eG Foodblog: Peter Green - Bringing Bangkok back home

[snowangel]

Tell Yoonhi that there will be no more photos for a few days! My kids always declare a moratorium on food photos for at least a week after a blog!

But, your photos of all of the street food, especially of the noodles bring back many memories.

Back in the 70's, when I was in highschool, we moved to Soi 13, Sukumvit -- and we were at the end of the soi, so I could go next door and walk through the youth hostel (largely populated by kids whose parents lived in Chiang Mai, and wanted the kids at ISB) grounds to ISB. The lunch place there was very much geared to the PX kids -- hamburgers, hot dogs, awful ice cream bars (oh, and little glass bottles of Foremost milk with a cardboard tab for opening and a cream plug at the top!).

So, after school, we'd head to my house, drop off our bags, and head to the end of the soi to the klong, where we'd hail a water taxi and head to Pratunam (sp?) market for our lunch! Kanom krob, all sorts of noodle dishes, fried bananas, and if my parents were going out that night, I'd pick up some curry or curry paste for our cook to cook up. As much as I loved the noodle wagons, the markets offered so much more variety.

I miss Thai street food!

[C. sapidus]

Now THAT looks like a mortar and pestle worth having.  If I were to go looking for one like that, where would I be most likely to find it? Does it have a proper name?  (I just know I'm feeding you a straight line.  )

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You can mail-order a mortar and pestle from Temple of Thai (click). The bigger the better, to keep stuff from flying around.

[racheld]

I look forward to the remainder, but I do not forward to the end.

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I'm with Smithy---it's been like a wonderful book with adventures and colors and all sorts of lively entertainment, an assortment of foodstuffs to rival Bordain's dreams/nightmares, and a fine excursion on a fast-moving train.

Quite delighted but huffing and puffing just to keep up,

rachel

Paging Evelyn Wood--- you're needed over at eGullet

Edited September 30, 2007 by racheld (log)

[snowangel]

Now THAT looks like a mortar and pestle worth having.  If I were to go looking for one like that, where would I be most likely to find it? Does it have a proper name?  (I just know I'm feeding you a straight line.  )

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You can mail-order a mortar and pestle from Temple of Thai (click). The bigger the better, to keep stuff from flying around.

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Or, Smithy could just drive a couple hours south (or fly for even less time) and give me a jingle and we could get one at the local joint!

Peter, I'm very fortunate that I settled in an area of the US that has a huge Hmong and Thai immigrant population, so things like Thai basil, prepared curry pastes, etc. are ever present; even at the local supermarket.

Another question, Peter! Back when I lived in Thailand and all farangs had cooks, they never pounded their own paste. They headed to the market every day for the odd cut of meat, seafood, whatever, and a good dollop of curry paste, usually presented in a massive mound in a white enameled bowl. Have things changed?

[Jamie Lee]

Peter, I have been glued to your blog! Fantastic job, you are a very interesting and hilariously funny blogger!

Thanks to you (and your) family for the inconvenience, but rest assured, your efforts will go own in eGullet history as one the best blogs ever!

J

[Smithy]

Now THAT looks like a mortar and pestle worth having.  If I were to go looking for one like that, where would I be most likely to find it? Does it have a proper name?  (I just know I'm feeding you a straight line.   )

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You can mail-order a mortar and pestle from Temple of Thai (click). The bigger the better, to keep stuff from flying around.

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Or, Smithy could just drive a couple hours south (or fly for even less time) and give me a jingle and we could get one at the local joint!

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Well now, Snowangel, you've just saved my credit card for the moment and given me yet one more reason to drive south! When I get there, you can also advise me on just how one gets the paste, spices, whatever out of one of those big honkers. Equipment this size (I speak of Peter's mortar and pestle) (the granite, I mean) (oh, never mind) looks too big to lift easily for pouring and scraping into another bowl. Yes? No?

And Peter, I am still gasping for breath. Truly, I think this has been one of the funniest blogs of all time. Thank you for the laughs and education. Please, I'd like you to weigh in on what you do to get the spices and pastes out that weighty mortar and pestle arrangement. Is it easy enough to lift, or do you just scrape stuff up and out?

