Showing 1 - 3 of 3
Roadside stalls step up to the plate
B Magazine, Suthon Sukphisit, Published on 17/04/2016
» 'Roadside warriors" is a great title for the intrepid vendors that cook food-to-order at stalls and shops beside many roads and lanes in every province throughout Thailand. But not all who buy their food hold it in high esteem. Many customers don't really like this kind of eating and settle for it only when they have no other option.
'Pla Ra': Don't follow your nose
B Magazine, Suthon Sukphisit, Published on 30/06/2013
» Three things that are absolutely essential to Thai cooking are kapi, nam pla and pla ra. Without them Thai food would be as insipid as dishwater. And Thailand isn't the only country whose cuisine depends on them. The cooking of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam couldn't exist without them either. Each of these countries keeps improving the quality of their kapi, nam pla and pla ra in their efforts to get their versions respected as the best of all. The Central region is not the only area where pla ra is eaten. It is part of the daily diet of practically every person in every household in Isan. One of the simplest ways to eat it is just to dip some sticky rice into pla ra and follow it with some chillies. For other meals, when different kinds of food are eaten, every dish, every sauce, every nam prik will contain it.
The ugly truth about coconuts
B Magazine, Suthon Sukphisit, Published on 23/09/2012
» Coconuts have been an important economic crop in Thailand for centuries. The farms and plantations that grow them extend over island and mainland landscapes from Surat Thani through Chumpon and Prachuap Khiri Khan, up through Phetchaburi and Samut Songkhram, and every part of the coconut tree has its place in Thai life. It would be impossible to calculate the amount of coconut cream, the subject of last week's column, that is cooked into Thai savoury dishes and desserts every day. Considering these facts it seems incredible that most coconut farmers in the country are impoverished, and that their fortunes seem certain to decline further in the future. But this is the case, in large part because of the way the marketing system is operated by the businesses that control it.