Dining On Wheels

Silly Idea

Fast food must answer to several criteria before being awarded the deserved title; a popular T-shirt nowadays in Bangkok shows a dog chasing a cat running amok, and is titled "Fast Food." It serves as a reminder that even at the bottom of the food chain we must be careful with definitions. Fast food must be prepared quickly, provide fatty comfort and a carbohydrates-rush; an emaciated cat would probably fail in all these.

A Think Tank

Banana pancakes are not part of the Thai cuisine, despite several types of bananas and plantains being popular, fresh or roasted; but pancakes do not belong here.

Many years ago, in a faraway country nearby Thailand, hordes of hungry travelers searching for a fast relieve to their hunger, were wrongly blamed for the infamous traffic jams of the capital city. A think tank was secretly elected. They held meetings, chose sub-committees, produced papers analyzing the situation, computed regression curves and finally created the ultimate business plan. The city was saved and the tourists would be fed.

The Dictionary

The sub-committee in charge of the external logistics found and bought an old cooking book in one of the many second hand bookstores on Khaosan Road. The owner swore secrecy in compliance with the latest Anti-Terrorist Act (secret version A2-g); but as an additional security measure he was immediately deported to Nong Khai. The budget for the book came from a special, underground fund beyond the reach of the tax authorities.

An encrypted memo on the event was send to the highest authorities.

The book was dissected and spread around, so that no single person in the committee would have access to the whole picture. In the process, a page was dropped and found later by the cleaning personnel. After deporting cleaning lady - a suspected terrorist - to Sukhothai, the committee's commander in chief read that page, encrypted it in accordance to the latest methods and found that: "Pancakes are a type of flat bread prepared from a sweet batter, which is cooked on a hot frying pan."

The pertinent subcommittee security chief agreed it was an idea with a huge potential; the commander in chief agreed and - for security reasons - exiled the now happy security chief to Hollywood, where he was last seen selling pancakes from atop the Kermit the Frog star.

First Experiments

In a secret underground facility - hidden within a huge plaster Buddha located in a not so visited area - the first experiments were carried out. A stall on wheels featuring a shallow wok frying pan on its top was designed. The batter formula was refined and the thin pancake was born.

"It looks like an omellete," the cook exclaimed.

"Let's fold it like one!" the commander in chief said and made thus his unmatchable contribution to the project. A popular Thai dish are omelletes folded into a square pocket and stuffed with meat and vegetables.

"What should I fill it with?" said the cook and found itself deported for incompetence to Chiang Mai.

A new sub-committee was formed. They changed the location of the experiments, re-classified and re-encrypted all their documents in order to comply with the new and ultra-top-secret

Anti-Terrorist Act A3-n and finally - in despair - opted for a secret poll among the tourists.

"Are you banana?" said the first tourist they approached to the commander in chief. His visa was revoked on the spot and he was sent out of the country through a secret border cross.

"He is right," - the commander in chief assessed - "bananas are cheap and contain a lot of potassium."

The rest is history.

The Stalls

On of the most popular snacks sold on Khaosan Road are Banana Pancakes; they are sold from ambulant stalls and prepared on the spot, so that the product is served fresh and hot almost at all times of the day and night. The shallow wok used for the preparation ensures that the oil is not re-used and thus this type of fast food is not so unhealthy as it may seem at first sight.

The pancakes are stuffed with banana chunks and covered with condensed milk. Thai condensed milk contains considerable amounts of palm oil which gives it an unusual taste; probably that's the result of a significant percentage of the populations being unable to digest milk, the last is not very popular in the local cuisine. Adding an additional layer of chocolate is optional and adds 5 baht to the 20 baht of the pancake. Before being served it is placed on a paper plate and cut into small squares; a thick toothpick is added for the benefit of the eternally hungry traveler.

Rationale

Fast food is never casual, it answer economic constrains of a certain area or specific cultural peculiarities. Khaosan Road being a main center of Israeli backpackers, it was only natural that travel agencies and fast food joints catering specifically for them would appear.

