Foodie Friday: Thailand
This #FoodieFriday, we head to Thailand. Known for its Pad Thai and spicy curries, Thailand has a way of combining sweet and salty, spicy and tangy, in ways that no other culture does. Cooks in Thailand really seem to know their stuff and enjoy combining non-traditional elements, and all of those elements come straight from fresh food markets every day. And, I have to say even on a family vacation in Thailand, even our pickiest eater became adventurous with all that was on offer. Watch out Andrew Zimmern!
Our first trip to Thailand was in 1998 and one of my favorites was “No Name Chicken”. It was like chicken nuggets super-spiced! The breading was thick and full of flavor and you dipped it in the ever famous Thai chili sauce – a blissful mixture of spicy and sweet.
Thai street food is filling and flavorful. Khao San Road, the epic backpackers hang out, is famous for their street vendors hawking everything from tourist t-shirts to to tropical clothes to Pad Thai to bugs. Yes, you read that one right: BUGS! Bug carts roam the streets of Thailand and act as a favorite snack for locals and a novelty “yes, I tried that” for travelers. Even our picky eater Seamus got in on the action, trying scorpion on a stick.
Seamus with scorpion on Khao San Road in Bangkok, Thailand
But, the real draw in Thailand is that Southeast Asia flavor. For that, we headed to a cooking school in Chiang Mai, up in the northern jungles. The family run cooking school took our group of families to a market to teach us about each ingredient…
…and then we went back to their home where they have cooking stations set up in a veranda in their backyard. They taught us about each dish and pre-measured the ingredients for us…
Then, they taught us how to cook it to make it just right – what spices to add, how long to leave it on, how often to stir it…all the tiny details that make a dish taste just right. The kids had just as much fun learning as the adults.
They even taught us the artistic flourish of dressing the plates.
Nathan with his finish Pad Thai product
And the end product was delicious!
So, what did we take away from that family vacation cooking lesson? We learned a great recipe for Pad Thai and we have shared it here with you.
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