Considering everything i had ever seen or read about Thai food, and also having tried some watered-down street food versions of what was labeled as Thai or Vietnamese food in Europe, I concluded that the real food from that part of the world has to be something heavenly. After two months of backpacking and culinary adventures all over Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, learning about food and foodstuffs from the people whose families have been cooking like that for generations and exploring all sorts of local culinary wonders, I can say that my impression of these countries' traditional cuisine gained a whole new dimension, and the perfect combinations of herbs and spices, fresh foodstuffs, flavours and textures, found a special place in my heart. What i used to eat before, in Europe, were indeed just watered-down tries, and I will remember the "real thing" for a long time now because of wonderfully balanced flavours and perfectly processed foodstuffs (or simply something that is just up to my taste).
From a healthy-eating prespective, I can say that these countries' cuisine left me thrilled because of some of its main characteristics: simplicity of food preparation, very short thermic processing of foodstuffs and lots of soup, salad and fresh raw vegetables (and fruits). Those are some principals that I follow in my own diet, not because it's modern or said to be healthy, but because I've loved soups and salads, and disliked overcooked food since I can remember. Of course, it is not the case that Thai and Vietnamese people eat only vegetables and soups... you can find lots of fried and grilled meat and all sorts of local junk food all around. Still, anyone who would like to eat wholesome can do so really easily, on the streets or in one of the garages transformed into something like a restaurant, sitting in tiny plastic chairs around small plastic tables and for very little money (trust me... we could afford that whole trip from our croatian sallaries and humble savings). A big plus for me was that every dish comes with a side of rice or rice noodles. You will rarely see wheat pasta or anything similar to bread, and most of the creamy dishes (which are generally more common in Thailand and Laos than in Vietnam) get their creaminess from coconut milk instead of cow's milk. I totally fell for that, and couldn't imagine a traditional cuisine that suits my taste better. Most of Thai sweets are naturally vegan, and made from only a few ingredients - rice or rice flour, coconut milk, just a little bit of sugar and fruits, sweet potatoes or taro tuber. I could write so much now about each of these cuisines, about their similarities and differences and about things that I liked, loved or disliked about them. But I'll leave it for some other time. Today I wanted to share a really cool recipe with you.
You can call me a traitor to my balkan heritage, but I have to admit that I've never tried a soup that i liked more than thai tom yam soup. You cry a bit because of the amount of chili, you mumble a bit from pleasure, it's been two seconds and you already ate two full plates and are asking yourself where did all the soup go. The main spices that give this soup its unique flavour are chili peppers, lemongrass, lime leaves and fresh young galangal rhizome (it's a tropical plant from the ginger family that tastes similar to ginger). Some coconut blossom sugar is added to balance the taste, and to get a somewhat creamy texture, people traditionally add some milk or coconut milk. I use oat cream or coconut milk for that purpose. Most common type of tom yam is made with shrimps, and veg(etari)an versions commonly include mushrooms and tomatoes. If you adjust the ingredient list a bit, this is completely doable in Europe (again, if I could do it in Croatia...). Instead of galangal you can use ginger, instead of Thai chilies - any chilies will do, you can use lemon leaves if you can't get lime leaves, and lemograss is usually available at least as a dried herb for tea. The only "problem" I encountered when presenting this dish to Croatian people is its spiciness that can be just too much for european taste buds. Even when I made it with less than half the amount of chili, my friends were all red and in tears while trying to say that the flavour is amazing.. I guess that our tolerance to spicy went too high up after two months of eating chili every day. So, to be able to make this dish to my friends without making them cry, I started substituting some of the chili with dried red sweet pepper - that way it still has all the pepper flavour, but much less spiciness. I don't know if you share the excitement, but I can't stop being thrilled about the fact that there are parts of the world where traditional food preparation doesn't include sauteeing, overcooking and (lots of / any) oil, yet the dishes are absolutely flavourful and will satisfy even the more demanding food lovers.
what/
80 g shiitake mushrooms
100 g cherry tomatoes
1 bigger spring onion
60 g silken or semi-hard tofu
1-2 bigger chilies
3-4 home-grown lemon leaves
1 heaping tbsp chopped lemongrass (a bit less if it's dried)
A piece of fresh ginger rhizome, up to your taste
1 tsp ground sweet pepper
1 tsp coconut blossom sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
300 ml water
60 ml oat cream or full-fat coconut milk
1/2 fresh lime
1 handful fresh cilantro (coriander leaves)
how/
Put the chili peppers, ginger, lemongrass and lemon leaves in water and cook for a couple of minutes. If you are using dried spices, you can cook them for up to ten minutes in a closed pot, to release more aroma. Add sliced vegetables, mushrooms, tofu, soy sauce and coconut sugar (and some more water if needed). Let it cook for for a minute or two, add oat cream or coconut milk, stir and remove from the heat. Let the soup sit for a few more minutes in a covered pot; serve it with plain white rice or rice vermicelli noodles on the side. Add fresh cilantro to the soup, squeeze some fresh lime juice to add some extra sourness (up to your taste) and some more soy sauce if needed.
Bon appétit!
