Food in Nong Khai

[thartley]

With the river flooding, MutMee was literally underwater.  So, what to do for breakfast?  I usually get a fruit plate in the mornings with whatever else I order.  The fruit here is just to die for.  And you hardly ever get the same thing twice.  It all depends on what is good that day or week.

So, down Mee Chai Road, just down from the ILC, I picked up some oranges and a grapefruit.  The oranges are more like tangerines here, and when they are ripe, they are still green.  I don't know what to say about the grapefruit.  Well, I call it a grapefruit because that is what it smells and tastes like.  Visually, its NOTHING like those we have in the states.  These can be as big as bowling balls, they are also green when ripe, and the pulp inside can be as big as the end of my pinky finger!  You can buy them whole, like from the tree, or you can get them already peeled and sectioned.  If I knew how long it was going to take for me to hack away the peeling and then actually peel it, I would have gotten it already done.  But I enjoyed the fresh smells coming from it while I hacked away.








Then I pedaled down to the market around the corner and picked up three bananas and some fresh pineapple.  That would be good for a fruit plate.  I'm not a fan of papaya, and I seem to get that alot.  Didnt see any mangoes larger than my fist, so I skipped those.

I decided to stroll around the vegetable end of things and man!  There was a table set up that had everything you would need to make curry.  The kind Laurie and I get has all this stuff in it, potatoes, different green things (maybe parsley, or something, I am not sure, but green leafy herbs) that smelled like heaven.  Lots of peppers, carrots, I wanted to get everything, but I dont have any way to cook them.  So I settled on two potatoes that I could cook in the microwave.  The potatoes here are not white, like back home.  They are more of a buttery, yukon gold.  And very sweet.  I know when we get french fries at OJ's, I've often thought they tasted sweet and wondered if they put sugar or something in the oil.  But it is literally just the potato.  Delicious. 

When I got home, I went ahead and cooked the potatoes.  Each potato only took about 4 minutes to be perfectly done. 

Laurie wants another potato for breakfast tomorrow, so I will make sure I take a picture of it cooked with something white next to it, so you can see how golden yellow it is.   

[KitKat]

thartley, I'm thrilled you started this thread.  When I was in Nong Khai I wanted to try their fruit, but I was not brave enough.  I wish now I had b/c everything you've tried sounds delicious.  However did you know they were ripe?     Have you tried their bananas and pineapples?
I remember seeing the huge grapefruit sections packaged for sell at Tesco.

[Ginafish]

That grapefruit is GI NOrmOUs! and the amount of pith to get through! ay yi yi!

All that fresh fruit sounds so delicious, and potatoes are good no matter which way they are cooked! I need to do a search and see if you can microwave a curry. I know you can cook rice that way.... and veggies can be steamed in the microwave...hmm....

[thartley]

Kitkat-I just watch what other people buy and ask people who speak english.  One man had a bag of the green oranges in the elevator and I asked him if they were oranges, and he said yes.  So I asked him if they were ripe but still green and he laughed and told me yep, that's the way they are here.  They aren't really oranges as you think of, like a valencia or a navel.  They taste just exactly like tangerines to me.  Which now explains why the "orange juice" even though its fresh squeezed, tastes a little different than I expected.   

The grapefruit, yes, they do sell them sectioned at Tesco and I nearly bought some when I was there last week, but if I can get it from a person at the market, I try to do that.  They can use the money more than Tesco. LOL!  But the REALLY funny thing is, you can buy them whole (mine still had the limb attached to it with leaves!), you can buy them peeled, skinned and ready to eat, or you can get them PARTIALLY peeled.  And I only today realized that is what I've been seeing.  You will see these big things that look almost like a giant turnip or rutabaga that has got the outer skin cut away.  I now know, those are grapefruits with just the outer peel cut off! 

Ginafish-I dont think I would opt to make curry in the microwave only because it is too easy to go down the street and get it all done for you with rice, at a local cafe.  It requires milk and all sorts of stuff that I would not use up fast enough, so I know stuff would go to waste.  I will continue to support the locals and let them do the curry.  I could never make it as good as these folks know how to make it!   

