Recommended prerequisites:
1. Siamese Chili Relishes – The Professional Chef’s Guide
2. How to prepare the basic fermented shrimp paste chili relish (น้ำพริกกะปิมาตรฐาน)
In this dish, slices of pork belly are coated with a sticky sauce; the sauce is reduced from braising a slice of grilled salted fish with coriander roots, garlic and white peppercorns (saam gluuhr). The dish is served with a sour-leading green mango chili relish that adds tartness with fiery accents to the saltiness of the pork. The salted fish gives the pork an initial fishy aroma that, although robust, gives way to a sense of home as it merges into the sourness and fruitiness of the mango chili relish. As an ingredient commonly used in the kitchens of rice-growing communities, salted fish signifies a comforting familiarity that conveys simplicity and warmth to the table. I like to pair the salted, fishy pork with seasoned rice dishes in which sour-leading relishes are mixed with rice along with other condiments.
Seasoned rice dishes have been a staple of rice-consuming societies almost since the first grains were cultivated. Adapted according to local resources, traditions and individual preferences, seasoned rice dishes are relished and savored across all walks of life. Within Siamese society, these dishes offer insight into the flavor instincts and eating habits across all demographics, revealing which food items were locally available and valued.
In this delicious seasoned rice recipe from the kitchens of the daughter of King Chulalongkorn, Princess Yaovabha Bongsanid (พระเจ้าบรมวงศ์เธอ พระองค์เจ้าเยาวภาพงศ์สนิท) (1884-1934), the Princess uses a variety of common preserved and inexpensive ingredients, clearly drawing inspiration from the cuisine of the Central Plains with nods to the rural and coastal living atmosphere.
Yam sohm choon is a sour green mango salad served with grilled fermented shrimp paste; roughly chopped shallots; sweet pork condiment, deep-fried fluffy grilled catfish and seasoned with fish sauce, palm sugar and lime juice and topped with deep-fried dry chilies cut into small pieces.
If you follow Thai movies and TV dramas, you probably remember Sohm Choon, the adorable boy ghost character from the period romance movie Reun Mayura (1997), which was a love story between a beautiful woman and a handsome man living in different periods of time.
Originating in the early 1800s, Metropolitan Chili Relish is cheerful and complex, yet unassuming – a subtly epic relish composed of more than 20 ingredients, some of which are seasonal. The relative absence of this relish from contemporary menus could be attributed to its difficult-to-assemble ingredient list, coupled with a dwindling number of chefs who are adept at its preparation.
However, despite its intricate composition, the relish adheres to the same foundational culinary principles of other shrimp paste (kapi) chili relishes. Here, though, the savoriness is strengthened with smoke-dried fish, grilled shrimp and pork fat crackling; and the relish is seasoned to a citrus-infused, fruity, sour-sweet leading and salty to follow flavor profile, to which numerous sour and sour-sweet elements are mixed in – akin to a deep-rooted tree extending its branches to bear colorful fruits that shine in varying shades of a tartness.
Naam phrik lohng reuua (น้ำพริกลงเรือ) – Literally translated as “boat embarking chili relish”, this particular boat seems to have drifted a long way from port and these days, the actual dish served in Thai restaurants is far away from the original version. We want to tell you the real story behind this dish and to present you with the original version’s recipe in its true character – as if the boat is still moored at the dock.
Gaaeng naawk maaw is a light and refreshing soup served at room temperature. The ingredients are meticulously sliced as if for a salad, placed in a serving bowl, and covered with a salty and naturally sweet shrimp broth. At the table, diners can adjust the soup to their preferred flavor profile using granulated sugar, lime juice, or pickled garlic brine; hence the name – gaaeng naawk maaw – which literally means “a curry dish outside the pot” or “to cook curry outside the pot”. (Note: The word gaaeng (แกง) in Thai is both a verb and a noun).
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