[Peter Green]

Peter, I'm very fortunate that I settled in an area of the US that has a huge Hmong and Thai immigrant population, so things like Thai basil, prepared curry pastes, etc. are ever present; even at the local supermarket.

Being from Minn is a bonus, I'd agree. A lot of people don't appreciate the size of the Asian population there. We were in Pakse back in the late 90's, in the only restaurant in town wih a/c, and I was dithering in my broken Lao over the menu. The waitress stopped me in mid-question with "Just a second, I need to check with my aunt on that".

"You're not from around here, are you, Miss?"

Yup, she was from Minn. She and her mom were just visiting the family.

Her Hmong father had stayed behind because he didn't want to miss the ice fishing.

Another question, Peter!  Back when I lived in Thailand and all farangs had cooks, they never pounded their own paste.  They headed to the market every day for the odd cut of meat, seafood, whatever, and a good dollop of curry paste, usually presented in a massive mound in a white enameled bowl.  Have things changed?

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Those piles of curry paste are still there in the markets, and that's the best way to buy it if you can, although you need a lot of time to find the particular vendor that you like (mainly so you can defend the quality of her curry paste against the other women's pastes that your friends are extolling).

But you'd better be using a lot of curry in a short time!

[Peter Green]

Please, I'd like you to weigh in on what you do to get the spices and pastes out that weighty mortar and pestle arrangement.  Is it easy enough to lift, or do you just scrape stuff up and out?

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"easy enough" is such a relative matter. When Scud was here, generally Yoonhi would have him lift it up while she scrapes stuff out, sort of like a two man fire team with a heavy weapon. I can pick it up and pull the goods out without any real effort, but I'm a big lad.

(editted for clumsy fingers)

Edited October 1, 2007 by Peter Green (log)

[Peter Green]

Okay folks, it’s the end of the road for me! It must be getting near midnight Sunday on the East Coast.

Thanks everyone for your support, and especially for the information. One of the best parts of posting on eGullet is getting the answers to those questions that come up about food as we travel.

But I still haven’t heard about the Golden Pig!

I’ll leave you with some of the last pictures I never got around to posting.

From Kalpapruek on First (at the Emporium)

Yam woon sen (cellophane noodles) with prawns

Crispy duck salad

Crispy bean curd

And clams. How I miss my bivalves!

Again, from the cheerful Arabian Gulf, all the best.

Next week: Seoul!

”If you take one more picture without people in it, so help me, it’s going to hurt! Hurt bad”

Edited October 1, 2007 by Peter Green (log)

[MarketStEl]

I have a silly question but it's one that's been bugging me since I first saw reference to "the Skytrain".

Is this a Bombadier Skytrain? like in Vancouver?

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I don't use the Skytrain in Vancouver much (we're on a Kitsilano-Downtown- North Shore routing when we're home), but they struck me as very similar.....except I don't remember video screens incessantlyl screaming at me in the trains when I rode in Vancouver. (although I liked the low-fat milk commercials they were running last week....well, maybe only for the first 100 times)

The BTS link doesn't say much about equipment, but something in the back of my head remembers seeing Bombardier's name in the Post back in the late 90's when the BTS came on line. However, Siemens is in on this, and I'm seeing a lot of Siemens/Bombardier in the googles, so it may be a joint venture between the two.

Trains run well, though. And they're air conditioned!

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Geez.  How far I've come from Thailand.  Here in MN, one associates the word "Bombardier" with a vehicle that takes one out on ice to an ice fishing house!

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Warning: tangent. It being the end of a wonderful foodblog, I hope you all will permit an indulgence from eG's resident transit geek, the guy who insists on providing transit directions in his restaurant writeups.

That vehicle that gets you to the ice fishing house is more correctly referred to as a "Ski-Doo," which Bombardier has made since at least the 1980s, I think (it bought the company from its founder, IIRC).

Bombardier (say it as a Frenchman might: bom-BAR-dee-AY -- it's headquartered in Québec) is now the sole passenger railcar manufacturer remaining in North America. Most cities that have rapid transit or commuter rail in North America have some Bombardier equipment on their property. The company also makes a popular small jet plane, the Canadair Regional Jet.

