I was riding my motorcycle down Thong Lo on the way home last night when I saw a shirtless teen-aged boy stirring a huge skillet over a gas flame on the side of the road. I had never seen anything like it, so I just had to do a u-turn and find out what was going on.
Turns out that it was in front of a restaurant that sells mostly duck dishes. There were 3 young guys who were taking turns adding ingredients and stirring the mix with a long paddle.
The owner chatted me up a bit (in Thai, of course) and I found out that the were making a marinade for the duck meat, and that they do this once a month. He explained all of the ingredients to me: garlic, sugar, salt, and various dried spices that I wasn't familiar with. One of the spices smelled a bit like licorice, and another smelled like cinnamon. Needless to say, the entire mix smelled fantastic. Even though I am not a huge fan of duck, I will have to visit this shop for a sample. (By the way, it is just north of Thong Lo Soi 10.)
The owner was incredibly nice to me. He invited me in to the restaurant and made me try some suki (soup) with his family. He then took me outside and taught me how to stir the pot. Check out the proof, below.
It's times like these that I just LOVE this country!
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| The shirtless guy was one of the stirrers while the two old guys were just there to watch and drink whisky. | This looks like really hard work. Not to mention it's really hot over the gas flame |
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| First, the owner had to give me a quick lesson on how to stir the pot. | Then, it's my turn to give it a try. Let's just say that I'm just glad I don't have to do this for a living! |
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Wow!!! I didn't realize that you were such a wonderful chef!!! I can hardly wait for you to get home so you can prepare a meal for all of us.
Yeah!!! If we all are in Pensacola for Christmas, we do have the pool, ya know ...... HAHAHAHAHA!!!
(just kidding) ..... we work too hard to keep that pool looking beautiful ... rather ... CRAIG works too hard keeping that pool looking beautiful. hehehe
I will say once again (as I have said many times before), your spirit for adventure, and curiosity is unparalled to mine. I have a spirit for adventure, but am at times envious of all you experience. But then again, envy sometimes is not the best descriptor, because I'd never just pick up and move to a foreign country ... I'm not THAT adventurous ..... it's not in my nature. My adventure lies within the Southeast United States.
I admire you so much!!!!! :-)
Love you!!!
Mom, there's a big difference between STIRRING and being a "wonderful chef" :) I would, however, like to learn how to cook Thai food. Maybe once I renovate my kitchen I can cook every once in a while.
And Beth, thanks for the comment. But I think that raising kids (which I am assuming is coming soon for you ;) is plenty of adventure in itself. I certainly have a lot of admirations for Moms around the world...
- Stuart
Ha, great pics! It's only a matter of time before you get your own cooking show. I think Stuart Goes Street Cooking has a nice ring to it. ;D