50 Chilies Papaya Salad!! SPICY THAI FOOD in Thailand! | Khon Kaen (ขอนแก่น)

I'm in Ken which is in northeastern [Music] Thailand and today we're going to eat an extremely rare thae dish that includes fish and an entire tray of [Music] herbs but really quickly first how did we get here in order to support local communities and highlight their unique food the tourism authority of Thailand has recently announced Thailand's hidden dishes which includes five rarely seen Thai Dishes that come from five lesser visited provinces and they asked me to travel across Thailand to eat all of them after eating a spectacular AKA meal in the mountains of changai today we're in [Music] Ken Northeastern Thailand to cook and eat a traditional Ean dish that you won't find on menus so we ended up having to drive our rental car from changai to changai it was about a three-hour drive or so because changai is a bigger city and they have a direct flight to Ean where we're going to find Thailand's next hidden [Music] dish okay here we go goodbye Northern Thailand we made [Music] it welcome to Ken this is in Ean in the northeastern region of Thailand let's go eat but before we go to eat Thailand's hidden dish there's one thing that you absolutely abolutely have to eat when you come to Ken we got here just in time he's making a fresh batch of grilled chicken Salt crusted grilled fish other grilled items and you eat it along with fiery grilled papaya salad something you can't miss when you come to Ean hit met hit [Applause] [Music] met that is the dish that you have to eat when you come to Ken or tambala uh fermented fish with crab green papaya salad and they do it in incredibly well here all the chilies are already half pounded so they then she just takes a giant spoon of it plus dry chilies to the motor and pestal to pound those up but I asked her about how many chilies she added and she said uh it's about 50 chilies on one plate oh man and yeah so I I just asked her about how many chilies she said about 50 serious seriously there's more this is one of those plates where look if you scoop down below there's more chilies then papaya oh man she added in mectin white popinac seeds look at that look at that bite oh I'm going to okay oh oh wow oh man that's going to be fire in a few minutes it's crisp it's salty it's balanced with a little bit of sweetness oh man it's refreshing you've got the mommy of the fermented fish sauce the Pala the crabs in there the tomatoes the lime juice the acidity okay first bite is not that spicy but you can tell it's already starting to build it's going to build for sure oh yeah that's tasty okay sticky rice what you can do is ball up a a ball of sticky rice and then dip submerge the fragrance of the Pala with the lime juice has a little bit of a sweetness to it as well all of that balance of flavor okay it's starting to the spice my mouth is on fire I think they're also quite well known for their gang their grilled chicken give it a dip in the num Chim [Music] mhm chicken is smoky it's really juicy and really creamy on the inside we also got some thumb sapad on this is a pork rib bones sour soup lots of herbs in here you can see lots of chilies in here too mushrooms lime juice oh when you take whoa when your mouth is on fire from the chilies and then you take the hot soup and they keep there's charcoal in it's a fir pot they keep charcoal in here to keep it boiling and hot when you take the hot soup on top of those chilies it just magnifies it oh that brings a tear to your eye let's go back in for more oh I'm sweating oh yeah this is a feeling a sensation you don't want to miss when you come to kken my mouth is on fire oh oh pet Ching super spicy oh man yes oh there was a tear it dripped down luckily the rain has cleared my entire face is on fire a really friendly family okay from here we are on our way to the next place where we're going to discover and learn about Thailand's hidden dish of Ken [Music] [Music] some come some come come so we have met up with p kamang and she is an Ean she's a so knowledgeable she's a a writer she's a historian she knows the history of dishes of Ean culture and the food and she has it's actually an amazing modern restaurant but she cooks in the extreme traditional way and so she was just explaining to us a little bit about the dish that we're going to be preparing which is Thailand's hidden dish of isan which is called Al or a can be called either though which is called op and so it's a dish with fish that uses some of the freshwater fish of this region but it's a dish I mean I've been to Ean many times I've never had it before I've never seen it Ying have you tried this dish before it really is a hidden dish it is a hidden dish and we have the privilege to be here to watch the entire process how it's going to be made and of course to eat it okay so she's getting started first steaming the rice she has such a cool setup here the house big tables big yard here but then in the yard here she has this uh Hut set up