Travel Agencies

Having adopted the Asian business model, at least four Israeli travel agencies are located near Khaosan Road (two on Chana Songkram Road and two on Rambuttri Road) and include related services as guesthouses, restaurants, internet cafes and luggage keeping services, creating thus comprehensive traveler centers that cater also for the general population of travelers.

Two of them are by the western end of Khaosan - huge signs atop the T-junction there advertise them in Hebrew with signs the size of houses - and near them, in front of the Chana Songkram police station is a falafel stall catering for the same clientele.

Falafel

Native of Egypt, falafel is probably the most popular fast food in the Middle East; its name is derived from the Arabic filfil, "pepper;" the name is used also in Hebrew (which uses a similar word also for pepper: "pilpel;" the "f" and the "p" often interchange between these two languages).

The snack consists of round fried chickpeas patties served wrapped in a flat pita bread or within a pocket-styled pita. The falafel patties are topped with salads, pickled vegetables, hummus (chickpeas paste) and tahini (sesame seeds sauce) sauce. An important added value is that falafel is vegetarian; its main drawback that includes fried oil.

The Stall

The stall opens around noon and keeps open till late, the set-up reminds of similar stalls in Israel, where pocket-shaped pitas are the rule and the sandwich is eaten as a take away fast food. A falafel is priced here at 60 baht, providing thus a cheap and competitive snack. Being an Israeli operation, it offers also schnitzel sandwiches, at the same price.

The staff working there is Thai and speaks English, but from the menu and general set-up, it is obvious the stall is managed by Israelis; in the past it was closely related to one of the nearby Israeli guesthouses.
For some reason the service is relatively slow; the solution they found to keep the customers busy was to fry the top part of the pita bread, which is cut before the sandwich is prepared, and to serve it as a free snack.

The Technique

The idea is simple, the seller cuts the top of the pita, drops inside a few falafel patties and some hummus and hands the unfinished sandwich to the hungry Marco Polo. The last fills the pocket with the salads and sauces in display at the counter. Those included pickled cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, tahini sauce, cabbage, cabbage with carrots and sesame seeds, chilli, and corn and potato salads.

The Quality

The falafel patties were superb, fresh, hot and crispy; I would have liked to comment on the hummus, but the humble quantity within the pita did not allow qualifying it. However, the tahini sauce was in a big bottle by the salads; I found it watery and of low quality.

I was disappointed also by the pickled cucumbers since they were prepared in salt, while the custom is to use vinegar-pickled ones; the cherry tomatoes were a nice and tasty touch, the cucumbers were fresh; the cabbage was also excellent, while the chilies were a clear Thai touch (in Israel a very different type of chili is used). The corn salad did not belong to the meal so I skipped it, but the cabbage with the carrots and sesame seed was an excellent innovation.

The pita bread was awesome, precisely shaped, well formed, with a well defined pocket, fresh, thick and tasty. An interesting surprise was the fact that the stall offered the falafel also within a submarine-sandwich bread.

The Rating

Overall the dish was good, despite the fact it had been obviously prepared by alien hands - they did not understand how it should exactly taste - but they did their best and that counts a lot.

The Name

Pad Thai means Fried Thai-style; to those knowing a bit of Thai this translation may seem strange. After all, doesn't Thai means free? The secret lies in the tones, Thai means free and Thai-style depending on the tone used; while referring to fried noodles, the Thai-style rendering is used.

Foreign Roots

Still, the reference to Thai-style in the name hints at a foreign origin; indeed, pad Thai is an adapted dish. It was brought centuries ago to the Ayutthaya Kingdom by Vietnamese merchants.

The dish was based on Banh Pho Xao Sate, a dish of stir-fried rice stick noodles with sate (garlic, peanuts, and chiles), mung bean sprouts, some type of meat, scallions, fish sauce, and pickled vegetables.

