Thailand - One year anniversary; Food

Hungry? I am.

 

You know I had to do it. I had to give you a blog dedicated to all the food I've been eating since making Uthai my home.

 

Its been difficult to cook here because of the ingredients available at the farmer's market. I don't have the option to buy some of my favorite vegetables, like spinach. And cornmeal is inexplicably nonexistent here, although corn does grow and sell well. A mystery. Might have to whip out the ol' pistol and motor to make tamales and the such.

 

To put it another way, I've had to conform to a new diet. No longer burning +4,000 calories a day, sweets and other bad habits had to be cut. They couldn't make the team, although they do make guest appearances from time to time.

 

Actually, cutting out excess sugar is somewhat of a battle. Every Thai meal uses at least a pinch of sugar and it is not uncommon to find a dinner table without sugar, hot pepper flakes, and minced chilies swimming in fish oil. They use granulated white sugar as a condiment for crying out loud! Solution? Start cooking at home more (asking the chef to cook without sugar, Ive learned, is an uphill battle that will lengthen the time before you get to eat, and a fight you will eventually loose).  

Lets begin with what my school serves for lunch. Here is a classic meal we get all the time. Chicken and veggies over rice. Sigh...everything is over rice. I love rice, I love white rice. But every meal; breakfast, lunch, and dinner....its frustrating. You cant escape the white grains. Even more frustrating is the prolific presence of type two diabetes among Thais. Carbohydrates from the rice plus the sugar found in meal preparations makes for a bad combination if you are not exercising regularly. And most don't, unfortunately. Ive since turned my kids on to not eating so many treats, but its hard. You know how kids are. And trying to get Thais to stop eating rice? You'd have an easier time convincing the Pope to convert to Islam. What to do?

More rice. This time with pork (beef is rare in Thailand). I try and load up on veggies when and where I can.

Ughhh....this is the worst. I snapped this pic because I could not believe it when I saw it. This is literally a condensed sugar milk sandwich. OK, fine, don't have to eat that. But, and you have to believe me, this is what the school feeds the kids during snack time.

Remember how I said how the locals eat rice three times a day? Here is what is served for breakfast. Its a rice stew with minced pork and cilantro. I have a love/hate relationship here. I love a free breakfast, hate the meal. I limit my intake to twice a week. Other days I eat granola and bananas at home over black (not instant!) coffee.

 

I admit it - I ain't no saint. No way. I indulge. I binge. I love sweets. Here is a favorite creation of mine: Peanut butter and jelly grilled sandwich with Fruit loop cereal. Sure, I know this is horrible. So what the difference between this and the sugar sandwich the school serves the kids at snack time? I don't eat this franken-sandwich every day. Not even every week.

Yes! Real breakfast! Want something done right? Do it yourself.  Eggs, tomatoes, onions, slowly cooked with salt and pepper. Mmmmmm

 

Because of the time difference, I can easily enjoy Sunday night Football on Monday mornings.

 

I have to blame my mother for this one. She is the Queen of making potatoes (home fries style) in the morning with eggs and some chorrizo. I've duplicated the idea, though hers will always be better.

 

 

Egg and ham omelet garnished with rosemary. Amazing! I love weekends for this reason, the time to make a good long breakfast and enjoy it slowly.

I can say with up to 99% certainty that I was the only man making beans and rice that morning. Thais only use kidney beans as dessert. They all think I've gone off the deep end when I eat beans as a meal.

I love breakfast. Along with my franken-sandwich, here is another of my favorite creations. This is a recipe taken from Kate's Cafe on lower Height and Filmore in San Francisco. Introducing the French Toast Orgasm. Yes. Four pieces of french toast, yogurt, honey, and granola topped with fruit and raisins. Ive only made this twice, though now that Ive reminded myself of it, I'll make it this weekend too. Feel free to take my lead.



Apart from breakfast, there are three main categories of food that I will cook again and again and again. One of them is BBQ. However, Nick seems to be on top of the ribs and chicken and such. The other two foods you might be able to guess...

Mexican. Duh. This is obvious. How could I ever live without it? Even if I lived on the South Pole of Earth, you know I would find a way to make some ice tortillas and cold fish tacos. Where there is a will there is a way.

 

One way that this trip has changed me is that my time away from grocery markets has reminded me how simple it is to make your own pico de gallo salsa. I don't think I'll ever buy salsa again, getting too good at making it myself.

You just don't know how much you love something until it is taken away from you. What am I talking about here? I'm talking about tortillas - cant find them here except for one place: Bangkok. I have successfully made some from flour, but you know corn is the winner.

 

 

 

Compilation. Yes, that is an enchilada top right.

Fun fact: a proper Mexican meal has all the carbohydrates, calories, vitamins, nutrients, and taste you'll ever need to survive. Here's another fun fact: it's rumored that when he was a boy, Andrés refused to consume any vegetable unless it was placed appropriately atop a hot slice of pizza.

I eat my veggies on the side now. But some things never chance. And neither should whatever it is you love to eat.

Chances are, you haven't tried my pizza. Funny how creativity springs from necessity. All these mouthwatering meals had to be made by my own hands...because the best Thai pizza is missing cheese and made with ketchup topped with mayo. So here are the best Italian pizzas made by a Mexican in Thailand.

 

 

It begins here. Late night, ingredients for bread, tomato sauce, cheese and toppings. A 32oz bottle of Thai beer, some music, and 45 minutes later you have....

Seasoned bacon tomato with mozzarella

BBQ chicken tomato and mozzarella

Tomato and ham with cheddar cheese

Salami, onion, yellow bell pepper, tomato and a mix of cheese

Caramelized onions, green and yellow bell peppers, BBQ chicken and two layers of cheese

Love this one. Bell pepper, tomato, onions, garlic, and northern Thai sausage

 

Have some more! We have plenty. In between the coffee maker and the microwave in the far back is the oven used to cook these cheese morsels. Only one fits at a time, which is, very inconvenient. One is devoured before it has time to cool.

I choose not to highlight the variety of Thai food consumed over the months Ive spend here because, well, they had little to do with me. Most of the time its rice and meat, noodles and meat, or rice and noodles with me doing little less than paying the 20 to 40 baht it cost to sit at a decent eatery.

Here's to hoping that you take a few days out of your week to get back into that kitchen! Not many things are free-er than the freedom to cook your own food your way.
Much much love,
-A