#isarn

This past summer I took a three week vacation to Thailand, I was set on making a video to share with you all BUT I was not satisfied with my editing skills :( Instead I am sharing about my experience through my blog. 

We spent the first week in Mukdahan in the village of Ban Lao Mi which is in the Northeast region of Thailand, it sits right on the border of the Mekong River, and if you take the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge (below), you’ll end up in Laos! 

The weather was HUMID. It was about an average of 75% humidity and it only got worst as we got to the beach. I couldn’t wear make up because it would just sweat right off and I wore as much dri-fit attire as much as I could. But it was all worth it, I haven’t seen my relatives for 10 years and I am grateful for these memories. 

I was in awe by all of the delicious fruit Thailand had, one of my favorites was dragonfruit. It tastes like a kiwi but sweeter, and it’s extremely hydrating! If you buy a dragonfruit in Seattle, it’s about $7-8 a pound!! In Thailand it was 45 THB (baht) per kg, which was $1.25 USD. I planted some dragonfruit vines which are dangerously thorny, in my grandpas yard with my uncle so that when I come back to visit, there will be some waiting for me. This made my grandpa super happy :’). 

The picture above is of mangosteen which is seriously the best fruit ever (besides pineapple of course). I can’t even describe what mangosteen tastes like. If you get a chance, go to your local Asian market and see if they have mangosteen juice! Its sweet, sour, juicy and has an almond shaped seed. 

It’s hard making a living in Ban Lao Mi, in order to make a steady income you have to be a teacher, a police officer or find a way to get to the city (Mukdahan) and work at the bank or mall. One of the women in the village opened up shop at her house. She served the BEST guay tiew (goi-the-out) which is a Thai version of pho. Maybe it was the MSG, the cane sugar or the broth that was cooking all day long but it was unlike anything I’ve had. We ate it even with the humid weather because it was SO GOOD. We tipped her well and she laughed while we obsessed over her cooking. We insisted on walking there, but my uncle drove us on his motorbike. He took me first and then picked up my brother and boyfriend. I laughed so hard when I saw them all fit on one bike.

(me-gah-tea)

Here to bring you another delicious Isarn meal that my mom made! Mee Ga Tee is a delicious sweet and salty soup! If you are a fan of peanut butter, this is the soup for you!

Ingredients:

1lb ground turkey (or ground meat of your choice) Mae Ploy Red Curry Paste 1 Can Coconut Milk Fish Sauce Salt Palm Sugar (you can use regular sugar if you don’t have this) Creamy Peanut Butter 2 Eggs Lemongrass Lime leaves    1 Package Rice Vermicelli Noodles (same ones you use for pho) 

Directions:

In large pot, cook your ground turkey and 1 tbsp of the red curry paste sauté until fully cooked.

Add 1 can of coconut milk along with 3 tbsp fish sauce (add more if you’d like),1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp palm sugar, 2 tbsp creamy peanut butter, sliced lemongrass and  3-4 lime leaves and pour 8-10 cups of water (this really depends on the consistency you’d like for your soup) continue to stir until all ingredients have dissolved.

Whisk two eggs and pour into soup and stir until eggs are cooked.

Boil your vermicelli noodles in a separate pot of hot water and drain when cooked. 

Place a handful of vermicelli noodles in a bowl and pour your soup over the noodles and garnish with Thai basil, bean sprouts and shredded cabbage or any veggies of your choice.

Thai food has become extremely popular over the last 10 years. Everyone knows what Pad Thai is, and has a love for sticky rice. But very few know about Thai food from the Isarn region. The Isarn region also spelled Essan, Isan, Essarn etc, is located in North Eastern Thailand where my mother is from! It's influences are a mixture of Thailand and Laos. Growing up, a lot of the food my mother cooked were not at the Thai restaurants. So I was slightly disappointed at times. I also didn't know whether or not I was speaking Thai or Lao to people when ordering food so most of the time the restaurants were confused as well. It was a struggle. This was because my mom speaks both Thai and Lao and I could never tell the difference until I got older. But finally, in 2014 Kirkland opened up it's first Isarn restaurant. I was thrilled! So was my family. It's one of my favorite restaurants and I always enjoy hearing my mom talk to the cooks about the food and where they grew up. The food hear is incredible! It's full of the sweet, salty, sour, spicy and bitter taste that makes Thai food so unique. Below are some of the amazing dishes that I've had! My all time favorite dishes from here are the Roasted Ribs In Tamarind Sauce, Hat Yai Fried Chicken and Chang Mai Noodles. In September, my family and I are going to Thailand and I cannot wait! 

Sweet Corn Salad With Young Coconut

Hat Yai Fried Chicken 

Isarn Pork Sausage (left) Chang Mai Sausage (right)

Moo Hong Phuket (Braised Pork Stew)

Spicy Everything Papaya Salad

Lemongrass Wings

Salty Crab Papaya Salad

Chang Mai Noodles (Khao Soi)

Isarn Thai Soul Kitchen

170 Lake St Kirkland, WA 98033