Northern Thai Cuisine (Part 1): An Introduction and the Dishes I Ate in Chiang Rai

Ok, I'll take a break from blogging about places to go to here in the North of Thailand. Instead let me blog about the food, which is another of my passion and reason why I went here.

My daily breakfast in Chiang Rai is this congee (evidence of Chinese influence) at โจ๊กนันทกา (chok nanth ka)

Lanna Food

In Northern Thailand, the people still call their place Lanna even though the Kingdom of Lanna has already ceased to exist for nearly a hundred years having been assumed by the Siamese Kingdom of Central Thailand.

Here, up north, the food is unlike the generic Thai food we know back there in the Philippines. Often when we hear Thai Food, we conjure images of pad thai and tom yum. Although those are available here, they are as foreign to the taste of the people here as they are to us.

So what makes up Northern or Lanna cuisine?

Ingredients

The ingredients found in a certain place will affect its cuisine. Generally, the North is landlocked, so seafood is not its strength. Lanna cuisine heavily relies on meat, be that beef, pork or chicken. But they have a preference for pork. Since the climate is already sub-tropical, spices are not as abundant as in the South of Thailand. The prevalent spice in this side of Thailand is no longer chilli, in its place are ginger, galangal, aniseed, dried cottontree flower and long peppers. The heat of Northern cuisine is notably lower by a notch or two compared to the burning hot cuisine of its South and Central cousins. Then of course, coconuts are not native in this area, so coconut milk is missing or is little added to any of the dishes.

Overall, these makes Northern cuisine milder and more subtle.

Then of course, Lanna food is influenced by 3 other nearby civilisations, Burmese, Lane Xang (Laos) and Chinese (way up North), which makes it a curiosity as well as a refinement of a good mix of cultures.

Here is a sampling of the many Northern dishes I was able to taste up here.

Yang Ruam (Mixed Grilled Pork) at Lab Sanam Keela, Chiang Rai

Yang Ruam

This is a very meaty dish, in fact there is nothing else but pork! Yang Ruam is grilled mixed parts of pork, including intestines and liver. It's a bit sweet tasting. But the killer in this dish is the sauce which is called nam jim. Together they made a very wholesome pair. To cool your mouth after each bite, you can occasionally eat the shredded cabbage on the side.

Khao Niew (Sticky Rice)

Photo credit: So What is Sticky Rice Anyway an article by Alison Spiegel of the Huffington post.

Northern food does not heavily rely on regular rice. In fact, people up here prefer Khao Niew (sticky rice). They are usually eaten by hand by forming balls and then dipped into sauces. For example, I ate Khao Niew to pair with the Yang Ruam above, so in between bites of meat, I also eat sticky rice balls dunked in the same nam jim!

Khao Soi Islam, Chiang Rai

The sign that says they have been serving Khao Soi Islam since 1929!

Khao Soi Islam next to the hotel I stayed in Chiang Rai

Khao Soi Islam

A trip to the North of Thailand is not complete without tasting Khao Soi. This is a mild (coconut milk is present but in very diluted form) curry noodle soup which has crispy noodles on top. Khao Soi Islam is, yes you guessed it, the halal version of Khao Soi - therefore either available in Chicken or Beef versions. I was lucky enough to stay next door to the home of the original Khao Soi Islam, so I got to taste the "original" version!

Stir-fried Mushrooms and Vegetables at Phetchaburi

Pla Tod (Fried Fish) also at Phetchaburi

Stir-fried Mushrooms and Vegetables and Pla Tod

After I went to Wat Rong Khun I was raring to have lunch at 2PM, so I went Phetchaburi which is just down the street from the hotel I was staying at. The stir-fried mushrooms and vegetables were really great. The perfectly golden fried fish (I forgot to ask what kind of fish it was), was what can I say, perfect! Especially with the dipping sauce the came with it!