Noodle Soups - Undervalued Thai Food

Prior to moving to Thailand, I hadn't heard much (if anything) about Thai noodle soups which are a staple in this country. These soups come in a huge variety -  sometimes served with a curry flavour soup, spicy / sour like a Tom Yum or other flavouring like in the case of a Yen Ta Fo, clear soup, soup with lots of veggies or just fish balls, sometimes

Guay Tiao as it is known in Thai, are my favourite of all the types of soups available - thin rice noodles, fresh vegetables and meat served usually in a clear broth.You can find these stands on  pretty much every street corner, noodle market and home. I highly recommend any visitor should give them a try. Spiced up with dried chilli, chilli in fish sauce or chilli in vinegar, these soups are one of my all time favourite dishes.

These soups are also the perfect solution to a horrible hangover - which many of us have had to suffer thanks to New Years!

Beetroot!

Beetroot is one of those vegetables that just screams summer (and Christmas!) for me. Mum always grabs a whole bunch of them and makes up a big bowl of pickled beetroots to have on hamburgers, in salads and on sandwiches and I have recently noticed them in some of the markets here.

I gave mum a call the other day and asked her how to make pickled beetroot and she said it was super easy;
wash the beets, cook the beets, pickle the beets then eat the beets. How easy! So off I went!

Pickled Beetroot
Beetrooots - whole
Vinegar
Water
Sugar
Peppercorns
Bayleaf

Put beets in a pot of water (whole) and simmer until soft - depending on the size of your beetroots, this can take between 30min and 1.5 hours! But be patient, they will become soft.

Remove from hot water and immerse in cold water to cool them. Once cool, strip the skin from the beets. This is really easy as the skin will just slide off.

Slice the beets into rounds as thick as you desire - thick, thin, slices or strips - whatever takes your fancy! I like to do it in rounds as it sits better on the sandwich.

 Place the slices into your container (i chose a plastic container, but you can use a glass one - basically just make sure its water-tight) and you will cover with your pickling mix. You take the vinegar, water, sugar, bayleaves and peppercorns and boil them up in a pot - taste it to make sure it tastes ok. I usually do 1 part vinegar, 3-4 parts water and sugar to taste.  Once this is cooled pour it over the beets so they are covered and then pop it in the fridge.

In a couple of days you can open up the container and taste the beets. Ohhhhh my they were good! Perfect for a summers day salad. Yummo

Salad Concept

Nimmanhaemin Road Soi 13,
Chiang Mai 50200

 Fresh tasty salads, smoothie & coffee


The Salad Concept is a shiny, fresh light on the horizon of rice and stir-fries and was a welcome find for us.  Back home, salad is served with most meals - fresh crispy lettuce, juicy tomatoes, crunchy carrot and celery eaten without a heavy or spicy sauce. Most salads here in Thailand include meat, chilli and/or fish sauce so the cravings for bland vegetables can be quite high at times.

Salad concept is a lot like Sumo Salad or other salad bars back home - you have your little bit of paper that you choose your ingredients and the staff make your salad to order.  YUMMMM! And the best thing about the salads is that they are GINORMOUS. I can rarely make it through one!




Highlights
Fetta Cheese
Radish
Celery
Pineapple soda drink
Fresh Salmon & Bacon

Tom Yum Soup

Tom Yum is a staple soup here in Thailand and it is deeeelish! The most commonly eaten variety is Tom Yum Goong (Tom Yum Soup with Prawn/Shrimp)  but it can be made with any meat or even tofu if you are vege. It is totally one of the easiest soups you will ever make and its fresh, firey and sour and good for the soul too.

Ingredients:

1 x lemongrass stalk
1 x chilli
1 x kaffir lime leaf
1-2 pieces of coriander
1/4 tomato
1 mushroom (I usually add more tho!)
I small red-onion or shallot
prawns/chicken
Water
Chilli Jam Paste

1. Bruise the lemongrass and chop into inch long pieces - put into the pot with the water.
2. Bruise the chilli and chop into smaller pieces if you like your soup spicy. If not, add the chilli whole to the soup.
3. Remove the hard stem from the kaffir lime leaf and then tear remaining leaf into pieces and add to the water with the chopped shallot.
4. Bring water to the boil and add mushrooms that have been quartered and the tomato that has been chopped into chunks.
5. Add meat and chilli jam paste and cook until meat is done - 5 min or so.

Eat! yum yum!!

Fern Forest Cafe

Singharaj Soi 4
Chiang Mai


Cakes, Coffee, Snacks

Its not often that I find a dessert that I really like, especially over here. The cakes tend to be tasteless, covered in this weird white cream and small creatures made of "icing". And then there are the Thai desserts which are a bit better - coconut sticky rice or steamed coconut sweets. Very tasty but not the thing to cure a sweet-craving I have found.

This was all truth until we came across Fern Forest Cafe one day. Mick and I were looking for a nice spot for a coffee shake instead of going to our usual spots and we tried this place. Its cute, away from a main road and it has the best cakes in the WHOLE of Chiang Mai. And I am not exaggerating when I say that! Definitely worth checking out with that someone special...and you can also buy whole cakes for birthdays/parties/anything!

Highlights
White Chocolate Cheesecake
Banoffee Pie
Bacon & Cheese Quiche

M Italian Cuisine

M Italian Cuisine
Soi 3, Suthep Road (past Canal Road), Chiang Mai

Pizza, pasta, cocktails, desserts


If you are after simple, authentic and delicious food, this is a great spot to know about. Especially if you dont want to pay crazy prices for it! This restaurant is located down a soi in a cute little garden. The staff are polite and unobtrusive, the food is always great and there is enough privacy for a romantic night.

Meals come in under 200 baht for mains (steak, pork, chicken, fish) - all which are served with a sauce of choice on the side and a piece of bread - pasta dishes and pizza a little less. They do great cocktails for really cheap - 40-70baht and have now got dessert specials too.

Highlights
Pork chop with peppercorn sauce
Lasagne
Salmon with pesto sauce
Beef steak with blue cheese sauce

Salsa Kitchen

Salsa Kitchen

Huay Kaew Road (across from Shell Station), Chiang Mai

www.thesalsakitchen.com

Fajitas,enchiladas, mexican dips and corn chips.
Free WiFi


The Salsa Kitchen is a bit of an institution in Chiang Mai. Especially for the expats. It serves HUGE plates of Mexican and Caribbean dishes (like the size you would get back home) such as enchiladas, tacos, fajitas, ribs plus really good margaritas. Its a cosy spot with plenty of seats inside where there is also aircon, plus seats outside for those who are content to breath the car fumes.


The platters are a great option, but probably best shared between two. You get a choice of 3 items, such as an enchilada, burrito, taco, quesadilla and a chimichanga (veg/chicken/pork or beef) and its served with salad and salsa. Coming in under 190 baht per platter its great value and only big eaters will be able to finish. Also worth a mention is the margarita and sangria jugs which at a smidge over 300 baht, very good value and enough to get most people giggly.


Highlighs
Pork Chimichanga
Chilli Cheese Dip
Smoked Pork Ribs
Vegetarian Taco
Margaritas