Vegetarian Festival Be Damned: Hand Me the Pork Skewers
October 6th, 2008
On one of the final nights of the World Gourmet Festival, there was panic in the kitchen. The distinguished guest that night was HRH Princess Soamsawali and, as the chefs had just found out, she was observing Thailand’s annual Vegetarian Festival (also known as the Jay Festival). Planning for the World Gourmet Festival begins 6-12 months out and because many of the ingredients used by Western chefs aren’t readily available in southeast Asia sourcing also takes a high level of coordination, but now, at the very last minute, the menu had to be changed and ingredients substituted.
During the first nine lunar days in the ninth month of the Chinese calendar, Chinese communities around Thailand engage in spiritual cleansing by performing sacred rituals and abstaining from meat, alcohol, and sexual activity, among other things. Since my spirit is beyond cleansing, I haven’t yet jumped into the festival and besides in Chiang Mai, where I am now, the Chinese-Thai community isn’t as prominent as it is elsewhere.
After hopping around Bangkok’s hotel bars and sceney restaurants, I was ready to get back to some local digs. For my first lunch back in Chiang Mai, I headed to the strip of jumping lunch joints on Intrawarowat in between Jhaban and Prapokkaloa. Though I probably should have branched out, I returned to Kiat-O-Cha, a sunny open-air restaurant with ultra high-turnover that offers just a few items – moo satay (pork skewers), khao man kai (chicken over rice) and fried chicken or pork served over rice – to a predominately local Thai clientele. The exterior has no English sign, but the owners are friendly and the menu is short. I ordered moo satay, khao man kai and a pepsi with ice.
The moo satay is marinated in curry spices and coconut milk, grilled and served with a thick, sweet peanut sauce and cucumbers, onions, and hot peppers marinated in vinegar and sugar, reminiscent of the Japanese cucumber salad my mother used to make. The meat is simple, sweet and tender. Likewise the khao man kai is equally well-executed in its simplicity, boiled chicken served over steamed rice and spiced up with a zingy soy bean sauce of soy sauce, ginger and chilies. Alongside my order, I was served a bowl of chicken broth, as is often complimentary in street food spots, flavored with scallions, cilantro and local mushrooms. In between bites of the sweet satay and the spicy chicken, I spooned the hot, savory broth into my mouth. Really, I don’t how anyone could celebrate abstaining from this.
Soy Bean Sauce for Khao Man Kai and Chicken Broth Soup
Khao Man Kai
Kiat-o-Cha on Th Intrawarowat
Chopping up boiled chicken at Kiat-o-Cha on Th Intrawarowat
Grilling moo satay at Kiat-o-Cha on Th Intrawarowat
No Responses to “Vegetarian Festival Be Damned: Hand Me the Pork Skewers”