Som Tum Heaven

What is Som Tum? It's Thai papaya salad, and it's off the chart delicious and good for you.

If you're new to this blog, and you probably are, I normally don't write about a single dish. However, Som Tum deserves the attention, and it's also not just one dish. There are lots of Som Tums that mostly start with baby, green papaya as the base ingredient, but some use mango or long beans for example.

Som Tum

For starters, let's talk about how spicy this dish is. Now before you get your feathers ruffled take a look at this, and you'll see that chili peppers aren't just a volcanic torture device; they're good for you too.

Okay, so it's spicy, I mean really spicy. For those who live in fear of a capsaicin coma you can get it without chilis (if in Thailand say "mai pet" [not spicy], or if you want to be really cool say "mai aow prik" [no chilis]). Why is this dish like sticking your tongue in boiling water and dousing it with lime juice? Thais are just masochists. Just joking, in actuality it's because it uses fresh chilis, and Thais like the flavor, but they don't really eat the chili peppers.  It's made with a mortar and pestle, so all the flavors are lathered all over each other, but the Thais pick around the chilis and get the papaya. But make no mistake; it's spicy!

Let's start with a couple facts. On average Som Tum only has 60 calories, no that's not a typo, no it's not supposed to be 600; it's really 60. Add in the chilis and you probably lose weight eating it.

It has about 1 gm. of fat and no saturated fat of any kind.

It's made with a lot of fish sauce, which is a big part of what makes it wonderful, but it affects the sodium which is 41 mg. and potassium is 390 mg.

Total carbs equals 15 g. That's pretty much equal parts fiber, sugar, and protein.

Those are the numbers, but let's look deeper because numbers don't tell everything. The ingredients tell the rest of the story. Let's start with the most widespread ingredient in Thai cuisine-fish sauce. It takes care of any dish's saltiness and contains those nifty little omega-3 fatty acids nutritionists are always going on about.

Lime, obviously vitamin C is a big one and already well understood.

Papaya, there's so much to this amazing fruit that I decided to just provide this link.

Tomatoes, enough is known here by most already but, in case, look here.

Som Tum is so ingrained in Thai culture that
you can find it as street food at almost
every turn.

There is sugar, but there's a cultural and logical reason for this. Remember that this comes from a very hot country (Thais use sugar in many things), and, for them, it gives an important energy boost with their food; and of course they've also come to like the taste and the way it balances the salt in fish sauce.

Actually, you know what? It's full of so many amazing ingredients let's just do this: garlic, cucumber, green beans, and eggplant, and this list doesn't incorporate everything.

For those wishing to get really adventurous try Som Tum with Pla Ra. Pla Ra is fermented fish. Before you turn your head and say, "yuck," just remember how many times you've heard, or experienced, that coffee and beer tasted terrible the first time. Well, I submit that Pla Ra deserves the chance to become one of your acquired tastes. Yes, it's fermented, and, yes, it kind of smells bad; but unbelievably you can come to love the taste. I did. Some Thais even ask for the whole fermented fish instead of just it's juices, and it's not uncommon at all for them to order Som Tum Po Pra (that's river crab thrown in with the fish). It's lovely, and if you don't believe it's possible ask any Australian what happened the first time they tried Vegemite versus the appreciation they developed for it.

That sort of feels like enough about amazing Som Tum for the time being. I hope you try it, and I hope you love it! And, of course, if you happen to swing by Nid's Kitchen feel free to try it here. We guarantee good taste and pleasant atmosphere.

Until next time...

Thank you,
Nid's Kitchen
Koh Tao, Thailand

Follow @NidsKitchenKTao

Vegetarians, Is Thai Food Right For You?

The answer to that is a resounding, yes!

Whether it's because Thai food is so adaptable, or it was just born for vegetarians: the point is it just works. Even better, it works on so many levels. There are dishes that are typically served with meat, but it can simply be left out or replaced with a soy product, and it doesn't make a difference. There are vegetable dishes that already have so many good veggies that skipping the meat tastes fine for vegetarians and meat eaters.

Vegans you're in luck too. Keep reading to see some dish guidelines.

First let's talk about two major substitutions for meat in Thai food, because they deserve their own section, Tofu and Protein Kaset. They're both soy products but have different consistencies which can really affect the eating experience. Most people would probably tend to just choose one of these for everything, but that would be a mistake. Tofu is soft, even a bit mushy, but it has its place. In general, I would put Tofu (along with bean curd) in the soup category. It really isn't a great meat substitute in a plated dish. That's where Protein Kaset comes in (let's start calling it PK).

