Cooking in Korat
A month before I travelled to northern Thailand to learn Thai cooking with Hanuman at Three Trees, Emily and I discussed taking a trip with our Thai teacher, Sunny, to her home town in Korat, which is about a four hour drive. Our friend M (short for Marianna) and Sunny’s brother ended up deciding to join us as well.
I wanted to see the difference in cooking practices between Hanuman, a man who has spent years of his life enveloped in research and working with chefs of every caliber, and a country-side, Thai-Chinese family who used to own a restaurant a decade ago. I had fresh eyes having come straight from Hanuman’s classes and was excited to be introduced to new ways of cooking and viewing food. Sunny prepped her family that there would be farangs visiting who wanted to learn about the dishes being made and who also wanted to help make the dishes.
On our way to Korat we stopped by a large dam to take a break from driving. Coming from Seattle where water surrounds you, it was so refreshing to see a large body of water again.
Along the way Sunny informed us that some of her family would also be visiting this weekend. A few of her aunts and uncles would be there along with some of her elementary school friends that she hasn’t seen in decades. She mentioned the last time her family got together like this was many years ago. We knew this weekend would be special for Sunny and wanted to be a fly on the wall as she enjoyed being back home and spending time with family.
When we arrived in Korat, Sunny’s brother opened the gates to their property. Similar to where my family is from in Mexico, the land you live on is more than just the house you sleep in. The compound had multiple small units where different members of the family stayed. It also had space for multiple cars to park. The whole property had vegetation that the family used as ingredients in their cooking. I saw makrut lime, mango, banana, and papaya trees. I saw bird's eye chilies alongside basil and lemongrass. Sunny’s family even had a cow and its calf on the property in its own pen as a show cow, not for food. A few dogs lived within the property as well.
The kitchen area was covered but still outside (as are most Thai home kitchens). There was plenty of space for all of us to roam around and see what the farm and homestead had to offer.
As we exited the vehicle and approached the kitchen area, we saw Sunny’s mom and grandma hard at work preparing our lunch for the day. You could tell right away that these women were hard working and bad ass. They did not have time for long hellos. Food needed to be made and they needed our help.
I started pounding the ingredients for som tum (papaya salad) and cutting vegetables. Sunny’s aunt was grilling chicken wings and Sunny’s mom was frying up some pork. The khanom jeen (fermented noodles) was already made and ready to eat. Sunny’s friends arrived and we all gathered to eat our first meal together.
Everything was delicious. We stuffed ourselves. It was a delight.
As soon as our bellies were full, (as Sunny warned us) her mom and grandma began prepping for dinner.
Her mom cut some ingredients for a curry paste. This was it. I was prepared for this. I analyzed the ingredients she was preparing and noticed the variable for the paste. Use dried medium body red chilies, don’t use roots, and substitute makrut leaves for zest. Boom. I can replicate that no problem. Thanks Hanuman! My right arm was trained for this.
Mom took me around her property to show me ingredients and types of fruit trees. She had handmade tools that she would use to get the high hanging fruit needed for some of our dishes.
Mom also put me in charge of making and finishing the laap. Had I known no one else was going to check my seasoning before serving it, I would have changed a few things, but alas it was too late. Next, M and I worked on making a dish called ho mok bai yoh which consisted of making a bowl-like structure out of banana leaf and filling it with ingredients to steam. We had to cut down a large branch from a tree to use its leaves. The fruit of this tree translated to vomit fruit, which we all thought was quite funny.
I enjoyed that Sunny’s family prepares the majority of meals on the floor on mats. It made it so everyone was around the food together working and we could talk easily amongst each other.
Dinner was again delicious. We were all still stuffed from lunch by the time dinner was ready. We mentally made room in our stomachs and continued eating. No regrets.
One of Sunny’s aunts, named Prim, brought many bottles of wine with her on her visit. She graciously shared several glasses with us as we ate. After being good and tipsy, we said goodnight to her family and went to our hotel. We got ready to go see the town square and find a jazz bar to have a nightcap. Sunny’s friends joined us as we found a nearby place to drink.
