Thai Food

Lee Kum Kee - Sriracha Chili Sauce

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 13:00:49 +0700

Hi All,

I brought a plastic bottle of this stuff here from a Macau grocery store a couple of years ago and now I'm almost all out. I use it as a dipping sauce for dim sum (siu mai, har gow, bbq pork buns etc). For me it's one of the essential food groups; you get it at all Canadian Chinese dim sum places, this bottle is actually made in the States. I'm more used to a same tasting sauce that has a rooster on the label. Although it's name suggests a sweet fairly mild chili condiment the Chinese Sriracha sauce isn't too sweet and the chili really kicks.

I can't find any here in Pattaya; is any available in Bangkok - I'll be going there on Monday?

Hmm?

Thanks,

NewGuy

What Is It With This "fried" Culture In Thailand

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 13:46:16 +0700

As I am curious why the Thai almost FRY everything...? Also noticed that actually people and foreigner say the have a "so wide range" of food choices and tastes great. Well I have to say that what I think, is they just poor everything together they can find, add huge amounts of sweeteners and sauce and chilies are used, let's stand alot the quantity of olive oil and fat used to prepare the stuff? So what's healthy?

In our culture we also know Butter... and bake things ass well. Also our meat for dinner.
Like sometimes i miss my morning bread with baked eggs in butter in the pan.

Also fun yesterday i mentioned at Pizza Company the also have the " BBQ Chicken wings"... LOL.. in our country we call that not BBQ but baked in a pan with butter.

Now I respect the Thai food and culture. But I'm very curious about the FRY thing....

Dry Black Beans - Bought By Mistake

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 13:16:59 +0700

I've googled recipes for black beans but they are mostly South American recipes.

What do the locals use them for?

Issan Feast

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 18:15:27 +0700

Issan feast from our local Bangkok soi.

Help- Strange Bitter Taste To Som Tam (papaya Salad)

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 07:22:32 +0700

hi all,
i've been trying to make som tam over the last few weeks here in usa, and i've done everything to the book with three different papayas and different times. i keep getting this nasty, bitter, orange-peel like taste in the som tam everytime, and i know that it's not right because i've never tasted it before in thailand or in thai restaurants here in usa. I checked everything- i ate a papaya shred raw- no problem there, the limes are fresh, tomatoes are fresh, fish sauce is fresh, etc., everything is new and tastes fine on itself, but when i combine them, i get that bitter taste, like i said, most akin to gnawing on an orange peel after brushing your teeth or something...

Maybe the exported papayas are just too old or something? i'm eating my latest version now, this one tastes better, i used a smaller papaya this time, but i still taste it a little.

Hot Food In Plastic Bags

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 20:56:25 +0700

Hi. I know most people eat food in plastic bags so it's generally safe but are there any known longterm effects of repeatedly eating hot food cooked in oil that's then placed in plastic? My travel to Thailand is limited to once every few years, and I love the food, and don't get too concerned because my visits are short. However I recall a Thai friend, perhaps he is just worried about everything and it's nothing to be concerned about, but he said that the shift toward eating a food from a plastic bag is relatively new in Thai society and that the bags are going to cause a lot of health problems in the future notably cancers. I wonder if the plastic bags used by vendors, especially the ones who fry food in a hot wok then immediately put in into a bag, are made of a certain food-grade material that's considered safe? Are there any known studies of this? Thanks for any insight.

Freezing Thai Vegs

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 22:11:08 +0700

Hi,

I live in the UK and far from any oriental shops. I was just wandering if I bought some vegetables either on-line of when I next visit a town with an Asian shop would I be able to freeze some of the vegetables I buy without spoiling them. I was thinking of getting:

Aubergines,
Green Peppercorns,
Galangal,
Wild Ginger

Or might somebody here have other suggestions on how to keep these 'fresh' for a minimum of a few weeks?

I read on another forum that this guy buys ginger root.....and the stuff that he has left over he simply shreds and puts in bag and then freezes. Could one put them into some kind of preservative?

Thank you.

What Do You Keep In Your Spice Box?

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:44:50 +0700

We keep lots of seasonings around. I go for the hotter ones.