PK is a more meat-like soy product that actually shares many characteristics with meat in its consistency. It can be chopped, sliced, diced, you name it; pretty much whatever you do with meat PK can do also, and it holds together unlike Tofu.

So, without further ado, let's talk about some dishes. I almost made a list here about a mile long, but then realized there's a much simpler way.

In general, when ordering Thai food with vegan or vegetarian in mind there's a good rule of thumb to follow: Soups work well with Tofu or all vegetables, and stir-fried dishes work well with PK or all vegetables.

*Vegans, you probably know fish sauce is made with fermented fish. It's absolutely delicious, and it takes care of a dish's salt needs as well, but if you don't want it just get in the habit of requesting no fish sauce, because it's in practically everything. You can ask that soy sauce is used instead or just plain, old salt.

Tom Yum Soup

Here are some things to note:

 Khao Pad (Fried Rice), Pad Thai, and Pad See Ew (Wide Noodles w/soy sauce) are all served with egg. A vegan can ask to simply have the egg left out. Even though these are stir-fried, they're also noodle dishes, and it doesn't really seem to matter with these if you decide to have Tofu, PK, or all veg.

Pad Pak (stir-fried mixed vegetables) and Stir-fried Morning Glory both work fine as pure vegetable dishes or with PK.

Pad Kra Pao (Fried Chili Basil Leaf), Shu Shee Goong (Curry Shrimp), Panang (Curry w/a meat of choice), and Pad Ped Moo Krob (Stir-fried Curry w/Crispy Pork) have no vegetables to speak of, so go with only PK.

Thai salads: this is a funny one, because the word "salad" puts a specific image in most people's minds. In Thai food just dismiss it and let the cuisine redefine it for you a bit. There are meat salads, vegetable salads, and mixed salads (meat & veg.). For our purposes here let's look at the meat salads that have almost no vegetables: Nam Tok, Laab, Moo Manao, Yam Gai Yang, and Yam Neua Yang. I would like to say that you could substitute PK into any of these, but I have to recommend what tastes good, and unfortunately these Thai meat salads are delicious and off the menu for Vegans and Vegetarians. They simply can't have soy products substituted with any hope of tasting good, sorry folks.

Well, that about wraps this one up. Thai food is extremely varied with hundreds of dishes to choose from. All you "V" people just keep the rule of thumb in mind, and you'll usually have something good.

Until next time...

Nid's Kitchen
Koh Tao, Thailand.

Follow @NidsKitchenKTao

Hello.

The is our first blog posting under Nid's Kitchen. We're located on Koh Tao (turtle island), Thailand.

Let me tell you a little bit about what we do. Our aim is to make great Thai food, and our slogan is "Truly Thai." Why this slogan? Because so many restaurants in tourist areas have abandoned what it means to make quality, authentic food for tourists. There's a very good reason for this, because sometimes some of the real ingredients don't sit well with the western palate, fair enough. However, some of these alterations have spun out of control. I once had a Chicken Cashew Nut (in a tourist area) with ginger in it. It was horrible. It's supposed to be sweet and sour. Why did they give me little strips of ginger? Wow, was it a joke? Were they secretly laughing at me while I ate it anyway?

A lot of the places that throw these miscellaneous food concoctions on the plate know that most tourists don't know what to look for, so they take advantage of them and provide something that they hope they'll like and was simpler (perhaps cheaper) to prepare. Guess what? The original dish almost certainly tastes better and has healthier ingredients to boot. While I'm on it, check this out about the health benefits of Thai food. It might surprise you.

Here at Nid's Kitchen we don't take advantage of our customers that way. What we provide is real. We wouldn't say that lightly either. We are proud to say that we serve both local Thai people and tourists who appreciate the authentic taste. The only alterations we make from original recipes concerns the chili peppers. For most westerners this has to be changed, because they simply haven't built up any resistance to it, but we're happy to make that authentic too for those who like it. For us, we're really into how delicious and healthy Thai food is. When it comes to the spiciness everybody should know this. Not many unhealthy people also have a tolerance for spicy food, but many unhealthy people can't take it. Connection? We'll let you be the judge.

If you happen to make it to this wonderful, little island we'd love to see you here.

Directions:
Coming from Mae Haad (the pier): enter Sairee, pass the plaza (left) & gas station (right), see main 4-way intersection (7-11 on left), take a right, go 100 meters & see Nid's Kitchen on the right.

For other info about Koh Tao (very famous for scuba diving btw), check out this article.

Also, feel free to ask questions about our restaurant, thai food in general, or Koh Tao via the comment section below or just include Nids Kitchen in a Google+ circle.

Until next time...

Nid's Kitchen

Follow @NidsKitchenKTao