The following day was our last full day with Sunny’s family. We woke up at our hotel and made our way to Grandma’s. When we got there they had sweet treats waiting for us from the market and mom had already fried up some pork for us to snack on.
For lunch we took the left over laap from the night before and fried them into balls for a snack. We made som tum as well as a pumpkin dish and bplaa lui suan (fish with mango salad with herbs and chili paste).
After these initial dishes for lunch Emily and I were in the midst of a food coma. So we decided to walk around the area a bit and also make friends with the cows. The mama cow was definitely protective of her calf but also wanted all our pets for herself. Later we took a nap on a mat that Grandma graciously provided after seeing us slumped on the chairs. We woke up refreshed and ready to jump into helping make dinner which was well on its way.
For dinner we made some of Sunny’s favorite dishes. We made two soups, a dish called bplaa pad kuenchaii (chinese celery and fish with oyster sauce) and pad mee Korat. This last dish was a local version of pad thai but without shrimp and tamarind paste.
Sunny told us that her grandpa was going to show us his recipe for a nam jim or dip. You use young mango which is very sour to dip into the paste that was rich with flavor. She let us know that this dip has no name it’s just a family tradition and the last time her grandpa made was years ago because it’s only made on special occasions. We knew we all wanted to take some home with us so we made an enormous amount of it. This required a lot of prep. While Grandpa never got out of his seat, he directed what all of us had to do to make the nam jim. I won’t spoil the recipe but it was quite delicious and you only needed a dab or two because of how dense the flavor was.
We ended the night with Auntie Prim sharing more wine with us as well as whiskey this time. After a short while we said our goodbyes and had an early night at the hotel. Em and I took some time to catch up and take it easy.
Our last day in Korat was a quick one. We got up early to eat breakfast at Grandma’s. It consisted of two stir-frys, a soup, and another batch of pad mee Korat.
We gathered the leftover food in to-go containers to take home as well as some mangos and papaya from their garden. We took photos with the family and made sure to get plenty with just Sunny and her family.
It was a pleasure to be fed by these wonderful women who really know how to make a meal that is aroy mak (very delicious). We were thankful for their gracious hospitality and hope to see them again soon. Maybe the next time Mom and Grandma visit Bangkok, Sunny and I can prepare food for them. Either way, our time was short but endearing and well spent.
On our way back to Bangkok, we stopped by at a store that sells local products from Korat. It is common in Thailand to stop at one of these kinds of stores to pick up local ingredients or goodies before going back to your home. We picked up lots of sweet treats to snack on for the next week or so.
We also stopped by the Jim Thompson Farm. If you don’t know Jim Thompson, check out more about him and his strange disappearance here. He was an American businessman who helped to popularize the Thai silk industry. The farm covers over 230 acres of land. It definitely has a 60s hippie vibe to it with art installations scattered throughout. There were large open busses that drove from area to area around the farm dropping off and picking up people and taking them to the next area. It almost reminded us of a wagon ride around a farm, but not quite.
You can take however long you want wandering the land and then when you are ready you meet back at a pick up spot to head to the next area. Food stalls and small shops were at each stop. This was definitely a Thai tourist spot as we were the only farangs there. We spent a few hours in the nice weather checking out all the flowers and installations. While the farm was a cool pitstop on our way home, we are glad that we didn’t go out of our way to visit it since it was slightly underwhelming.
Overall our weekend was packed with food and great company. It served as a reminder that Em and I have a long way to go in learning the Thai language. It was great to see Thai food in a more relaxed setting as opposed to the formal intensive setting I experienced at Three Trees. I appreciate both perspectives and hope to continue to find ways of cooking alongside other Thai locals and learning from them.
Emily and I have about a week and a half before her “winter” break begins where we will have three weeks to explore around areas of Thailand we have yet to see and return to places like Chiang Mai. Stay safe. Wear a mask.
