home either), resembles a crepe. The dough is slapped onto a flat surface and

is flattened as thin as paper. It is then thrown onto an oiled, hot plate, fillings of your choice stuffed in, and then it is folded over itself. Oh, my mouth waters at the thought! Meaghan introduced them to me my first week. I like mine to be stuffed with tomato, onion, and "cheese",which is either a processed cheese spread or American slices. That's what you see below. But, when I do opt for sweet over savory, I get a banana roti, with Nutella, peanut butter, and then they drizzle a little condensed milk over the top.

Tomato, Onion, and Cheese Roti from The Roti Lady
Railay Beach, Thailand

SUNDAY

Everywhere I go, I have to taste the Tom Kha Gai, or Coconut Soup, at least once. Made with chicken,

 lemongrass, galang, ginger, some chiles, cilantro, sometimes lime leaf, and mushrooms, it's been my favorite Thai dish since my very first Thai culinary experience with my grandfather so long ago. Alas, I have been disappointed. I think this is one Thai dish I prefer from home. It's still really flavorful, but, believe it or not, it's just not spicy enough! This one was special, however, because one of the lime leaveswas shaped like a heart. Perfectly depicting my mood at the time...

Remnants of Tom Kha Gai
Th. Rombutri, Bangkok, Thailand

BONUS GOODIES

In case you're wondering, the following are a part of my regular diet...

An Import. Thanks, Mom!!

Who would have believed it?

"Shakes"- fruit drinks blended with just the fruit and ice. Particularly banana, watermelon, and pineapple.

Fruits and Veggies: Pineapple! Guava- but not the fruit Americans think of. Here, they're more like the color and consistency of pears, but not as sweet. And just last week, I found V-8 at a grocery store! Apples, oranges, onions, peppers, carrots, papaya, guava, weird greens that look like spinach (I choke it down because I know I need it), green beans, broccoli...

Snacks: Peanut Butter, Peanuts, Wasabi Peas... and Cornetto Double Chocolate Ice Cream Cones. Really, my diet is not so incredibly different from home. And the fried rice here is delicious. Here, it's my second favorite breakfast, topped with a fried egg. Noodles, on the other hand, even pad thai, have not been my favorite. 

  

A couple of awkward/interesting things I've learned about diet/food while here:

Pizza, anyone?

• Thais eat most meals with either a fork and spoon or just a spoon- no knives, no chopsticks, which many people think Thais use, for whatever reason.
• Thais like to serve Western-style dishes, but beware- your expectations will not likely be met. For example, if you see pizza on the menu, unless you are in a touristy area, you will most likely be getting something that looks like flat bread with cubes of processed meat, corn, etc. with mayo and ketchup (the "tomato sauce", obviously!) slathered over it. 
• Some things about meat: Sausage- If you see this on a menu, don't be surprised if something that looks like a Foster Farms chicken frank is what is brought out on your plate. And they're EVERYWHERE. Beef is not common in any dish, really. Chicken- all parts of it, including beaks, knuckles, feet, legs, etc.- is common. So is pork. And dried squid. And when it comes to fish, it is served completely whole. I have seen turtles and large larvae being sold on the street here in my city as well. They love grinding up fish and making it into fish balls.
• Restaurants like to put pictures of the food on their menus. However, these are generally cut-and-pasted from Google images. One restaurant in town has french fries on their menu with a picture of McDonald's fries in the cardboard container as the accompanying image- copyrights are clearly not an issue here.
• You would be amazed by what DOESN'T need refrigeration. We Westerners like to refrigerate everything. Thais, not so much. Meat, dairy like milk and eggs, mayonnaise, etc. generally does not get refrigerated. This could be because many more preservatives are packed into the food here. I doubt it, though, unless you are eating organic/free-range at home. Makes you stop and think...

***Editor's Note: Shrimp are apparently in the arthropod phylum. Therefore, I have consumed some arthropods. They are the only ones, however- can't even bring myself to eat the horseshoe crab because they eat it with the eggs in it....