Nationalistic Manipulations

The same ultra-nationalistic wave that changed the name of the country from the ethnically undefined Siam to the discriminating Thailand (not only Thais live in Thailand) transformed the pad Thai into a popular dish; the irony of it being an alien dish escaped the unsmiling right-wingers.

During the 1930s and 1940s, Prime Minister Luang Phibunsongkhram pushed this dish in a campaign to reduce rice consumption so that more rice could be exported; a campaign was launched to educate the poor in the production and preparation of rice noodles mixed with other ingredients and in the management of small businesses, so that they would be able to sell the dish in small shops and ambulant street carts.

The dish - due to its name - was used also in his fascist, ultra-nationalist campaign. He led the military coup that toppled the absolute monarchy in 1932, launched a campaign to introduce western attire, and promoted the Central Thai dialect.

The Recipe

Several regional recipes of pad Thai exist. The eversion served in Bangkok uses garlic, Chantaboon sen lek rice noodles (though several other types of noodles are available), rice vinegar, fish sauce, fried tofu, tiny dried shrimp, salted and preserved Tien jing cabbage, roasted and ground peanuts, roasted chili powder, sugar, mung bean sprouts, and scrambled eggs. Garnishes may include mung bean sprouts, Chinese leeks, banana flower and lime wedges used to add a last drop of taste.

The Stalls

All along Khaosan Road are stalls serving the dish. They have signs in English and the cooks can speak enough of it for the transaction. A serving costs 25 baht (less than a dollar); an egg can be added for an extra five baht. Not all the vendors include all the ingredients, it is recommended to compare between the different stalls.

The Preparation

The ingredients are kept atop an ambulant stall, part of its top is a relatively shallow wok, in which noodles of various types await their turn to contribute to the traveler's health. Once an order is placed, the cook moves a portion of the desired noodles to the wok's center, adds the other ingredients, skilfully mixes everything while the customer can indicate at this stage which spicing he prefers.

After the dish is served on a small styrofoam plate, the traveler can use several condiments to fine tuning the final taste: roasted ground chili, sliced chili in vinegar, fish sauce, fresh chili sauce, minced peanuts, and - obviously - sugar.

The Taste

Pad Thai combines several flavors: sweet, sour and salty; this is a typical combination in the Thai cuisine. Moreover, chili powder (phrik pon) may be also added by the diner. This eclectic mix may taste unusual at first, but eventually these combinations are the secret of one of the best cuisines in the world. The joy of eating this dish does not depend exclusively on its spicing; it combines soft noodles with crunchy sprouts and a rich variety of other textures.

Few fast foods offer to the eternal pilgrim such a mix of history, drama and taste, pad Thai is a winner in this category.

Almost by definition, fast food and healthy food do not step together; finding such a combination demands years of exploratory travels around the world. In Thailand, I found it.

The richness and variety of the Thai culture is immediately discernible even to the casual visitor; regardless if beginning the trip by visiting the Grand Palace or a humble market on a side street, the number of attractions is always overwhelming. It takes more time to understand that this richness mimics the surrounding lush nature. Few items are more attractive to illustrate this point than the Thai fruits, which apparently are an attempt to quantify the term "infinite."

The Prodigious Leap Forward: Fruits as Fast Food

Eventually, fruits have been transformed into a handy fast food; ambulant stalls carry several types of fruits sitting atop a layer of ice. Divided in four different compartments, each is dedicated to one item, though sometimes more types of fruits are offered. The stalls move around Bangkok at all hours; offering handy, healthy and awesome snacks.

The servings' size vary according to the fruit served. Sometimes a peeled unit is served cut in chunks, while others only parts of big fruits are served; sometimes a mix of sugar and chili is added as a spice, while other fruits get some salt sprinkled on them. Most servings cost 10 baht, though some fruits - like the Jack fruit, the pomelo, and the durian - achieve higher prices.

