I moved half way around the world to Northern Thailand in order to eat better. You might say that I'm more than a diminutive curious in food.
I remember the food writer and Tv celebrity chef Jamie Oliver saying that he dreams about herbs. Surprisingly it is the only sensible and general sounding thing I have ever heard him say. It's not unusual for me to spend days or weeks mental about single recipes or foods, although I haven't yet dreamed about herbs...I'm sure though it's only a matter of time.
Go To Thailand
The foods available in Northern Thailand must rank surrounded by the most intelligent and extraordinary in the world. There are influences from throughout Asia together with China and India and the fragrant dishes of Malaysia, Indonesia, Lao, Vietnam and Southern Thailand (the old Siam). It's a giddy mixture and a life's work to get to know and understand them all...but I'm prepared to give it a go. It's a life changing contact in itself.
Part of the extraordinary food contact in Northern Thailand is the strong market culture. There are perfect fresh markets throughout this whole region that sell the freshest and best food in any place on the planet. Huge piles of mangoes, cabbages, chilies, coriander, strawberries, jack fruit, limes, lemon grass and every other fruit or vegetable you can think of fill the buzzing markets.
The part of the market that I frequent the most is the rice section. Back in the Uk rice is just something you buy and cook and don't think a great deal about. Here in Chiang Mai, the main city in Northern Thailand, rice is almost a revered commodity. There are endless types of rice available for sale whether piled high in big sacks, or already cooked in big steaming vats. My popular and probably the most popular in this part of Chiang Mai is locally grown sticky rice. I had sticky rice once in London in a Thai bistro and speedily wished I hadn't. It was a bit like eating glue. The sticky rice here is wholly different; it's warm and soft...more like fluffy mashed potatoes than rice. It's the kind of food that will all the time be eaten because, like mashed potatoes, it is so damn good.
So, once you have your warm sticky rice what next? There are different ways you can go from here. whether you could try some Thai soups or curries and dip the rice right into it, or you could spend in a tiny pot of spicy dry chili sauce called "Nam Prik Ta Dem" which is popular all over Thailand. Some population do eat the rice and the dry sauce as a meal in itself...it's the cheapest unblemished meal available at most markets. If however, you have a few baht left over (which I'm sure you might) you could think about getting something from the grilled section. Thai sausages are excellent, but vary enormously in spiciness. There are also grilled fish which range from the perfect and locally farmed Catfish to the costly Snake Head Fish with soft flaky flesh or perhaps you may prefer some chicken, or honey marinated pork satay, or deep fried vegetable tempura or land crab pate or any one of the most delicious and unusual foods in the world.
Today, when it's market time I'm heading for the fresh seafood section, and buy myself a big bag full of Tiger Prawns and perhaps some Soft Shell Crabs. I'll then trundle round to the fresh herb section and pick out some big bunches of Coriander, Lemon Grass, Basil and Spring Onions. I can't wait to get cooking with all these fresh flavors. I'm sure that if Jamie Oliver shopped down at my local market he'd find it difficult to work out the discrepancy between when he was dreaming about herbs and wide awake!
Enjoy Northern Thai food.
Food Of Northern Thailand
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