Travel-Trotter

On the eve of our leaving Thailand I would be remiss if I didn’t take a look back at the food in the Indochina or mainland Southeast Asia. The peoples, cultures and ingredients on this peninsula make it arguably the best food on the planet. We enjoyed food from each of the country we have visited: Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.  All had some great dishes but Thailand has to be our favorite. From Tom Yom Goong (soup) to Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Noodles) to grilled fish and the curry.

Our cooking class in Chiang Mai was amazing, all the dishes were incredible and the girls even tasted many of them. Maddy’s favorite was probably the Penang curry.  I am obsessed with the soups, I was a bit disappointed with pho in Vietnam, although crispy pork made up for it.

The seafood has been amazing in most places, loved the grilled prawns and fried squid were a big hit with the girls.  We have loved the street food especially in Bangkok, it is usually really inexpensive and has not gives us intestinal distress to date.  The hot pots have been especially fun, we have seen a few varieties, like the ones in Luang Prabang and Hanoi. In Luang Probang they had an amazing buffet of uncooked food and you boiled whatever you wanted in a soup of noodles and broth, spices and straight up cubes of fat, really whatever you wanted in them.  Hanoi they just brought you heaping plates of veggies and meat.  Both were fantastic gatherings for the family.

The girls didn’t always try all the food but 1 or two times a week we were forced to have an all Asian food meal and they would try things and actually liked some dishes especially Mimi, we have had refusals more often than not. Here are a few recipes from our cooking class that were our favorites. See you in Penang, Malaysia.