Kopi Tiam At Sukhumvit Soi 26

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 17:47:38 +0700

We were craving for some SG/MY food today and decided to try out the Kopitiam at Soi 26... Huge Mistake!! I don't usually write to complain about the restaurants that we have been to, but this visit really pissed us off... so here goes...

In our view, this restaurant is a utter waste of time because of three main areas:

1. Quality

- The kopi (coffee) that they served really tasted like dishwater. For those of you who have yet to try this place, try this - use one of those kopi powder bags and make the first strong cup of coffee; throw that first cup of coffee away and use the same bag to make the 2nd cup; throw that cup away again and make yourself the 3rd cup; now, add a bit of condensed milk for colouring and some sugar for sweetness... you will get a cup of coffee that approximates what they serve at Kopitiam... in my view, the coffee served by Breadtalk at Centralworld tastes much much better.

- The iced Milo? same same but different, if you know what i mean... it was more like a tall glass of ice dripped and flavoured with some Milo and lots of sugar...

- The rest of the food (eg. rojak, nasi lemak, ice kachang) tasted very very very average... and the greatest joke of all was the nsai lemak - the rice they served was plain rice! why even call it nasi lemak!?

2. Price

- Especially given the quality of the food they served, I find that everything there is overpriced - prices here are at least twice to thrice the price of similar dishes in SG or MY! And this is BKK we are talking about!

3. Service

- First, the service staff couldn't really even sepak/understand English and we had absolutely no idea if they had taken our order correctly...

- I really started to suspect the above when 30mins after they had served us desert (ice kachang) together with our rojak and first plate of nasi lemak, they still hadn't served us our second plate of nasi lemak...

- When I realised that the second plate of nasi lemak wasn't coming any time soon (although by then, I had already confirmed with the waitress that we had indeed ordered two nasi lemaks), I cancelled the order and asked for the bill.... guess what? They were simply indifferent and plonked the bill down on our table...

The irony of it all was that we didn't have the exact change for the bill and so had to leave them a tip!! why should I even tip for bad food, bad service and high prices? but I just couldn't take it anymore and had to get out of there before I started screaming at them!

It was often said that hunger is the best condiment - trust me, we were very very hungry, but this certainly did not make the food (or the entire visit) any more palatable!

Never wasting my time on that place again!

Isaan Dishes & Salads At Marina Hk Restaurant

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 19:34:32 +0700

Ever since I began eating Thai food years ago, some of the things I have loved best are Isaan grilled meat and meat salad dishes, which were a staple food for me in Los Angeles before moving here.

But now living in BKK, it's been hard to find a reliable, inexpensive, but good quality source for these dishes.... On the low end, there's some street vendors where, if you order any beef (which most often they don't have), it's reasonably likely to break a tooth and be almost inedible. And their larb gai's more often than not tend to be chock full of diced up hearts and livers (which I prefer to skip). Then on the high end, there's a couple Isaan oriented full restaurants around BKK where you can go and order these, and pay restaurant prices...

But lately, I found a nice solution to this from a surprising place. In checking out the different offerings of ChefsXP delivery service one day, I was reading the online menu of a place called Marina HK restaurant, which I had never heard of before. And to my surprise, after a long list of Chinese dishes and dim sum, their menu includes an almost as long list of Isaan favorites including som tams and Thai meat salads... all priced for delivery typically between 68 and 78 baht per dish.

I was a bit skeptical, but I ordered via ChefsXP a couple of times, and tried different Isaan offerings from Marina HK, and everything has been very good.... tender meats, good portions, well prepared and flavorful. I haven't gone to the restaurant itself yet, which is located in Siam Square near Siam Paragon. But at those prices, the delivery is almost as inexpensive as the food you'd get from a street vendor. And the quality of their meats (chicken, pork, beef and duck) are infinitely better.

Here's the info on the restaurant itself:
Marina HK
216/1-6 Siam Square Soi 1
Rama 1 Rd., Patumwan, Bangkok 10330

And here's a link to their menu on ChefsXP... The Isaan offerings are at the very bottom.

I scrounged around on the Internet, trying to find any info on the place... There's not much out there on them....but I did find one stray photo of the interior... (the photo is not mine...)

