Take Me Home, Chili Skies
March 19th, 2009
Thailand Post Box
Bangkok, Thailand – After almost a month away from Thailand to visit the Western world, I’m back. Back with an internal system that feels like it was brought to a stuttering halt by huge portions of fried blond foods. Don’t get me wrong. There were things I loved in Austria, like the gorgeous apfel-streusel kuchen that I did a great injustice by scarfing down on the underground, rather than properly nibbling in a cafe while sipping a coffee off a silver tray, or the beef stock soup with noodles and fluffy liver dumplings that was so perfect for all those gray, rainy days. Still the food of this region seems to sing one note, its tone ranging from pale yellow to brown, and it weighs you down, much better for an occasional meal than your daily sustenance. By the time I boarded my plane for Thailand, I felt as though my entire system was clogged up, surely there was goulash slogging along through my veins, potato dumplings bobbing around my knee caps, bits of wiener schnitzel drifting around my brain and a huge chunk of pork knuckle lodged somewhere in my arteries. I wanted it all out.
Now there is certainly little that is ascetic about one of the most immediately pleasurable cuisines on the planet. Yet, I was feeling in need of a cathartic regimen of Thai food. I needed lemongrass and kaffir lime, galangal and holy basil, and chilies, lots of ‘em. My first night in Bangkok, I downed a bowl of tom yum goong, the sour spicy soup with prawns flavored with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, tamarind and more, sputtering and coughing as the chili oil hit the back of my throat and then pressing on drinking down the vivacious liquid. In the next few days, I dumped heaping spoonfuls of dried chilies onto my kuay thiaw (noodle soup) or pad see ew muu (wide noodles stir fried with pork) and fished out fresh chilies from table sauces to add to my krapow muu (stir-fried pork with holy basil). This was no time for neutral. I ordered fresh fruit shakes like they would save my soul, more tom yum goong though I rarely had it in my first 7 months and whatever seemed like it would have the maximum amount of spice and herb, like catfish with a red curry, fresh green peppercorns, lesser ginger and holy basil at my newest neighborhood food shack, where the little boys, helping their mothers with cleanup and table service, smile shyly while telling me their names in English. The vendor sat down next to me with a look of concern on her face. “Phet?” she asked her little foreign customer seriously. “Mai ben rai,” I said, no problem. At least not anymore. I was finally back to normal.
Food Stall Workers Taking a Lunch Break
Tom Yum Goong
Sen Yai Nam Tok Muu (Boat Noodles with Pork)
Catfish in Red Curry with Lesser Ginger and Fresh Green Peppercorns
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