As I write this, I am indulging in a marvellous Penang curry ( 30 baht, AUD$1 ); my mouth is briming with spicy, rich coconut and lime leaf flavours.
Most people have experienced Thai food outside of Thailand, but there is nothing like eating in the land itself. Maybe it is the freshness of the ingredients, maybe the smiles from the locals, or the stream of colourful people and activity as you sit at the roadside rickety tables ( often beside a rubbish bin or drain ), with an enticing plate of mouth teasing, sense stirring local cuisine. Or it could be the aromas of the frying chilli and garlic wetting your appetite wherever you go, or the sound of the ingredients sizzling as they hit a hot wok...
Our Thai journey begins in the south; we aim to disclose the features of regional Thai food and how it varies throughout the country, depending on factors such as the availability of native produce.
Thailand has a reputation of combining food with celebrations. During our stay, we hope to attend as many as possible, first with the Festival of the Tenth Lunar Month in Nakhon Si Thammarat and then the Chinese Vegetarian Festival in Trang.
No time to wean ourselves into the fiery food; the south serves up the hottest dishes in Thailand. We are head first into the heat - and loving it!
Tui ran a fish cake and whole smoked fish stall. From our first encounter he was full of information about the different food stalls in the market. Oh yeah, his fish cakes were joy as well.
Tui gave us the complete run down of Khanom Jeen ( the fresh rice noodle dish). Whilst we were elbow deep in a bowl, Tui would leave his stall to help us work out what all condiments were and how best to use them.
We look forward to seeing Tui again when we return to Trang in late October for the annual Chinese Vegetarian Festival. He has offered to show us around to a few "out of the way" places. Bring that on!
Sharing a 'pour your own' supply of beer at the beer garden near LAFIGA night club was a great way to cohearse with locals.
The only move from here was to the night club itself. After three months in a more reserved country, you can imagine our suprise and excitment when we rounded the corner to find wall to wall people,dj's and catwalk holding scantily clad girls rubbing themselves against each other. "The juices were flowing" !!
While letting our hair down the locals where forth coming with communal drinks, (later we figured probablly not a great idea to accept; druggings and all). People were very keen to meet and dance with the only foreigners in the place, they really seemed to get a thrill out of us getting involved in the carry on. In fact we got so carried away we were amongst the last five people to leave, well and truely after the lights came on.
Amongst the usual trashie music, sunglass, thong (flip-flop) and cheap t-shirt stands was an amazing array of food stalls. There was wildly aromatic curries, salads, fried goods, fresh fruits, noodles, desserts and loads of smiles to boot.
One unusual dessert that we stumbled upon, consisted of a wet rice batter ladled onto a cloth steamer. When virtually "set", a filling of caramelized shallot, peanut, palm sugar and fish sauce was placed on one half and then folded over (similar to a tortellini). The tasty morsel was then brushed with a toasted garlic oil and served with cabbage and scud chillies. At the time of eating we all commented on the silkiness of the dumpling which was well balanced by the richness of the filling and the crunchiness of the garlic. Unaware it was a dessert, until a local let us in on the secret, demonstrates how the Thai's complete their meals with something slightly savoury rather than sickly sweet, to keep total balance.
"Khanom Jeen" is prepared individually be each store owner. Noodles are handmade by pushing a rice flour and water paste through a sieve into boiling water until they come to the surface (when cooked).
Sauces for this dish comprise of generally four traditional types :
i) not spicy: red colour
ii) spicy with coconut milk: yellow colour
iii)spicy non coconut milk:greenish colour
iv)chicken
Tables are laid out with a variety of condiments(which are a huge part of this dish) to add at will. The condiments include: snakebeans, cucumber, cabbage and assorted herbs, boiled egg and chillies. A range of pickles including shallot, vegetables and shoots, very common is the banana shoot with coconut.
The condiments are the secret as no two people experience the dish the same way.
Reddish is the welcoming, softly - spoken host of Bariew Backpacker's Lodge in Bario. He encourages guests to make themselves totally at home - in his home. He leaves you to chill out, but if asked, will provide information about the Highland lifestyle and the Kelabit culture and history, as he is a decendant of these people.
Typical of his generous manner, Reddish conscientiously tailor - made a trek for us. After we explained our interest in local cuisine, he came up with a unique means of achieving a ' food tour ' through the remote parts of the highlands, via treking, longboats and 4WD. After 4 days of Reddish guiding us through the jungle and small villages, we discovered his fun - loving, larrikin nature that wasn't apparent initially. He is an extremely skilled guide and aims to provide an amazing experience, while being sensitive to individual needs.