I do think the lady at the vegetable stand laughed at me a little when I bent down to smell the cilantro and dill.   

[M3R1IN]

That grapefruit is actually called pomello in north america, i paid a ridiculous price for it in Canada i think like $10 for one and over there i can get one for like $1.50, but pomello are so much nicer tasating than grapefruit.
Those oranges taste a lot like mandarin oranges and tangerines combined... its a kind of deeper richer taste to them i guess.. not as tart as valencia or navel oranges.. and they have a bit of an aftertaste too.....
I remember the first morning I was in Thailand when I went there the first time in 2005, I ordered a western breakfast with orange juice and i almost spit it out because it was surprised at how rich the taste was..it doesnt taste bad its just not what I expected..... sometimes I would go to 7-11 and get some tropicana orange juice just to have a taste of home.

Has something happened to the 2 hotplates and the cookware I bought for the ILC kitchen?  you mentioned that you had no way to cook the curry vegetables.

[Ginafish]

M3R1IN, Terri and her daughter live in the same condo complex that Sean did, so I think they try to eat mostly at their place.

[M3R1IN]

oh, Thartley, you need to just go grab some of the stuff from the ILC kitchen if you wanna cook... it is for the use of the ILC volunteers after all

[M3R1IN]

So.. heres a few of my pictures of food in Nongkhai...



not too sure this qualifies as food according to the western pallet but...



never fear... there is a light at the end of the tunnel....



This lady is cooking a specialty that many muslim families have a family recipe for, its called "Roti", but the Thais call it "loti" because they dont say the "R" properly but roti are so so good...if I were homer simpson i would say, "mmmmmm..... roti"  instead of doughnut...
They are like a light crispy crepe that they roll up with condensed milk and sugar inside and then cut into pieces... they also cook them with an egg inside or bananas... so delightful.

I always said "sam hah baht loti kap" to them which is " three 5 baht roti please" because the ones I like are 5 baht and I dont know how to say "condensed milk and sugar" in thai.

[M3R1IN]

More food pics!

[KitKat]

  Your food pics look really delicious.  Was the ice cream sundae from Swensens?    In the fruit stand photo, I only recognize  grapes, possibly coconut  and bananas.  Don't have a clue as to the other fruits.  What are the brown, finger shaped thingies? Thanks for the pics.  They brought back lots of memories eating in Nong Khai! 

[M3R1IN]

the sundae came from coffee talk.  The brown finger like things are tamrind i think...
The red fruits are roseapples, the green and red ones are dragonfruit, theres also some kiwi type things there and apple-pears.

[ianh68]

Keep this strand going. It is ace! Where are the best paces to eat in Nong Khai? Restaurants and street stalls. Has anyone bought one of those big cooked fishes from the Mekong? They are often to be found at road side stalls and are out of this world!

[PK]

Great pics, M3R1IN. But bad image host.

http://www.isarapix.org  (wink, wink)

[thartley]

Keep this strand going. It is ace! Where are the best paces to eat in Nong Khai? Restaurants and street stalls. Has anyone bought one of those big cooked fishes from the Mekong? They are often to be found at road side stalls and are out of this world!

Ianh68--do you mean THESE fish?  No, I have not tried them.  They scare me a little (okay, alot).  They are stuffed with some kind of leaves and look like they are salted or something (?)  These are sold at a place about two doors or so down from the ILC.



I skipped the fish, but I did get some chicken, on a stick.  They cook it over a coal grill and is pretty good.  (Pic to follow when I actually eat it later.)

[M3R1IN]

seriously Thartley, the fish are excellent if you like fish.. they are stuffed with an herb boquet that flavors them from the inside out and they are crusted in salt to help cook properly....
They also make another kind of fish i think its called "plaa thod sahm rohd" or something like that but it is the same kind of fish but they cut slits in the skin after its been scaled and cleaned and then they deep fry it whole or in large sectons... oh my goodness it is simply divine, it tastes like chicken actually but so nice and crispy... mmmmm
I only had it 3 times there out of the 7 months I had lived in Thailand for.... i think its expensive or just for special occasions or something... Ask Ming she will know what I am talking about.

