Thailand Eats!

A meal in Thailand

When I went to Thailand three years ago, I photographed the food that I ate. Curries, noodle dishes, fried morning glory and delectable papaya salads, this is how I ate my way through Thailand. I think that it was the only time in my life where I ate five times in one day. I just couldn't believe how affordable and delicious everything was and so I couldn't pass anything up. Forget any ideas about trying to stay slim. I guzzled Singha beers and ate spring rolls like J. Wellington Wimpy from Popeye! I found myself photographing my meals before I consumed them, and to this day I admire them with salivating satisfaction.

Thai food is so full of flavor. It inundates your taste buds with a symphony of perfectly blended spices that personally makes me want to sing in an operatic voice. Perhaps this description is over the top. What can I say? I love Thai cuisine! The dishes I ate in Thailand were intrinsically more flavorful than their counterparts  in America. This is often the case when eating from a cuisine's home country. I have to say, when I got back to the States, I had a hard time eating Americanized Thai food. Americanized Thai food is often too sweet and lacks real heat. You can't find fried morning glory ( I absolutely loved this dish) and you never see crab papaya salad. However, there are some places that do taste pretty authentic. If you ever happen to find your self on the Island of Hawaii, try the Thai Thai Restaurant located in Volcano Village. Their papaya salad is to die for and they make a mean green curry. If you are on the West Coast in the city of Sebastopol, try the Thai Issan Restaurant. I love their Tom Kah, a traditional coconut soup with hot pepper and bits of galanga and vegetables.

I like to cook just as much, or perhaps more, than I like to eat out. I love working with fresh ingredients, the therapeutic nature of chopping stuff and the sizzle of the wok or frying pan. And when you cook a good meal and everyone smiles at its conclusion, the feeling is priceless. The first time I attempted to cook Thai cuisine was when I was 12 years old. My mom is a cook book collector. She had boxes and boxes of cook books scattered throughout our home. I remember looking through one of these boxes and happening upon "Keo's Thai Cuisine," and thinking, "I want to eat everything in this book." If you have never cooked Thai food before, check this book out.

Thanks for reading my blog! Hope it was enjoyable and not too corny! Join me next time when I'll be talking about sandwiches and my personal favorite sandwich shop of all time!

cheers!

Jahkotta