Making Food Memories In Bangkok

It's easy to be overwhelmed when entering a foreign country for the first time. When I landed in Bangkok, I was a little intimated by its sheer size, the difference in culture, and most importantly, the variety of street food. Since Bangkok has a reputation for the most authentic street food culture in the world, the trip allowed me to explore street food beyond my comfort zone.

Everyone who has ever eaten pad thai thinks they've tried Thai food, but the food served at your local restaurant is nothing like the real thing. Authentic Thai dishes are much more pungent, complex, and flavorful than their U.S. counterparts.

Enhanced by quality and the use of fish sauce, shrimp paste, and fermented mussels, real Thai food has marked differences from Americanized Thai food. When I watched an elderly lady prepare my first Thai meal of noodle-free pad thai at the Amphawa floating market, I knew I was experiencing a new level of cuisine.

Sensory Overload

Part of being adventurous with food is using all of your senses to experience it. This was easy to do in Bangkok; the sights, sounds, and tastes were much different from I was used to.

The aromas of Bangkok's food varied in pungency, too. The smell of spices pervaded the streets of the city, the aroma of fermented sour sausages wafted from vendors' shops, and no matter where I went, the raw fish and meat sold at floating markets left a trail of unforgettable odors. To say my nose was overwhelmed is an understatement!

Some scents were much more pleasant than others (not many enjoy the stench of sun-cured raw fish or meat), but it was all part of the adventure. My overloaded senses were a teaser for the real meal. And let's get one thing straight: street food in Bangkok is as real as food gets.

Trying the Thai

When we decided to try the food (rather than just smell it!), we ventured to the floating markets, where the vendors on each long boat were preparing dishes as if they had a full kitchen at their disposal. We tried the green papaya salad and noodle-free pad thai — two familiar Thai dishes you can often get in America. But I wanted to explore the scene even more and try a dish that sustained the locals, so we ventured on. 

We approached a boat with one of the longest lines at the market selling a fermented mussel-and-squid omelette, which was topped with dried shrimp and sugar paste and paired with offal soup. The soup was made with pig pancreas, windpipe, spleen, and blood cake. This might sound unappetizing, but it was one of my favorite meals of the trip.

The cook was in her 70s, and you could tell she had been preparing this dish her entire life. One hand fanned the smoldering coals on the floor of her boat while the other splashed beaten eggs against the wok, forming a perfect skin for the omelette. Without hesitation, she gripped and spun the wok for even cooking, then added the mussels in before folding it into a perfect, parcel-like shape. Then, she ladled us each a bowl of the pork stock filled with tender bits of meat and organs.

The Magic's in the Preparation

The ingredients might make you think that this wasn't totally out of my comfort zone, but it was the preparation of the dish that made it special: The vendor cooked the dish on a small boat at noon. It was 102 degrees with unrelenting humidity, and there was no refrigerator nearby. The meat had probably been caught or prepared earlier in the day. The mixture of heat and scent was overpowering as flies swarmed the boat.

The majority of cuisine sold by street vendors is cooked with nothing but a few hot coals, (hopefully) recently purchased meat, a small wok, and an age-old recipe that makes do with the few ingredients available. It wasn't my typical eating environment or preparation technique, but because of that, I welcomed the experience.

The environment might scare off someone used to somewhat sterile American cooking, but it didn't affect the taste of the end product. The fermented mussels were savory, and pairing them with the sweetness of the shrimp paste and the light taste of the egg made the dish perfect. But what won me over was the offal soup. I had tried this stew before, but the cook's broth was more complex, and the organs were perfectly braised. I had to ask for a second bowl.

Get Uncomfortable

The overwhelming sensory experience, the extremely uncommon cooking environment, and the memorable taste of the food were what made my time in Bangkok unique. Immersing yourself in something new and unfamiliar is necessary for an enriched life, and who wouldn't want to make new memories by trying good food?

For me, creating new food memories is essential for my success as a chef, but as an individual, it's what makes my life interesting. The most enjoyable food memories come from times of discovery and exploration, so try something new when you have the chance. It might not be in Bangkok, prepared on a boat, or involve pig organs, but it's a step in an exciting direction. 

Blake Beshore is the co-author of the James Beard Award-winning book, "Notes from a Kitchen: A Journey Inside Culinary Obsession," and is the co-founder of Tatroux LLC, a growing culinary arts publishing company. Connect with Blake on Twitter and Google+.