The Mechanics of Fruits as Fast Food

The Most Popular Fast Food Fruits

Papayas and Pineapples: These two were successfully introduced in the past and have become two of the most popular fruits in the kingdom; they can be found practically on every street corner. They are cut into little chunks and served within a plastic bag and with a toothpick for picking them up without further spices.

Watermelon: The only worldwide popular fruit originating in Africa, this is a staple of the fruit stalls; it is served in small triangular chunks without spices.

Guava: Sadly, Thais eat this sensually odorous fruit while green, unripe and unodorous . I commented that to a local friend and managed to clearly annoy a Thai for the first time. Unripe and covered with a mixture of sugar and chili is the obviously correct way to eat a guava. It is called Farang in Thai, a term also used toward western tourists.

Mango: two main varieties of this fruit exist in Thailand, the sweet and the sour mango. Each can be eaten in one of three ways: unripe, ripe and pickled. The unripe is the most common and is coated with sugar, and chili before eating it. The ripe one can be found only during the season and is almost exclusively used for a dish in which it is served together with sticky rice and coconut cream; it is one of those rare, purely sweet dishes in the Thai cuisine.

The pickled mango taste is above my powers of description, but after trying it I defined the experience as "once in a lifetime." Over time I managed to like the unripe mango - it has a sharp twinge which the ripe one lacks; recently I found myself dipping it in the chili and sugar mix given with it, it added an electrical sweetness to the experience.

Oranges: The small local oranges (I am not sure that botanically they are oranges) are sold exclusively as fresh juice, prepared in front of the customer. Sadly and strangely, Thais add salt to counterbalance the natural sweetness of the drink.

The Less Popular Fast Food Fruits

Green and Red Rose Apple: Shaped as small pears, these two sweet, crispy fruits are a bit hard to find, but are worth the effort.

Durian: Few things are considered more important for a Thai than the durian fruit; a supposed aphrodisiac. While most fruits are usually sold in slices, units, or groups of fruits worth ten baht, durian fruits can easily reach prices of 400 baht or more per unit. The customers carefully study them before the transaction is completed, as if their whole future depended on that. Seldom it is sold on fruit stalls, but that can happen; expect to pay up to 200 baht for a small piece.

Simply, the durian features a rare combination of tastes: pungent and sweet. Resembling a dusty green watermelon with huge, thick thorns, once opened several semi-circular, yellow units are exposed. The smell emanating from them is so strong that it is prohibited to enter with the opened fruit into public buildings; it strongly reminds of excrements; for most tourists the first bite is a traumatic experience. However, once in the mouth, the smell is replaced by a sweet taste and a pleasantly smooth texture.

Jack Fruit: Able to reach a length of more than one meter, this prodigious fruit is a must. Street stalls selling it usually keep only one fruit, selling its interior in small amounts. Its exterior is somewhat similar to the durian, though short, rounded cups replace the thorns. The interior is divided into a myriad of units the size of plums. The shiny yellow flesh of each unit is quite thin, crispy, has no odor and a pleasantly sweet taste. If appearing at all on a fruits stall, its price is usually twice as much as regular fruits: 20 baht.

Anona: The local name for the custard apple, this tasty fruit is usually consumed as a juice, due to the many stones scattered along and across its sweet, sandy flesh. In the season it may be sold by the kilo, or even adorn fruit stalls where it would achieve twice the price of a common fruit.

Dragon Fruit: Native of Vietnam, the dragon fruit is gaining popularity in Thailand. It is sold by the unit or in small chunks.

Lakam: a rare, dark red, spiky and small oval fruit, the lakam can be found during the summer and defined as a bittersweet experience; an irresistible combination for the soap-operas loving Thais.

Pomelo: the only citrus growing in the kingdom, this sweet, oversized fruit can provide enough entertainment peeling it for a whole afternoon. Small servings are served on packed styrofoams.