with a traditional kitchen all the traditional utensils baskets for steaming clay pots Ceramics uh so that she can teach so that she can preserve the ancient cooking techniques Kun kamang has set out all of the ingredients for the AL there's fish in the name uh but she said that it needs to be a type of soft fish a type of freshwater fish and today the name of the fish uh it can be a variety of names of fish but the fish is called bong which in English is sudas pania fish and then this just incredible variety of herbs and produce there's galangal there's Chili's shallots garlic there's herbs you could see um looks like lemon basil Dill I think that's rice Patty herb there's some mustard greens there's some flowers there's some stems this is all going to go into the dish and this main seasoning ingredient you never want to miss when you're in Ean is Pala which is fermented fish sauce so we're going to see the whole process from here as an expert on isan food and a historian and a writer uh this is a dish that she has been promoting for the last five years and like bringing back Reviving bringing it back to life promoting it as a dish that should be celebrated oh so this is a must that herb she explained is very important in this recipe and it's called sadin I don't know of the English name of it but it provides this bitterness but not just a not just a sharp bitterness but it's a well-rounded she said it's a well-rounded bitterness so uh and the fish go into she just slices them and then into some salt water so she's starting preparing the fish so I'm going to help her do a little bit of pounding right now she's just uh ratioed out the correct amount of galangal lemongrass shallots chilies and garlic okay so first for the galangal okay and then lemongrass goes in oh the aroma's come out garlic okay okay okay okay so oh so you don't want it to actually be too fine you just want to you just want to break break the ingredients so that the flavors come out okay just kind of like one smash okay the process of making this is just totally unlike what I was thinking a lot of dishes you know you take those same ingredients and you make a curry paste and you pound it until it's uh completely all the fibers have been dissolved into a very fine oily paste for this one you just want to smash all of the ingredients just to so their flavors are released then she actually puts the the Bala the fermented fish sauce into the cook with all of those ingredients and then the fish goes into that and she just stirs it around it's chunky just full of those fragrant herbs already ah oh so now into small little clay pots a variety of all those herbs oh beautiful beautiful so after you got a whole she's got a whole bed of herbs on the bottom of the clay pot then the fish mixture goes on it's going to cook roast for about 15 minutes now something that I've learned is that the the whole name of the dishes is called AA a is this style of cooking like kind of roasting in a clay pot is that correct or is it the or is it the whole process it's the whole process it it depend off the the liquid have to be highlight a little bit of the liquid a little bit of water that's why oh so it's not just like cooking in a clay pot it's not just roasting it's not just boiling it's a little bit of water that's why she added in a little bit of water then it Cooks over the fire in the clay pot with a lid on that's what an awe is it's such a healthy such a vibrant dish such a traditional dish and just all those herbs are of so much importance so that needs to be on the fire for approximately 15 minutes to cook in the meantime she has some other dishes that she's already prepared earlier this morning that she wants us to try right now as that's cooking man what a what a treat I mean this is straight up Chef's Table in her home where she has this huge long table I mean you could I mean she caters to only private groups here uh preserving the art the tradition the wisdom of isan Cuisine [Music] w wow I am just blown away this is the first dish this is one of the most impressive dishes platters I think I've ever seen it's called and it is a roasted salt crusted roasted snakehe head fish with an entire Garden of lotus flowers made into little cups with all the different meang inside with like shallots and coconut and lime there's butterfly pea flowers and then the dressing which is sugar cane juice as well as fermented fish sauce in there what a display this is gorgeous okay not so you take one of those little lotus flowers and then you take some of the the snakehead fish which is grilled and roasted and she look at the look at the texture of that snakehead fish she said the salt is a special type of salt that's not that salty okay that goes inside then some of the dressing okay my cup okay here we go cup my cup I cannot wait to try it oh wow that is an absolute Symphony in your mouth the Petals of the lotus just kind of dissolve on your tongue you've got the the ginger the lemongrass the lime the shallots