[PK]

I ate a fried cricket and it tasted like chicken.  Why does everything taste like chicken?

[Ming]

B/c that's all you can taste, i guess.

Terri,Yes, it's a little to lots of  scary.

Those leaves are all Thai herb like lemongrass, Leech Lime's leave. It's help about smell. And strew the salt all over then grill it. We call it grilled fish.
Normally we eat it with side dishes like the second pic.  Thai people like it.

[thartley]

B/c that's all you can taste, i guess.

Terri,Yes, it's a little to lots of  scary.

Those leaves are all Thai herb like lemongrass, Leech Lime's leave. It's help about smell. And strew the salt all over then grill it. We call it grilled fish.
Normally we eat it with side dishes like the second pic.  Thai people like it.

What is the sauce in the little dipping bowl in the first pic?  They gave me some of that in a small bag with my chicken but I didnt open it.  Afraid its fish sauce.

[Ming]

No,it's not a fish sauce but good you didn't open it b/c it's  a chili sauce!

It's a little spicy. You know a little spicy for Thai mean.

[thartley]

Ming, that chili sauce is DELICIOUS!  True enough, my teeth are on fire right now, but that was seriously a wonderful sauce.  It is kind of like a sweet and sour and HOT sauce.

I dont think they gave me enough. haha!!

[ianh68]

Ianh68--do you mean THESE fish?  No, I have not tried them.  They scare me a little (okay, alot).  They are stuffed with some kind of leaves and look like they are salted or something (?)  These are sold at a place about two doors or so down from the ILC.



I skipped the fish, but I did get some chicken, on a stick.  They cook it over a coal grill and is pretty good.  (Pic to follow when I actually eat it later.)

Yes, thartley, these are the fish I mean, though the ones in Ming's picture don't look the same. Now, I am seriously fussy about street food and will not eat meat or even peeled fruit (though maybe I am doing NK a disservice after bad experiences in Bangkok). However, the fish have me sold. Buy them when they are still hot, and you can share one, eating with your fingers and wrapping your portion in herbs. No cholesterol, too! Just watch out for bones.

Come to think of it the fish we bought certainly looked like yours but was just plain cooked fish, not stuffed with anything. We got it from a stall on the edge of town. I'll chase up the Thai name for it.

[thartley]

Do they give you the herbs to wrap them with when you buy the fish?  (I'm trying to get my nerve up)

[ianh68]

Do they give you the herbs to wrap them with when you buy the fish?  (I'm trying to get my nerve up)

M3R1IN has it sussed, I'm still learning. What I've discovered is that the herb bouquet was removed from my fish and discarded before I ate it. What I've also learned is that the vendor will give you some other herbs to wrap the fish in as part of the deal at around 50 Baht if you ask for "seu bplah nin neung choot" or ซื้อปลานิล หนึ่งชุด. What you get is enough for at least two people.

[thartley]

Ok, I am resolved to trying the fish before I leave in October.    I looked at them again today, but was going to wait until I heard back from you.

For today, I was able to get to the vendors on Mee Chai and I bought some of these.  I dont remember now what Ming told me they were called, but they are very good.  Peeling them makes my fingers very sticky, and you can see there are lots of ants on them if you click on and expand the pic enough.    But I washed them really good and took them off the branch and into a bowl.



I also picked up more potatoes, a carrot, a small onion, and more grilled chicken.  So dinner was a baked potato with butter, steamed carrots and onion, and grilled chicken with a sweet chili sauce!  YUM!   And we have some local fruit for dessert.

 

(the bananas were beautiful, but took a beating in my bike basket on the way back to my place.   

[Ginafish]

That looks like an awesome dinner! It's just missing the blue clay Isara man! Now the thing you peeled, what did it taste like? Was it a fruit? I'm not quite  sure from your post.

I'm looking forward to hearing about the fish. Sounds divine with the herbs steamed inside!