Bangkok in 12 Dishes: How to eat like you live there - Sample Edition

I AM A

TRAVEL GUIDE

BANGKOK

IN12 DISHES HOW TO EAT LIKE YOU LIVE THERE

“The In 12 Dishes series has struck on an ingenious way to whet the appetite for a destination” THE AUSTRALIAN

A YAKSHA (ยักษ์) OR TEMPLE GUARDIAN, WAT ARUN

CONTENTS

About Bangkok ..................................................................... 4 About Bangkok food .......................................................... 12 No 1 Hot-sour prawn soup ....................................20 Food as medicine ...................................................... 26 No 2 Fried rice noodles ...........................................30 Market saturation ...............................................................36 Chatuchak survival guide ...................................................54 No 3 Salads ............................................................58 Float your boat: a Chao Phraya guide .............................70 No 4 Fermented rice noodles .................................. 82 No 5 Curries ............................................................88 There be dragons: eating around Chinatown ...................98 No 6 Grilled chicken...............................................110 No 7 Braised pork .................................................114 A day trip to Ayutthaya ....................................................118 No 8 Chicken biryani ............................................ 128 Friday at the mosque ........................................................132 No 9 Shrimp paste rice ......................................... 134 The big chill: the best bars.................................................138 Hydrate & caffeinate ........................................................144 No 10 One-bite wraps.......................................... 148 Old town ...........................................................................152 No 11 Glass noodles with prawns .......................164 No 12 Mango sticky rice ....................................... 168 Sugar rush: dessert lowdown........................................... 172 Tropical fruit ....................................................................... 178 One more dish before you go ..........................................184 Notes & day planner ........................................................188 Bangkok map.....................................................................192 33XX

ABOUT BANGKOK FOOD

Hot, sour, salty sweet; the conventional way of describing Thai flavours goes nowhere near doing them justice.

At the core of Thai cuisine are a heady slew of aromatics, fresh produce and pungent staples – chilli, garlic, galangal, kaffir lime, ginger, lemongrass, turmeric, coconut, fish sauce, palm sugar and lime juice, for starters. While these are common elements in other South-East Asian cuisines, Thai food remains wholly distinct, with a zippy freshness, complexity and sophistication that punches you in the flavour chops like nothing else can. From street stalls to markets, venerable old eateries, food courts and sleek, slick, sophisticated restaurants, Bangkok offers unrivalled dining around the clock, much of it very affordable.

Many Thai dishes popular in the West originate from Bangkok, so things like green and red curries, pad Thai and tom yum kung will feel instantly familiar.

As it’s the capital, food from all over Thailand can be found; north-eastern (Isaan) dishes are popular, for example. Rustic, earthy, sour and hot, the essence of Isaan fare is on display in the likes of som tum (ส้มตําไทย, green papaya salad), sai krok Isaan (ไส้กรอกอีสาน, fermented sausages), gai yang (ไก่ยา่ ง, grilled chicken; see pg 110) and larb (ลาบ, minced meat salad). Also in the accompaniment of choice: sticky rice. Southern food is popular too. Down in the lush, rain-soaked south, the coconut reigns supreme and the cuisine there is typified by complex, herbal spiciness, thick, creamy curries, spice-infused dishes like satay and opulent Muslim ‘biryani’ (see pg 128), plus the extravagant use of seafood.

Bangkok is located in Central Thailand, a large, fertile region with a wealth of rivers and lakes; the city is not far from the coast. So seafood, river fish and prawns are common proteins, as are farmed meats like pork and poultry. Vegetables are varied and plentiful, including some that may be unfamiliar, like snake beans (tua fuk yaaw, ถัว่ ฝักยาว), wing beans (tua pu, ถัว่ พู), pea eggplants (ma-keua puang, มะเขือพวง) and acacia leaf (chaom, ชะอม). Meat-free meals abound although because of the ubiquitous fish sauce, many are not strictly vegetarian. Fruits are plentiful (see pg 178), some used in savoury salads and even curries. Jasmine is the rice of choice, w