The last three fruits in this review have a similar flesh - semi-transparent, soft and sweet - despite bearing substantially different appearances. Clusters of longan resembling overgrown; dark yellow grapes can be easily spotted during the season. Rambutan has a striking look; its strongly red skin is covered by long, thick, green hairs. Mangosteen is bigger than the other two and adds a citric twinge to the basic taste. Violet with short and wide green leaves around its top, it is considered by Thais - and with a good reason - as one of their best fruits, second only to the out-worldly durian. These group is sold usually by the kilo and is carried around in big heaps.

Few dishes are more distinctive than the Thai curries. Red, green or yellow, they are added to many dishes, from meat to noodles, creating one of the landmarks of this wonderful cuisine. In the West, they are met mainly at classy, pricey Thai restaurants, but in Thailand they are served even at the most basic street stalls, answering thus to the definition of fast food.

The Stall

The nearest curry stall to Khaosan Road is on the junction of Rambuttri Road (the first road parallel to Khaosan to the north) with Chao Songkram Road, the road where Khaosan ends at its western side. Placed on the sidewalk, it offers a counter were all the dishes are in display and a few tables where they can be comfortably consumed under the shade; tables are shared with strangers. Being the simplest and most popular meals, they are priced accordingly; a regular size curry costs 20 or 25 baht (less than one dollar) at most street stalls.
Stalls serving curries not always serve all the options; mostly they specialize on one or two. After finding the desired curry - and recognizing the colorful soups is easy - point at them - or ask for them in the toneless Thai of a farang - and a generous amount of the elixir would be poured over rice and given to the hungry traveler. On the table, additional spices - including sugar, ground peanuts, and various types of chilies - would allow the fine tuning of the dish.

Green Curry

Maybe the most popular Thai curry, the green curry is prepared mostly with greenish ingredients, the main being lemongrass, coriander, fish sauce, shrimp paste, green chillies, garlic, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, Thai holy basil and coconut milk. It can be eaten over rice or added to meat and seafood dishes; often this is the fiercest curry and thus it should be tasted with care.

Yellow Curry

The Thai yellow curry paste is less popular in the markets, though it would probably be the favorite for most Westerners. It is prepared with lemongrass, yellow chillies, shallots, galangal, garlic, coriander, mustard, nutmeg, fish sauce, turmeric, kaffir lime leaves, lime juice and coconut milk. The result is a more delicate curry, where the secondary ingredients are not shadowed by the fierce heat of wild chilies.

Red Curry

As popular as the green curry, the red one can be even hotter; it is prepared with shallots, lemongrass, red chilies, galangal, white pepper, cumin, coriander, fish sauce, kaffir lime leaf, shrimp paste, chilli powder and coconut milk. The tricky point while assessing the potential hazard is to understand that there are several types of red chilies in the market, leading to a variety of results. As a rule of thumb, the smallest the chili, the hotter it is; the hottest ones can attack the nose and eyes from amazing distances (I usually cannot get closer than five meters from where they are being fried). The best advise is to check which chili was used and to taste the mix very carefully.

Related Dishes

Two related dishes are the Penang and the Massaman curries, though usually they are not seen on the streets, except for southern Thailand.

Penang Red Curry

The Thai Penang curry is similar to the red one, but includes tomato paste (a rare ingredient in Thailand), onions, paprika and ground peanuts, giving thus a taste of Malaysia, where it originated. It has a very distinctive, smooth, sweetish taste and is much less spicy than the red one; it somewhat resembles thick Indian curries.

Massaman Curry

This curry did all the way to Bangkok from southern Thailand. Similarly to the Penang curry, it features unusual ingredients and is thus less seen in the markets. It is prepared with shallots, garlic, red chillies, galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, coriander, cumin seeds, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, fish sauce, shrimp paste and coconut milk.

It offers an awesome combination of tastes (cumin and nutmeg!) and thus is used to create some of the richest and most interesting dishes in the Thai cuisine; in Bangkok - at Prakorb's House - it is served with potatoes and carrots - another two unusual ingredients here - to create a rare dish which easily justifies immigrating to Thailand.