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/post-a66573-Marina-HK.JPG.html

I'd be interested if anyone else has had good or bad experiences with Marina HK.... And, if you've got any other alternate suggestions for convenient places to find comparable, quality Isaan fare at less than full restaurant prices...

Name Of This Fish

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:14:30 +0700

can anyone supply the name of this fish

you can find them grilled all over Bangkok and elsewhere
it's a type of catfish (pla dook)
was wondering if there was a specific Thai name and English name relative to this particular species
thanks
FD

Vegetarian Stir Fried Chili Peppers

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:45:57 +0700

These are so good!

"j" Festival

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:42:13 +0700

Does anyone know the history of the "J" festival?
The rules, background, date, etc.

I've asked many Thai/Chinese people and no one knows the reason.
It just seems people do it because their ancestors did and never asked why.
Now most people eat "J" because everyon else is doing it but doesn't know the reasons.

I've been in China and I didn't see any Chinese people that knew about "J" or ate "J"
These were from the Fujian and Santou province. So it must have come from another province.
Weird because most Thai/Chinese are Chaozhou yet no on ein Chaozhou eats "J"

I've looked at the dates Oct 28 - Sept 7corresponding with the lunar calendar and it doesn't match up with any moon phases.

I've heard it started from a local Chinese community in Phuket for respect for a non-buddhist god.

Why Thaifood Forum Is Not On The Rss Feeds?

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:40:47 +0700

wish it was....

Fried Rat Snacks

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 01:07:03 +0700

A woman selects grilled rats in Suphan Buri province, 120 km (75 miles) north of Bangkok, November 1, 2007. Once struggling to make ends meet in pest-infested villages, Thai rice farmers are now making money out of the very scourge that has gnawed at their finances -- rats. Thailand is the world's biggest rice exporter and roasted bandicoot rat has become a popular delicacy at roadside stalls despite costing twice as much as pork or chicken.

Can't Believe Anybody Could Eat/enjoy This "food"

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:01:44 +0700

In the past I've gotten a whiff of something awful smelling in the markets before, but never got too close to it. Anyway, the wife brought some home yesterday. OMG!!! Smelled absolutely revolting! Like something rotten or almost like you-know-what. It comes in a dark brown paste and has a very, very strong odor - quick to saturate the air. She calls it (I have no idea how to spell this, sorry) something like "Kho Pit". Supposedly it is liked especially by Isaans and eaten with sticky rice but everybody in my wife's family likes it too (Aloy mah [delicious] they say!). Can't fathom a farang could ever stomache it! I couldn't even be in the same room with it (to everybody's belly-laughing!), escaping to the kitchen to turn on the fan for relief. Does anybody know what it might be? Any expats actually LIKE it ??? I enjoy most Thai food but this dish is over the top for me!

Tamarind

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:39:35 +0700

I've been eating tamarind fruit for a number of years now. Has anyone seen any research studies on health benefits?

Thai Online Cooking Videos

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:51:54 +0700

Started an online Thai cooking video site with the Mrs. I love making video, and she loves to cook, so it was something fun we could do together.

Check out Thaifoodcast.com

We've got recipes for: Thai Basil Chicken, Fried Bananas, Green Curry Chicken, and Spring Rolls up now, and adding more.

Let me know what you think...

Tai Pla Curry

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 13:31:27 +0700

can anyone offer a recipe for Tai Pla (fish belly) curry
or any other recipe using Tai Pla sauce?

thanks
FD

Chicken Basil

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 21:24:57 +0700

i love the Thai breakfast chicken basil, or gai pad gra pow and eatern some serious hot varieties on the streets and at bus stations.

but now back home in England, i can't seem to make it as good as what i had when i was there. i'm in the process of growing thai basil leaves, [which knowing our climate, it won't grow ], but apart that, the meal doesn't taste quite the same.

looked on various websites and the ingredients are similar. light soy sauce instead of sugar. oyster sauce can add if you want. etc

i made it a few times, and it was either very salty or over powered with chili and salt. it never had the proper thai flavour as i had on the streets

can anyone give me a proper way of cooking it, or any thai women who cook for their falang husbands their recipe

james