12

ABOUT BANGKOK FOOD

Various noodles at Or Tor Kor (see pg 38) Choo chee lobster, Thiptara (see pg 171)

Dumplings at Supanniga Eating Room

Cooked chickens, on the street 16

Prep for miang (see pg 148)

A TYPICAL, NOFRILLS A TYPICAL, NOFRILLS PLATE OF PAD THAI PLATE OF PAD THAI

It’s maybe the most recognisable Thai dish in the world and arguably eaten more outside of the country than in. Not that pad Thai isn’t popular in BKK. What’s not to love about fried rice noodles, gooped up with dried prawn, tofu, egg, peanuts, chilli, tamarind, palm sugar, fish sauce et al? Especially when taking a break from more intensely spiced fare.

2

FRIED RICE NOODLES PAD THAI

ผัดไทย

With origins in Southern Chinese cookery, the full name of this famous dish is kuay teow pad Thai (kuay teow means ‘rice noodles’ in Southern Chinese dialect), translating to ‘fried rice noodles, Thai-style’. It uses thin rice noodles, similar to those the Vietnamese use for pho; in fact few of pad Thai’s ingredients are particularly Thai in origin. Nor is the cooking method – stir-frying came from the Chinese. It’s a relatively new dish and one with a fascinating history. It came about in the 1930s, a time of Thai ultra-Nationalism. The newly democratised government of the day ordered competitions to come up with new noodle recipes. The idea was to get Thais away from eating wheat noodles, associated with Chinese influence, and to break the dietary dependence on straight rice. Noodle dishes were touted as healthier although actually, the government wanted to reserve rice stocks for all-important export earnings as the w 31

MARKET SATURATION

PRESERVED CHINESESTYLE CENTURY EGGS

Nothing typifies the Bangkok travel experience like visiting a food market.

Squeezy, busy, aroma-filled and not a little crazy, food markets assault the senses. Not to mention one’s sense of personal space. Go hungry and prepare to be bowled over by the eating options, and the variety of what’s on offer. Where to start? How to finish? There’s no real answer to either of those questions but the best advice is to chuck yourself into the delicious fray for some thrilling, full-throttle food immersion. Bangkok teems with markets, both food and the more general-goods sort. Here are a few suggestions for the former, including floating, non-floating, historic and local favs.

36

FOOD MARKETS

MARKETS TALING CHAN FLOATING MARKET

FOOD MARKETS OYSTER OMELETTE hoi tod

(หอยทอด)

(หมูสะเต๊ะ)

BRAISED GOOSE FEET kha han pa lo

SWEET-SALTY COCONUT CAKES khanom krok

(ขาห่าพะโล้)

46

PORK SATAY moo satay

(ขนมครก)

FOOD MARKETS FRIED TARO SNACKS pueak tod

50

CHICKEN RICE khao mun gai

(เผือกทอด)

(ข้าวมันไก่)

PORK IN PICKLED CABBAGE khao tang miang Lao

PORK IN RED SAUCE ON RICE khao moo daeng

(ข้าวตังเมีย่ งลาว)

(ข้าวหมูแดง)

Surviving Chatuchak

If you visit Bangkok without shopping Chatuchak Weekend Market (ตลาดจตุจักร), you’ve almost missed the point. Or you’re not quite thinking straight. And the word ‘market’ doesn’t do this massive precinct justice, BTW – Chatuchak is a wonder of the retail world. Its vital statistics vary, depending on the source, but it’s reckoned there are some 15,000 stalls divided into 27 sections across an area equivalent to 26 football fields.

Let that sink in; you seriously need a map to navigate. Did we mention an estimated 200,000 eager punters visit every weekend?

DEEP INSIDE CHATUCHAK MARKET

SURVIVING CHATUCHAK

Even monks come here to shop

A glasses shop in Chatuchak Market

Wholesome Thai food at Prik Yuak

You’ll even find bars inside the market 55

AT SABAI JAI GAI YANG

They eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner and you can’t walk more than a few Bangkok blocks without coming across its smoky aroma. It’s drinking food, a hangover cure, the perfect refuel when energy runs low. Yes, gai yang is one of the most lip-smacking-est, protein-boosting, finger-lickin’ dishes you’ll ever eat; just wash those digits first before you dig in!

