When traveling, checking-out the regional menu is always fun. A few unique discoveries over the years… Samurai Pork Burger in Thailand. Rice & Beans breakfast in Costa Rica, Chicken Maharaja Mac in India. Teriyaki chicken burger in Japan.

And, my all-time favorite: The Kiwi Burger in New Zealand. It comes with an egg and a sliced beet. Yum!

Recently, a window poster advertising a chocolate pie coaxed us to stop at the local Koh Samui, Thailand McDonalds. Just to split a pie.

Tasty chocolate pudding surrounded by flaky crust. Deep fried, not baked. And it was, for sure, the best McDonald’s pie ever.

We regretted our decision to split it…

Koh Samui McDonald's Chocolate Pie

Ouch! Now I regret avoiding the man-to-man sunscreen rub on my back. At the time, Derek and I jointly reached the customary, non-verbal guy-code on this. The aerosol sunscreen spray would do just fine.

Too bad Derek only managed to spray a lazy “S” while neglecting the rest of my back. The hot Thailand sun had its way with me.

Next time I’ll opt for the rubdown.

An S-Class Sunburn

To begin, Pum reviewed the most popular herbs, spices and vegetables commonly found in Thai cooking. What the difference between Thai basil and regular basil? Which chilies go in each variety of curry? Is it okay to substitute ginger for galangal? All things that Pum answered.

Making curry paste

She also taught a quick lesson on some basic Thai ingredient and cooking word translations. Sure makes it easier to read a Thai menu now:

• Gai = Chicken
• Nua = Beef
• Moo = Pork (why not beef?)
• Pia = Fish
• Goong = Prawns
• Pooh = Crab
• Khao = Rice
• Med Mamuang = Cashew nuts
• Prik = Chili
• Nam = Liquid or sauce

 

• Phad = Fry
• Tom = Boil
• Prio = Sour
• Wan = Sweet
• Gaeng = Curry
• Yum = Soup

 

Mussman curry with chicken

To prepare the curry paste, we mixed several ingredients together in the mortar: red chilies, galangal, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, garlic, Thai shallot, salt, Thai sweet basil and vegetable oil. Next, we smashed all the ingredients together into a paste with the pestle. Pum instructed that it should make a sound like “Buk, buk”, not “Tuk, tuk”. Otherwise you are doing it wrong and not smashing the ingredients correctly.

Finally, to complete the curry recipie, the curry paste was mixed into a pot with sliced chicken, coconut milk, water, vegetable oil, fish sauce, sugar, green beans, and kaffir lime leaves. Stir until warm and serve.

It tasted so good!

Pum was a great instructor and really made cooking fun. She tries to make Thai food simple and easy, while using all-natural ingredients. We learned Thai cooking should be “happy and healthy”.

Oh ya, she also gave us a copy of her cookbook.

Phad Phak Med Memaung

Pum & Greg

Standing behind the steamer

Pum & Debra

Koh Panyi Island

We visited a small Muslim ‘floating’ sea village connected to Koh Panyi Island, located off the coast of Phang-nga. The village has an ornate mosque built on the island, while the rest of the town is constructed on stilts above the water. Approximately two thousand people live in the village.

Some dwellings seemed fairly sturdy, but many looked less so. I kept thinking a large whitecap during a storm would send a few buildings into the sea.

Anyway, it was an interesting place to visit, but it mostly it felt like a destination that sacrificed its authenticity years ago in favor of tourism. Withstanding that, we really enjoyed our Thai lunch.

Homes on stilts

Not looking so sturdy

Some rice and drying chili peppers