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Stir-Fried Mixed Vegetables with Lardons: Making Thai Food in Lyon Part One

Croix-Rousse Market - Making Thai Food in Lyon
Bonjour de Lyon! I’m traveling through Europe at the moment, so I hope you don’t mind that I’ve put our grilled chicken series on hold for a short while. What I’m having fun with at the moment is to pretend I am a Thai food enthusiast living in different places in Western Europe trying to make good Thai food with everyday fresh market offerings.

You know what I’ve realized so far? There are A LOT of good Thai dishes one can make with what’s available at most supermarkets and outdoor fresh markets here. Some ingredients, of course, are not traditional. But that’s only because currently they have not yet become regular, everyday produce among the Thais in Thailand. But with the country’s ability to grow more and more cold-weather crops, it’s just a matter of time before you see ‘foreign’ fruits and vegetables popping up in Thai dishes — you know, the fruits and vegetables you don’t necessarily associate with Thai cooking.

By the way, I don’t believe for a second that Thai food is defined and confined by only the natural ingredients native to the area presently known as Thailand (see my post on “authentic” Thai cuisine from few months ago).

But hold that thought. For now, let me take you to the famous Croix-Rousse market in Lyon, France. Continue Reading →

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Thai Grilled Chicken: Lemongrass Grilled Chicken (ไก่ย่างตะไคร้)

Thai grilled Chicken by shesimmers.com
Now that the basics have already been addressed, let’s dive into the first recipe of our Thai Grilled Chicken: The Heroine Upstaged by Her Sidekick series: my mother’s lemongrass grilled chicken. This grilled chicken is not made according to any regional tradition or restaurant (though fans of Sirichai Kai Yang in Bangkok would probably see some resemblance).

The chicken is seasoned with the basic Thai marinade with the Thai aromatic ‘trinity’ at its core. Fresh lemongrass provides additional herbal flavor. It’s a very simple recipe which, according to her notes, Mom had used since 1979. Continue Reading →

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Thai Grilled Chicken: The Basics

Thai grilled chicken by shesimmers.com

This is the first part of the Thai Grilled Chicken: The Heroine Upstaged by Her Sidekick series.

It’s difficult – no, impossible – to define “traditional” Thai-style grilled chicken, because there are so many types of it. Each region does its own thing. Then we also have a handful of shops and stalls from different regions whose grilled chicken recipes became so famous that they have not only spawned franchises and knockoffs all over the place but also established some very prominent grilled chicken traditions (cult followings?). Because of this, in my opinion, we cannot categorize the various Thai grilled chicken traditions solely on the basis of geography; we must also take into consideration the businesses that have played a part in defining Thai grilled chicken in the modern days. I’ll talk more about this in subsequent pertinent posts.

But if we have to start somewhere when we talk about traditional Thai grilled chicken, I think Isan, the northeastern region of Thailand, deserves our primary attention for this is the region where the majority of Thai grilled chicken traditions were born. And although it’s not accurate to say that all famous grilled chickens in Bangkok come from Isan, Bangkokians definitely have the Isan migrants to thank for the proliferation and popularization of grilled chicken in the city. Continue Reading →

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