Light Lunch Thailand by Ruth Paget

Light Lunch Thailand by Ruth Paget 

I first time I tried Thai cuisine was at Thai 55th in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago when I was a student at the University of Chicago. I absolutely loved satay chicken kebabs with spicy curry dips, stir-fried noodle dishes, and red or green curries over rice. The food was exotically tropical with sleet falling outside and my feet warming up in my snow boots inside. 

The following 5 dishes are a great introduction to Thai cuisine. You can now buy green and red curry paste online, which makes many of the book’s recipes a cinch to make.

p.18 – Satay Chicken Skewers 

-For marinated chicken: 

-chicken strips 

-coriander 

-turmeric 

-cumin 

-coconut cream 

 -dipping sauce 

 -red curry paste 

-peanuts 

-coconut milk 

-tamarind sauce 

p.64 – Hakka-style Fried Noodles 

-pork fillet 

-reconstituted dried squid 

-egg noodles 

-light soy sauce 

-dark soy sauce 

-garlic chives 

-bean sprouts 

p.68 – Stir-Fried Minced Pork with Chilies and Basil 

-Thai chilies 

-basil 

-garlic 

-minced pork 

-oyster sauce 

-light soy sauce 

-eggs 

p.236 – Deep-Fried Fish with Turmeric 

-white fish 

-garlic 

-turmeric 

-coriander roots 

p.244 – Chicken Braised in Rice with Turmeric and Spices 

-chicken legs 

-curry powder 

-turmeric 

-coriander 

-cumin -cinnamon 

-evaporated milk 

-jasmine rice 

-shallots 

In addition to these recipes from Thailand: From the Source published by Lonely Planet, youtube has many videos about Thai food by Mark Wiens. 

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Click for Ruth Paget's Books

Celebrating Beauty at a Thai Loy Krathong Festival with Juilliard Graduate Florence Paget and Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Celebrating Beauty at a Thai Loy Krathong Festival with Juilliard Graduate Florence Paget and Savvy Mom Ruth Paget 

When I read about the Thai Loy Krathong Festival in the newspaper, I convinced my family to go by noting they would have traditional dancers, an orchestra, and good food.

Loy Krathong usually falls in November and celebrates the goddess of water named Phra Mae Kongka according to the brochure handed out at the festival, which was held at the Filipino American Community Club in Marina, California.

The brochure further stated that Loy Krathong began in the thirteenth century during the Kingdom of Sukothai.  Queen Nang Noppamas, who may be a mythical character, made a boat with candles and incense in it and floated it down river to honor Phra Mae Kongka.

Beauty contests are run during Loy Krathong to honor Queen Nang Noppamas and one was held for a junior king and queen at the Loy Krathong Festival we attended.  All the children were dressed in traditional Thai costumes, and the girls had their hair done up in buns to resemble crowns.  I knew the deciding factor for the winners would be something like who had helped the most at the festival.

My family participated at the festival as audience members and diners.  My husband Laurent, daughter Florence, and I admired the Thai dancers.  There was a small orchestra set up with Thai xylophones called ranads.  Ranads have 21 or 22 bars and get their vibrating sound from a boat-shaped resonator.  Unlike Western resonators, Thai musicians play ranads with two mallets. 

We watched the entertainment as we sipped Thai iced tea made of strong, sugary tea with condensed milk over ice.  I bought fried plantains for my family and a dish called palo, which was a pork stew with boiled eggs that had been flavored with cinnamon and star anise.  It had a wonderful aroma and tasted good, too.

We sat with an American man whose wife was Thai.  He was the chief winemaker at one of Carmel Valley’s best wineries.  He had studied at the University of Bordeaux and had fun speaking in French with us.  He invited us to a Christmas wreath-making party at the winery with a barbecue and cellar tour.  We heartily accepted.

You never can tell what will happen at a Loy Krathong Festival or any other festival for that matter.  Festivals are truly a fun way for communities to learn about each other.

By Ruth Paget - Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Click here for:  Ruth Paget's Amazon Books

Ruth Paget Selfie