Thai Sour Curry (Kaeng Som – แกงส้ม)

By on June 12, 2011 in She Deglutenizes, She Rants and Muses, She Simmers, She Stocks a Thai Pantry, She Thais


If those who follow me on Twitter have wondered why it took me so long to finally publish this post on Thai Sour Curry or Kaeng Som (แกงส้ม) after I’d announced it nearly two months ago, check out the length of this post. There’s so much to say about this curry, so many possible angles from which to approach the subject. When you see how much information I’ve been forced to relegate to the footnotes to keep the length of this post reasonable – and it looks like I’ve failed miserably – you’ll understand the procrastination.

After all, it’s kaeng som[1], one of the grande dames of Thai curries, we’re talking about. It’s the curry that captures so very well the flavors associated with traditional Thai food. A short, quick post would be disrespectful.

We loved kaeng som in our family. We loved it so much that it was served at least twice a week, or more if you count the leftover meals. And on the days when I didn’t have kaeng som at home, it would be served at school. If Brillat-Savarin is right, then I am nothing but a big bowl of kaeng som. Continue Reading →

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Pad Thai Recipe (ผัดไทย) – Part Two: The Noodles

By on June 4, 2011 in She Deglutenizes, She Stocks a Thai Pantry, She Veges

pad thai recipe

The noodles are soft enough when they can be twirled around your fingers without breaking

Different people use different yardsticks to measure the quality of Pad Thai. For me, the noodles represent that which makes or breaks this dish. True, the noodles alone don’t make a good plate of Pad Thai, but they do form the bulk of it. And when the noodles are badly cooked, they invariably drag everything down with them. In light of this, a post focusing on nothing but this ingredient is, in my opinion, entirely justified.

Many people place the highest importance on the seasonings. Pad Thai seasoned with ketchup? Blasphemy, they cry. Well, it’s not that I disagree with that. It’s just that, personally, if better choices aren’t available, I would choose ketchup-flavored Pad Thai with properly cooked noodles over perfectly-seasoned Pad Thai with mushy, gummy noodles any day. Continue Reading →

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Thai Grilled Pork on Skewers (Mu Ping หมูปิ้ง)

By on May 29, 2011 in She Deglutenizes, She Grills, She Thais

Thai Grilled Pork on Skewers
From the looks of it, you wouldn’t think something like Thai-style grilled pork on skewers would require a year of recipe testing. But that’s exactly what had happened between May 2010 and last weekend. It’s not just the marinade formula which I feel must replicate the flavor of what was served at my favorite Mu Ping (often transliterated Moo Ping) stall in Bangkok; it’s also the way the pork is threaded onto the skewers, the best cut of pork, etc. And we all know the “simple” things are usually the hardest things to get right.

I don’t know if it’s incompetence or perseverance, but a year and somewhere between 10-15 experiments later, we’ve got it — the skewered grilled pork that transports you back to the streets of Bangkok. So make this, would you please? Continue Reading →

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