Having just returned from spending four months in South East Asia, I was thinking of all the things I miss, and the top one has to be the food.
Food is a big part of Asian culture. It brings together family and involves tradition and religion. You will find it everywhere in any country, with one ingredient playing a big part everywhere, and that is rice. I have never consumed as much rice as I have in those four months.
This is obviously because rice is grown on a mass scale there. No matter where you go, you will come across rice paddies and farmers sowing the grains. Vietnam and Thailand are some of the biggest rice exporters, so it's a cheap, staple ingredient.
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| Something that will always be on the menu- fried rice |
Following shortly behind as a main ingredient is noodles, which can be served in a variety of ways such as fried or boiled.
Even though the ingredients found in each country are similar, I still found that each country had very different cuisines. Part of the fun in travelling is exploring and trying new foods. In this blog post, I am going to share with you some of my favourite dishes I discovered.
Thailand
Khao Soi
This was my first country and a very well-known cuisine. You will find Thai restaurants everywhere, as well as many ingredients within supermarkets. Aside from the famous Thai green curry and Pad Thai noodles, I discovered a delicious dish in Chiang Mai, called Khao Soi.
Sort of like a creamy curry/soup, this dish is mild in spiciness and so tasty. It features boiled egg noodles and usually some form of meat, like chicken, in a fragrant curry, similar to massaman or yellow curry. It is finished off with crispy egg noodles garnished on top. This contains more coconut milk to give it the creamy, mild taste which is nice if, like me you are not a fan of too much spice. I actually made Khao Soi in a cooking class, which features in the picture below!
Baked Pineapple Rice
Not specific to Thailand but I first tried this in Koh Samui. Basically it is half a pineapple with the flesh scooped out, and then the rice mixed with pineapple chunks, various vegetables and spices are baked in the pineapple. Most people would think pineapple would not go with rice, but it does and it works!
Banana Pancakes
Again, found everywhere in Asia but this consists of a fried, roti-style pancake with banana slices sandwiched in the middle, then drizzled with chocolate and condensed milk. I have to say, they don't beat English or American style pancakes but it was nice to try something different for dessert, and you will find pancake food vendors on almost every main street.
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| Street Pad Thai |
Laos
Laap
This is considered the national dish and is simply made up of minced meat (I had chicken) cooked with assorted vegetables, bean sprouts and spices. It is served with sticky rice which was served to me in the traditional basket, along with a side salad. Although basic, this dish is still very tasty and is usually served at room temperature.
Vietnam
Pho
Not my first time trying this but I loved how simple and delicious pho is. Usually eaten for breakfast, it is basically noodle soup with any choice of meat. I went for chicken but pho can be found almost everywhere in Vietnam.
Banh mi
I tried my first banh mi in Hanoi, and I was blown away by the one I had from Banh My P restaurant. It is basically a sandwich using baguette bread. I opted for just an egg one, and at only 15,000 dong (less than £1), it was so tasty! Most come with salad but this particular one had various sauces that I had no idea what they were, almost like a coleslaw and the bread was so crusty that it was amazing! Banh mi can be found everywhere in Vietnam and come in many varieties, including pork, chicken and even liver pate.
Vietnamese Coffee
My love for Asian coffee began in Vietnam. I have such a sweet tooth for sweet coffee, and all Asian coffee is mixed with sweetened condensed milk. This is heaven for a coffee drinker like myself and is best served over ice, perfect for cooling down from the Asian heat! Vietnamese is strong and very flavoursome. The photo below is just an ordinary iced coffee, but usually the coffee drips down into the cup from a French drip filter.
Egg Coffee
Sounds strange but something that had to be tried. Vietnamese coffee is very strong and usually is mixed with condensed milk. This one however, is mixed with raw egg and sugar, which forms a thick, silky layer on the top. Sounds disgusting right? It was strange to drink at first, but was still tasty. It took me a while to get over the fact that I was drinking raw eggs, and I'm not sure I would opt for it in the future but nevertheless, it is still something you have to try.
Cau Lau
Found mainly in Hoi An, this dish consists of noodles, pork slices and local greens. It is simple, filling and very flavoursome.
Mi Quang
Found in Hoi An as well, this dish is made up of noodles in a broth with pork, shrimp, vegetables and added extras like a hard boiled egg, peanuts and crackers.
Cambodia
Fish Amok
A creamy, mild curry served with rice. This Cambodian dish is very popular and one of the tastiest curries I've ever tried. I loved it so much I had it almost every night! It consists of similar ingredients to most curries, with a lot of coconut cream and uses fresh local fish. I learnt to cook this at a cookery school in Siem Reap (Le Tigre de Papier- highly recommended) and it is usually served in a banana leaf.
Mango and Carrot Salad
Not specific to Cambodia but it was another dish I learnt to make at the cooking school. It is so simple to prepare and only consists of shredded mango and carrot drizzled in a spicy dressing. Simply, healthy and delicious.
Mango Sticky Rice
You're probably more likely to find this in Thailand but this was the dessert I learnt to cook in Cambodia. It seems strange pairing rice with mango, but it works. The glutinous rice is cooked in coconut milk, then sugar is added and it is served with sliced mango. It makes the perfect dessert.
Indonesia
Gado Gado
Oh my, this may be my favourite dish from the entire trip. Not very well known over here, Gado Gado is an Indonesian salad. It is so simple and uses cucumber, blanched cabbage and beansprouts, tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, fried tofu and is sometimes served with rice. What makes it so special is the peanut sauce. I don't know how they make it, but it is wonderful and smothered on top of the vegetables. Seriously, this is a must eat if you are ever in Indonesia!
Satay
Ok, so this can also be found across most of asia, but it consists of chicken/pork/tofu on a stick which you dip into peanut sauce.
Ramadan street food
Whilst on a tour in Lombok, our local guides gave us some street food that is only eaten during Ramadan and by the locals. Food stalls are set up close to sunset where the locals will buy food to eat after fasting has finished. We tried local fried fish on skewers which was marinated in a spicy coating. We also tried a sort of salad along with rice that was essentially compacted into a cone shape. My word, this salad was incredibly spicy but was so good at the same time! You eat it with your hands and the different flavours and textures were amazing, but my mouth was on fire at the end! Not for the faint hearted!
Singapore
Kaya Toast
A Singaporean staple breakfast! I discovered this from my guide book and this is consumed by the locals in the morning. It is basically two pieces of thin toast with kaya jam (made from coconut and eggs) and butter in the middle. For the full experience, you can order it with two soft boiled eggs with the addition of white pepper and soy sauce. The bread is then used to mop up the eggs, although I haven't tried this. It is usually served alongside a cup of kopi, which itself is amazing and is almost chocolatey!
Malaysia
Nasi Lemak
A breakfast dish eaten in Malaysia which is made up of rice cooked in coconut milk served with fried chicken, peanuts, a hard boiled egg, fried anchovies and a spicy sambal sauce. I couldn't face eating this for breakfast, so I had it for dinner instead and it was really tasty.
Roti Canai
Malaysia's dishes are heavily influenced by the people living there, mainly made up of Malays, Chinese and Indians. This brings a variety of cuisines including a lot of Indian food. A must try is roti flatbread which can be served with a huge array of side dishes. I tried it with a lentil dhal but it can be served with any type of curry. You simply tear off a chunk and dip it into the curry. It doesn't have to savoury either, I tried dipping it into condensed milk which was equally as delicious. Various toppings can be used involving a mixture of savoury and sweet.
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| An Indian Curry Spread |
