On a journey through Nakhon Ratchasima (Khorat) and the Northeast of Thailand, do not forget to sample its local cuisine, Isaan food. The taste of the Northeastern (Isaan) food is stronger, more salty, sour and spicy than elsewhere in the country and some dishes are actually influenced by traditions from Laos.
Characteristics of Isaan food
One unique characteristic of Isaan food is that pla ra (fermented fish) constitutes a main dish in almost every meal. It is plainly eaten with glutinous rice or added to other dishes.
Another famous Isaan dish is Som Tam (green papaya salad). An original northeastern food, it is normally eaten with glutinous rice and grilled chicken.
Isaan cuisine: eating bugs!
The people of the region famously eat a wide variety of creatures, such as lizards, frogs and fried insects such as grasshoppers, silkworms and dung beetles. Originally forced by poverty to be creative in finding foods, Isaan people now savor these animals as delicacies.
A classic Isaan meal
A "classic" Isaan meal would be Laap (meat salad), Nam Tok, Som Tam and fried chicken, eaten with sticky rice as a side-dish. Sticky rice is made with the glutinous variety. It literally does stick together -- and it is supposed to because Isaan food is usually eaten with your hands, balling up a bit of rice, then picking up a small amount of food and putting it together in your mouth.
Som Tam Recipe
Som Tam or raw Papaya salad is a typical Isaan dish. It is a basic "salad" style dish, eaten as a snack.
Som Tam can be made with or without the pla ra (fermented and pickled mud fish). Potential cooks are warned: this ingredient mells foul! The pickled mud fish is sold in bottled form in Asian markets: take some of the fish, add a little fish sauce, and place it in a muslin bag and squeeze as much fluid as possible from the fish (you can use the fish themselves, but they are raw, albeit pickled, and their is some risk from parasites. If you use the fish paste itself I suggest you first microwave it to ensure it is safe to eat).
Som Tam Ingredients:
- 1 papaya (paw-paw) julienned
- an equal quantity of red prik ki nu (birdseye or dynamite chiles); these are normally de-stalked, cut in four lengthwise then in half crosswise
- 8 to 10 cloves garlic, chopped coarsely
- 2 tomatoes, sliced thinly
- 1/2 cup long beans, cut into 1-inch pieces (Thai long beans if possible)
- pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1/4 cup tamarind juice
- juice from 2 tablespoons pickled mud-fish
Som Tam Preparation:
Sprinkle the julienned papaya with salt and let stand for half an hour or so, then squeeze and discard any fluid. add the chili, and pound in a mortar and pestle, add the remaining ingredients except the tomato, and pound until mixed and tender. Add the tomato, and serve with a bowl of sticky rice.
This is food for chili masochists in extremis: you can increase the proportion of chiles until this is a bowl of red fire, and it will still be authentic. On the other hand you can reduce the chiles to just a hint is left and it will also still be authentic. The above 50:50 mix is about typical of the region.
If you wish you can decorate the salad with chopped roast peanuts, sliced green onions, and mint leaves. You could also include raw bean sprouts and sliced cucumber as side dishes. Thais generally eat lettuce or some cabbage related vegetable as a side dish also (the normal way to eat it is to rip a piece of lettuce leaf, and take a mouthful of som tam in the leaf and eat it without knife, fork or spoon).
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