Judging from the photos on the Web site of the Bangkok Mass Transit Public Company Limited (guess they don't believe in acronyms in Thailand?), Bangkok Skytrain differs from Vancouver Skytrain in two respects: Its trains can carry more people than Vancouver's, and they don't have the unique "linear induction motors" that distinguish the Canadian ICTS (Intermediate Capacity Transit System) design from most electric rail transit. (In a LIM, part of the "motor" lies between the rails -- a metal band that creates an electromagnetic field that propels the train.)

The green stuff up front is bitter gourd tips.  Extremely good, and along with the deep fried morning glory in the pork knuckle shot, Yoonhi’s choices for favourites.  Me, I had to order more raw prawns while I could get them.

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Raw prawns? How do they taste compared to cooked? Have there ever been safety concerns connected with eating them?

I love my mortar and pestle.  At least up to the point where it lands on my toes.  I know that day is coming.

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Objects falling out of freezers I understand. I think you'd have to work at it to have a pestle fall on your toes, and when that happens, not even those cute furry slippers you have will save you. Pray that day doesn't come soon.

Your suggestion of maladroitness above is surpassed only by the dexterity with which you handle the English language. And, for that matter, Thai cuisine. This has been a most enjoyable blog. I look forward to your next installment, should you decide one is worth it.

[dockhl]

While I've got a number of old hands on-line, can anyone fill me in on the story of the statue of the Golden Pig?  This is close to the City Pillar, by the klong just behind.

I've asked Thai friends in Bangkok, and all I get is "it's a golden pig".

I was looking for more detail.

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From thailandforvisitors.com:

After visiting the temple, if you re-cross the canal using the footbridge at the north end of the temple, you'll find on the opposite side a gilded statue of a pig. The story is that the footbridge was built by one of the wives of King Rama V. For many years the bridge had no name, but since the lady was born in the year of the pig, the bridge became known by that name. The statue was erected later in her honor.

[Peter Green]

I don't know if this is locked out yet, but I'll give it a try:

First, thanks a million for solving the Mystery of the Golden Pig, Dockhl! This has bothered me for the last year (not that I obsess about things, oh no).

And Sandy, raw prawns are a completely different flavour, and something to be savoured. They're best enjoyed Japanese or Korean style, with the heads pulled off and dancing in front of you, the meat quickly shucked from the carapace and the "vein" removed. Sweet, soft meat that throbs slightly in your mouth.

For goong char nam pla you don't get the prawns quite so fresh, but this is still a wonderful mix, as the sweetness of the prawn flesh helps to balance the salt of the namplaa and the fire of the chilis.

Cheers,

Peter

[insomniac]

For goong char nam pla you don't get the prawns quite so fresh, but this is still a wonderful mix, as the sweetness of the prawn flesh helps to balance the salt of the namplaa and the fire of the chilis.

.....at the risk of repeating myself, (hmmm, never stopped me before ) gung chaer nam pla is my absolute favourite....well, in the top ten anyway,.......... where I come from (in Thailand that is) the dish is called gung ten, or dancing prawns, for obvious reasons,..... it's got to be one of the hottest of Thai dishes...........and I did drop my pestle,*sob*, but it was so big that even tho I only have 2/3 left it still works like a charm

thanks Peter, superlative ......

[Domestic Goddess]

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Now THAT looks like a mortar and pestle worth having. If I were to go looking for one like that, where would I be most likely to find it? Does it have a proper name? (I just know I'm feeding you a straight line. )

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We have a mortar and pestle like that one Peter back in the Philippines. My great-great grandmother owned it and now my mom has it. I told my mom she can give the jewelry to my sisters when she dies but our century-old mortar and pestle IS MINE.

[Domestic Goddess]

Posting again to tell you that this has been the funniest and most hilarious blog ever. I am truly sorry it is over.

Say, can you blog again next month?

[MelissaH]

This week has been great fun. Thanks for taking us on!

MelissaH

[Marigene]

Thank you for a most entertaining and informative week. It was thoroughly enjoyed...