6

GRILLED CHICKEN GAI YANG

ไก่ยา่ ง

Gai yang originated in the north-eastern Thai province of Isaan, where the rustic fare has more in common with neighbouring Laos than it does with central Thailand. But Bangkok attracts workers from all over and it was transplanted Isaan-ites who brought the dish here. Most Isaan dishes are uncompromisingly full-flavoured and spicy (there’s no coconut milk used to tone things down, for example) but gai yang is neither, making it popular with locals and tourists alike. An excellent dish for when you need a break from the relentlessly intense flavours of the general local menu, it’s cheap and readily available.

The best gai yang is made using a whole, butterflied, marinated bird secured on bamboo skewers and cooked over coals. (Note the use of the word c-o-a-l-s; eschew gas-cooked chook.) Purists prefer smaller birds with meat that’s lean and a little toothsome. Traditional preparation w 111

A DAY TRIP TO

AYUTTHAYA

Step back in time in Ayutthaya (อยุธยา), 80km north of Bangkok and a doable day trip from the capital. Founded in 1350, it was once the economic, religious and political centre of the Thai world and a glittering, cosmopolitan prize of a place. Today, old Ayutthaya may be in ruins but it’s still alluring.

WAT PHRA SI SANPHET

118

Reaching a population of one million at its peak, Ayutthaya was the largest city on the globe. Merchants from Arabia, China, India, Japan, Portugal, the Netherlands and France were drawn here to trade and even to live, finding a sophisticated cultural centre that brimmed with grandeur and beauty. Razed by the Burmese in 1767, today most of its past architectural glory lies in ruins and rubble. But what remains has earned the historic heart of Ayutthaya UNESCO protection, centring on an extensive archaeological site sprawling over a 289-hectare park. It’s thick with crumbling old monasteries, palaces and temples. The old city is located on an island surrounded by three rivers, which provided strategic defence from enemies.

Today the river setting makes it beautiful.

Ayutthaya is famed for boat noodles

A prang at Wat Ratchaburana

AT JIW CHICKEN BIRYANI

Khao mok gai is essentially biryani by any other name. A spiced-up mound of turmeric-infused rice served with large bits of marinated, bone-in chicken, slices of cucumber, a smattering of fried dried shallots and a piquant, green dipping sauce, it’s a delicious staple among Bangkok’s Islamic community.

8 CHICKEN BIRYANI KHAO MOK GAI

ข้าวหมกไก่

Around five per cent of Thailand’s population is Muslim, mainly Sunni and, while mostly concentrated in the country’s southern four provinces, there’s a significant population in Bangkok. Muslims originally came to Thailand to fulfil roles in the Thai royal court, which was known for its religious tolerance. Many were from the Coromandel Coast of Southern India, while others were from Indonesia. They brought their cuisine with them, notably rich curries, chewy flat breads and fragrant, spiced rice dishes. Today the area called Bang Rak, near Yaowarat (see pg 98), boasts the largest Islamic community in the city. Around here you’ll find a number of halal eateries, historic mosques, homes with Bismillah (‘in the name of Allah’) written in Arabic calligraphy above doorways and women wearing religious headcoverings.

Arab and Indian merchants traded spices in the South of Thailand

w

129

The Big Chill

Jeepers it gets toasty. According to the World Meteorological Organisation, and based on year-round average daily high-low temperatures, Bangkok is the world’s hottest city. Heat pings off asphalt, glass, concrete and cars, accentuating the oven-like conditions.

Thermometers never get much below 30°C and humidity is always Up There, year-round. Luckily there’s aircon aplenty for quick relief. You do need to pace yourself, and consume regular cooling pick-me-ups – did someone ring the cocktail bell? The bar scene is large and diverse; here’s a smattering of Bangkok’s likeable drinking holes. Note that many of the restaurants we mention also feature excellent bars.

