Southeast Asia Files: Favorites and Leasts

I’ve eaten a lot of fantastic food on this trip. A few of my favorites are:

Bahn mi from street vendors

These aren’t too filling and make a good snack. The baguettes used are small, crusty and delicate, and are filled with the usual suspects (pork, cilantro, cucumber) as well as squirted with chili sauce. Yum.

Avocado shake

I had one of these by accident at a little curbside vendor in Hanoi. The sign said “cafe, thé” but when I asked for tea the woman shook her head. She pointed to an avocado and I said “OK!”. She mashed it up and mixed in the blender with coconut milk and sugar. It was smooth, thick and filling.

Bird’s nest

I had this as a dessert in Chiang Mai. The bird’s nest was soaked in sugar water and was served with sweet gingko beans. It had a texture similar to glass noodles, those thin, transparent rice noodles used in spring rolls. I also tried a bird’s nest drink out of a can in Hué, but this was a disappointment. It was mostly sugary water with a few stray bits of stale bird’s nest in the bottom of the can. Not recommended.

Sugarcane drink

I had this one pleasant, gentle evening at the edge of a river in Hoi An. There were several tiny plastic tables and chairs filled with loud Vietnamese people and there was I, the lone foreigner. A woman excitedly ushered me over to an empty table and put a stick of sugarcane in a giant juicing machine. The drink was good, very sweet of course, but was served with a side of chili salt that, when mixed in, gave the drink a depth of flavor and tempered the sweetness. The table next to me was filled with teenage boys who decided to strike up a conversation by yelling “you!” at me a few times and then inquiring as to my name and where I was from. The conversation didn’t progress much beyond that, partly due to the language barrier and partly because I got up to leave. When I did so my foot bumped the little table and my glass toppled to the ground, shattering on the cement, to my horror and to the great amusement of the boys. Not a classy exit, but a memorable one.

Thai Tea

I had this every chance I could get in Thailand. It wasn’t any different from the stuff I get back home but it was much easier to come by. I loved being able to get it anywhere I went.

Mini Custard Pancakes

I’m not sure what these are called but they are quite prevalent in the food markets of Thailand. They are little round bits of fried batter, about the size of a silver dollar, that are formed into a small cup and filled with a coconut milk and green onion custard. The taste is both sweet and savory and very unique.

Now for some of my least favorites:

Salted Lemon Drink

This was a beverage made from preserved lemons, water, and salt, and I tried it at the gift shop of a temple in Hanoi. I had really wanted a lemonade but they were out so they made me this instead. Not wanting to be rude I managed to finish most of it but I had to choke it down. Sour and salty. Gross.

Fermented Soybean

This was probably the most disgusting thing I have ever tried in all my life. I had it at a rather fancy establishment in an expensive hotel in Bangkok. I had heard tell of this dish before so I approached it with cautious curiosity, taking a small, discreet bite. I can’t quite describe the taste, all I can say is that I wanted it out of my mouth as soon as possible. It almost made me naseous. I drank a lot of Thai Tea after to wash the taste away.

Southeast Asia Files: I Can Cook!

I took a Thai cooking class in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Yes me, the girl who does not cook. And you know…it was fun! I think that it’s even something I could reenact at home! Part of my aversion to cooking is the intimidation factor. I’m not familiar with cooking and I’ve convinced myself that it’s something I would not be good at. Well, when you have all of the ingredients prepared for you and a professional chef watching your every move to make sure that you are doing things properly it takes some of the anxiety out of it.

My class consisted of a Dutch couple, a British couple, an Irish couple, two Finnish girls, an Australian guy and myself. I cringed when they asked about my nationality but thankfully didn’t get any anti-American sentiments. Our two Thai instructors were very goofy and did the showman bit while demonstrating the cooking procedures. We got a tour through a local market before the cooking portion, where the ingredients were were going to use were explained to us. The class was very hands-on and we cooked every dish ourselves and then ate them for lunch.

So what did I make? And did it taste all right? The menu was yellow curry with chicken and veggies, steamed fish in banana leaves, stir fried chicken with cashews, lemongrass soup, fried fish cakes, phad thai, and spring rolls. And it all tasted pretty fantastic, if I do say so. The amazing thing was that it was all so easy. I feel like the mystery has been taken out of cooking and a door has been opened into the culinary world. I may never cook these dishes again, but I fully believe that if I wanted to, I could.