Have it your way

As I was eating lunch today, I was amused by the fact that it took me 10 minutes to perfectly season my food before I even took a bite. Thais take their food seriously hence the copious amount of condiments that can be found on every restaurant table. Most tables have a little wooden rack that holds dried chili powder, sugar, crushed peanuts and vinegar with peppers. Then there are separate bottles of black or white pepper, fish sauce and "sau pet", a red hot sauce that's actually a bit sweet. And then there is also a bowl of fish sauce with sliced peppers in it and sometimes a weird black amalgam that involves some form of chili paste. I can't imagine eating without these things. Sometimes I worry that when I go back to America I won't be able to taste the food. I'm so used to the spicy burn in everything I eat.

My new favorite food crush is "Yam Takrai" which means lemongrass salad. It includes finely chopped lemongrass and ginger, "hom dang" (small red onions), garlic, peppers, cashews and chopped lime. All of this is seasoned with soy sauce and sugar. Even though it's spicy, it's so fragrant and makes my mouth feel very clean. We've been making it ever since we discovered it in Bangkok.

Also, our friends bought us a "moo-kra-ta" cooker for christmas. It's like a little clay stove/grill. You put the charcoals on the bottom and then place a metal dish atop. You make a kind of soup and then you can put whatever ingredients you want in it. They quickly cook in the broth so you have to keep adding things as they're eaten. Tonight we are having people over for yoga and then potluck. We'll see how our first attempt goes but I'm sure it will be wonderful.

p.s. only 4 days until I will be on Koh Chang. YAYAYAYAY!