MARGARITA WITH A VIEW AT SALA RATTANAKOSIN

BARS

produce their wares as laws governing brewing are somewhat restrictive.

Live bands and a slightly inconvenient location just add to the cool factor.

JAM 41 Soi Charoen Rat 1, Yan Nawa, Sathorn District 41 ซอย เจริญราษฎร์ แขวง ยานนาวา เขต สาทร 6pm-12am, Tues-Sun

Want to plug into the eclectic local artsy scene? Then head to this modestlooking place hidden in a lane off Sathorn Road. The live music rambles along underground, grunge and psychedelic routes, with art exhibitions, talks and indie film screenings sprinkled throughout the year. Mismatched furniture and quirky touches like vintage Thai board games make this feel like an eccentric home. The action spills onto the street when things get busy and cocktails, reasonably priced, include a signature Mojito structured on Thai Sangsom rum.

Cocktails at Asia Today, Soi Nana

FOOJOHN BUILDING 831 Soi Charoen Krung 31, Talat Noi, Samphanthawong District 831 ซอย เจริญกรุง 31 แขวง ตลาดน้อย เขต สัมพันธวงศ์ 1pm-12am, Tues-Sun

Three venues run out of this repurposed shophouse on the fringes of Yaowarat, including the small moody bar upstairs.

The fabulous 1960s building was for decades home to the FooJohn Company (a spare parts shop) and the name’s stuck. The corner low-rise got an injection of Wong Kar Waiesque ambience in the thoughtful renovations. Drinks like the signature Leaf Dragon, built on white rum then flavoured with kaffir lime, galangal, 142

Songkran, a Mojito-like drink at Tep Bar

Hydrate & Caffeinate

It kills us to sound like your mum but here we go anyway; keep up your fluids! Dehydration and heat exhaustion are nasty and can strike fast, causing everything from splitting headaches to cramps, dizziness, nausea and extreme lethargy. Unpleasant. Locals know how to beat the heat; observe their habit of avoiding the direct sun and not rushing around during the peak of the day; and of constantly slurping on icy drinks, from water to fresh juices, local soft and herbal drinks, iced coffee and the unique Thai tea.

ICED COFFEE WITH CONDENSED MILK AND A YOUNG COCONUT FLOAT

Iced Thai tea

Local coffee-brewing paraphernalia

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Sugar Rush

Mung beans, rice flour, glutinous rice, palm sugar, lotus seeds, coconut, pandan, fruits, egg and even pumpkin, taro and cassava; these are some of the ingredients used to make Thai desserts.

The Thai sweet tooth is legendary, serviced by a sugary snack repertoire that’s prodigious. These sweet, light mouthfuls make good pick-me-ups when the fuggy heat gets too much to bear.

ASSORTED STICKY RICE CAKES, WITH KHANOM TUAY FOO (ขนมถ้วยฟู), STEAMED PINK RICE FLOUR CAKES

DESSERTS

Maprow kaew un-chan coconut and butterfly pea snacks (มะพร้าวแก้ว อัญชัน)

(กล้วยเชื่อม)

Som Chun

Khanom Khrok Bai Toei

(ส้มฉุน)

(ขนมครกใบเตย)

fruits, young ginger and fried shallots in light, aromatic syrup

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Kluay Chueam

bananas cooked in syrup, with coconut cream

pandan cakes

HOT AND SOUR AND SWEET AND SALTY AND OMG #YUM! Bangkok! Nowhere, but nowhere, gets a foodie’s pulse racing like the enigmatic Thai capital. It dazzles with its vibrant cuisine and darnit if the downright deliciousness of it doesn’t slap you around the flavour chops from the moment you arrive. Eating opps lurk down every alley, waterway and high street, making gorging non-stop the name of the Bangkok game.

For the food lover, Bangkok is Nirvana. To truly suck the marrow from your BKK jaunt however, you need a trusty guide and that’s where Bangkok In 12 Dishes comes in. Shove it in your shirt and let it help make culinary sense of what is, arguably, the greatest food destination the planet has to offer.

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