March 29, 2007
Sawatdee ka!
Upon returning to the clean and organized german streets, I was startled by what my eyes perceived as a sudden emptiness ... I had grown accustomed to the colorful spillover of life into Thai streets. Blinking at the deserted night-time neighborhoods from the window of the S-Bahn, the streetlamps reflected a sterile polish - but in my mind's eye, I saw a swell of bodies and smoke rising from make-shift food stalls, tail lights and tuk tuks and families clustered around bowls. I think the two places couldn't be more opposite. I chuckled thinking about the staunch european "eating times" - where at 3:30 in Provence, a restaurant owner laughed out loud when we asked if there was any place to get some food -- or how between 4 and 7 in Germany the only food becomes "cake and coffee".
This is not so in Thailand -- you would never go hungry; never be turned away empty handed; never walk 1 city block without an array of dishes to feast on. It is always time to eat. Hungry at 2 in the morning? No problem. Before you can blink, the little woman at the next food stall has whipped up a plate of Pad Thai noodles ... and it doesn't cost more than a stick of gum.
Italians and Thais: Long Lost Cousins?
As an Italian, I admit I've shown my fair share of arrogance in thinking we Italians corner the market on producing lovely and spectacular dishes from our backyards. Ahem. Now that I've been educated I can say with honesty, Italians have nothing on the Thai. Every Thai is a chef, openly working his or her magic on every square inch of street. They understand a complication of flavors that literally dance together, flavors that are steeped in tradition and tied to the land. But there is a striking resonance, at least in my opinion, between Italian and Thai cooking: our garlic is their ginger or galangal; our red-pepper flakes are their chilies; our tomato sauce is their curry - wonderful, fragrant curries laced with coconut milk and lime leaves; most obvious, our pasta is their rice, but while we just make different shapes, they have an abundant variety that are used and cooked in different ways; like Italians, they use lots of fresh herbs in every dish...especially basil.
(digression: You can't really do this with Italians and say, Germans. Italians have garlic; Germans have...well, boullion cubes. Italian use fresh herbs; Germans drown food in ... boullion sauces so it all pretty much tastes the same. Germans do have schnitzel though. Everybody likes a schnitzel. [except vegetarians, sorry! but even for vegetarians, just saying schnitzel is fun.] /digression)
Now What?
I learned so much about food while in Thailand that I don't even know where to start! I felt a distinct harmony with Thai cooking and the way they did it. Mortar and pestle, knife, and cutting board. Those are all the tools you need and that's why anyone can do it.
I'm excited to teach you the dishes that I learned and tell you about the ingredients. At the moment I'm getting my pictures sorted out, and then I will start on recipes this weekend.
