Thai New Years Food

Let me be honest with you: As much as I love Japanese food, I hate osechi ryori. It is – oh, how diplomatically can I put this – really boring and expensive (if you buy it rather than have it made for you by your grandmother/aunt/mother-in-law), which I’m sure you’ll agree is a horrible combination of traits for food. This is why I was so happy to wake up to what I found on our table this morning:

The makings for “khanom chin”
That’s a bowl of sliced pineapple in the middle (think of it as the center of a compass). To it’s West: Ground shrimp meal. NW: Limes. Further NW: Sauce for the steamed fish (shown in photos below). N/NE (at top of table): A fully prepared bowl of khanom chin. NE: The “soup” base, coconut milk with pork bits submerged and out of sight. E/NE: A ladle on a plate, yo. E: Sliced ginger. Further E: Rice noodles. S/SE: A bowl of sliced garlic and chilies soaked in nampla. SW: Another fully prepared bowl of khanom chin.
So how does the fusion of all those flavors taste? Do they work together, or move awkwardly in opposing directions?
Well, let me explain it like this:

Khanom chin: Like toshikoshi soba on steroids
It was sooooooooooooo good. It’s like sweet, savory fire sliding down your throat and warming your entire body from the inside out. Seriously. It’s so good, I thought up a new year’s resolution on the spot: More foodblogging. I’ve even started a new category in its honor: Food.
Oh, by the way, khanom chin is served room temperature, and it wouldn’t taste good any other way, I suspect. Chilling it would suppress the (delicious) funk, and warming it would overstate the spicy and sweet components.

Steamed Nile Tilapia
The other main dish on the menu today was steamed fish, simple and sweet.

All dressed up!
The sauce was sweet and peanut-based. The sweetness of the Chinese cabbage and lettuce brought out the meaty taste of the fish and was nicely accented with fresh mint and coriander leaves.

It tasted just as good as it looks.
I guess I was somewhat disappointed to find out that this isn’t typical new year’s fare, and that in fact there really is no such thing here. I guess I’m just going to have to insist on it being a tradition in this household!

Paint and Exercise

Going over my YouTube Favorites, I realized I had forgotten to post my favorite video of 2006. It’s truly something to behold – best after a couple beers, but it will trip you out even if you’re stone cold sober:

Let’s face it, YouTube (and to a much lesser extent, Google Video and the new kids on the block like Revver, Break, etc.) completely changed the way we play online – props. Here’s to another year of innovation.

Bangkok Bombings

Just a quick note: We came back from Bangkok a day early and are back safe in Isan, so were fortunate enough to avoid the bombings.
I got a touch of the stomach flu or something but am toughing it out and watching the news.
Be safe, everyone.
UPDATE:
More bombs exploded just after midnight. There were reports that a bomb either exploded or was found to be a false alarm at Buddy Bar on Khao Sarn Road (this area, and this bar, always full of foreigners, might have been the most politically significant target).
This map from the BBC site shows the confirmed explosion locations before midnight.
bkk-bombings-map.gif

Fellow Ugmericans…

Just a quick observation today: When any random group of expats gathers overseas for a social event – be it a holiday, a sports event, or even just a quick drink at the local watering hole – why does there always seem to be at least one TOTAL FUCKING PSYCHO among their numbers? You know who I mean, the asshole who likes to get in the middle of conversations he couldn’t hope to begin understanding, and wants nothing more than to prove his conviction in his simpleton viewpoints by punching someone in the face… And why does the psycho always seem to be from the same country as you?