Raising a family in Thailand // Documenting Issan food, culture, music, and people
Thai meatballs (luk chin or look chin, depending on your preferred Romanization) are, like sausage, popular and of mysterious formulation — you never really know what they’re made of, even after eating them. More important, however, is the dipping sauce. Good dipping sauce has saved many a bad meatball, and sauce is actually one of the most important aspects of Thai culture.
It was hard deep frying inside the house until we upgraded our Electrolux hood with a 1HP Mitsubishi blower on our roof.
If I had to describe it in two words, I might say “peppery” and “fishy” – which is strange, because I hate most fishy things. For some reason, it really works with this soup, although not everywhere makes it fishy. This soup is a bit rare and old school, but I’ve found it’s an excellent indicator that you should try other less common dishes on the menu if it’s good. Places that don’t have fresh ingredients all the time won’t bother to make this.
Pork fried rice – in its purest form, but I can’t remember how this one actually tasted. I never order fried rice outside, but Mina loves it. I prefer making it at home, unless it’s really good. I think this one was at my friend’s café out on the Maha Sarakham ring road; the food is pretty good there.
Behold, dragonfruit ribs on my ghetto oil can smoker!
There were no leftovers that day.
I tried making a barbecue sauce out of red dragonfruit at the end of last year. It was colorful and pretty tasty, but nothing is coming close to the mango BBQ sauce I like making every year during mango season.
This is our typical order at Sampeenong, our favorite Isan food joint in the area.
Gai Yang (grilled chicken)
Somtam Lao (Lao-style Papaya Salad)
Tap Wan (literally, “sweet liver”)
Kor Moo Yang (Grilled Pork Neck)
And here’s my homie, Aot, working on a new coffee drink in a Chemex at his coffee stand in front of the restaurant:
At my friend’s place out on the MSK bypass.
I’ve been working weekends for the past couple weeks and I’m tiiiiiired.
AKA Spicy Papaya Salad, (unofficially) the official dish of northeast Thailand. When served on a pink plastic plate, you know it’s the real deal.