On organized jungle treks, the accommodation provided is at traditional longhouses, where you are expected to make yourself at home ( and get to meet some inspiring people ). The obvious feeling of remoteness, is balanced by the warmth of the Kelabit people. A minimum of ten families live within one longhouse and while being accommodated with one family, the others all visit to welcome you and have a chat.
You can choose to do all your trekking on foot. Some of the walks can take anything up to 12 hours to complete, some of this is through extremely muddy, mountainous terrain. We chose to break some of our days up by utilising FWD and boat trips up river. This allowed us to socialise more with the wonderful people in the longhouses.
We stayed at Pa' Mada longhouse for 2 nights and had 1 night at Pa Dalih. We were made to feel like family as the longhouse atmosphere was so friendly and laid back. Each family has a seperate kitchen set -up running off a shared area which runs the length of the longhouse. Across a verandah there are individual sleeping and lounge quarters.
( for more information about the Bario Highlands check out the Borneo Jungle Safari website )
Bariew Backpacker's Lodge is centrally located in the Bario township, close to the few shops, churches, internet and local longhouses. It has a small library, including treking maps, historical and cultural information and books and a local guide can be arranged from here. It is warm and comfortable with various lounge areas and displays interesting crafts and artwork.
Rm55 ( AUD$20 ) per person, includes meals; always local produce, including the internationally renowned Bario rice and sweet pineapple and often wild boar , the meals are substantial and satisfying. Self - serve tea and coffee is available all day and beer can be purchased. Reddish and Ness the owners, supply a pick - up and drop - off service to the airport.
The longhouses we visited in the Kelabit Highlands are set in clearings where fruit, vegetables and rice are grown and areas for the oxen, hunting dogs and chickens are provided. The surrounding jungle is a reliable food source. For meal preparation, fresh greens are accessed and the longhouse hunters are able to kill and butcher an animal ( and return home ) in a matter of an hour. This game meat is killed as required and shared with the longhouse inhabitants. Depending on how it is processed, the meat can be kept for a couple of weeks. Common meat options are wild boar, porcupine and deer.
Maran Umong, our host at Pa' Mada village, is an extremely skilled hunter and jungle survivor. We watched him effortlessly butcher and prepare meat ( on the kitchen floor ), after his nightly jaunts. He seems to have the ability to see in the dark and move silently through the jungle. Luke was honoured to accompany Maran on a hunting trip and after 2 hours he returned with 2kgs of mud, a few leeches, a handful of bull ant bites and one shoe. Maran managed a porcupine ( in between cigarettes ) and came home with a big grin and stories about how white men can't hunt.
During our trek through the Highlands, we enjoyed some real taste sensations...
sago worm : eaten raw, it has a slightly nutty, coriander flavour.
wood worm : when raw, the taste is sharp, musty and resin - like.
: roasted wood worm is like pork crackling; fatty, rich and crunchy.
: poached in soup, the raw flavour was intensified.
ginger - flower blossom and shoot : lightly sauteed, it is intensely floral on the palate.
heart of palm : cooked in salted water, creamy and tender texture.
rattan : looks like a stick of bamboo or sugar - cane; stringy texture.
bamboo shoot : crisp,subtle, acidic flavour.
porcupine : slow braised, it is a mixed flavour between oxtail and rabbit, with a gamey essence.
bucking deer : the heart and liver are preferred; usually smoked over open fire. Rich, tender and nutritional.
ROTI DOUGH
Ingredients:
1kg Flour
400mls. Water
2tbs. Melted Butter
1tbs. Salt
1tbs. Sugar
1 cup Milk
Method:
Combine wet ingredients and slowly incorporate flour until mixture comes together.
Kneed for 25 mins, by hand.
Rest for 45 mins.
Mould into golf ball size , rest for 2 hrs.
Coat in butter to stop from sticking.
To Roll:
This is the tricky bit. On a greased flat surface, press out as far as possible by hand . You must then pick up the dough, keeping one hand stable, and flicking out with the other in a fanning motion.
This stretches the dough out until a paper thin consistency is reached. You then fold in half, top to bottom and side to side. Place on a hot grill and fry with a little oil until golden on both sides.
Bon Appetit.