all Crunch and bring their flavor yet nothing is overpowering the smokiness of that fish the oiliness of it and the light sweetness of the sugar cane with the fragrance of the Bala wow oh i marup t t Mar it's so good it's the most balanced dish of this kind I've ever had appetize and it's just the appetizer appetizer soig another method to do it add in some of the the petals insides of the the Lotus flour plus a butterfly pea flour plus some of the salt from the crust of the [Music] fish that's even more things going on in your mouth M I love it with that salt all that even enhan es it more M mhm that was the expert move there that sprinkle of salt from the fish crust oh it's so good and it's not that salty yet it's just a balance oh that's impressive next dish I'm going to take some of the Canam genene the rice noodles onto my plate half half a hardboiled egg the dish is called K so again it's Pala it's fermented fish sauce in here you see the the muit lime in there and this goes over the noodles oh the chilies all the aroma oh the muit man you can see all the chunks in there all the herbs all the galangal okay m oh that egg is incredible the the warm gooiness of the yolk and that Curry it you immediately taste the herbal medicinal flavor of it tastes like fingerroot and galangal and the mut lime in there has this incredible depth of fish complexity to it fermentation to it oh but not again not overpowering so clean we got all the raw vegetables to eat mustard greens and mint and cucumbers and flowers very refreshing mhm the next dish this is a a chicken broth called lamai it is cooked in the the bamboo roasted in the bamboo um and it's like a healing medicinal chicken broth oh that's the the definition of chicken broth right there oh that brings a whole new meaning to the word chicken broth it's condensed there's so much chicken a AR to it and yet it's not light it's not heavy it's not greasy even you can almost taste the sweetness of the bones oh man that's a broth to cherish whoa another dish the the presentation is on the next level we've come to one of the signature dishes here and I like a oh so it is so many things going on and something truly unique and interesting it is pork ribs with these uh they're called gra but I believe in in English I mean they're known as isan almonds it's a type of nut that grows locally here but the milky substance on the inside of the pumpkin is a combination of those nuts the nut milk from those nuts plus 3 kilos of crickets Cricket powder crickets pounded into that and that's a sauce for the pork ribs what a unique [Music] dish this is this is a really old recipe actually impossible to find unless you're here like incredibly rare rare Ean food strategy here is to grab grab a bone it's going to be so tender oh oh it's just falling off the bone oh it's been cooked for two days oh man oh I don't even know if it's possible to pick up the bone it just slides out wait we might need to pick up two bones okay the first step is to just actually taste the the pork on whoa the bones are just sliding I can't even hold the bones okay cooked for two days wow a baby can eat that it's so tender the fat is just turned to liquid on your on your mouth that is unbelievable oh it's so fragrant and fatty juicy oh it's just oh oh man oh that's incredible okay and then you take some of the the milk which is again a combination of crickets and Ean almonds wow that's like whipped cream my side my side know I come there's no milk no Dairy whatsoever in that that is like thicker and richer than whipping cream wow that is unbelievably creamy and so fragrant you don't oh it's like Bal there's Bala in it too fermented fish but you don't really taste it it just brings it it's that Harmony that is ultra cream I'm going to grab a piece of the pork and then one more dip the num gy with garlic and Chili's sesame seeds that provides a contrast to the richness because you got that really fatty Rich Park the really creamy almond milk the ckets and then that's really nicely sour garlicky wow that combination is extraordinary I think we need to try a combination with everything on it go in for some of this on top of the pork some of the milk okay that's the bite oh wow okay that combination is takes it to the next level oh the entire bite just melt in your mouth collapses creaminess sour acidity chilies and garlic Porky liquids wow that's that's unbelievable never had a dish like this before totally different from anything and absolutely extraordinary okay okay okay A little bit of the little bit of the pumpkin next wow that is that's like the creamiest pumpkin you'll ever have either twoo cream on top of cream on top of fatty meaty juices oh that's unbelievable oh almost forgot the dried chilies oh that's so fragrant oh yeah that's spicy okay [Laughter] [Music] so here we are this it's another just mindblowing tray of different isan stews and dishes and uh boiling Patty rice Patty crab heads boiling away we've got sticky rice and then this the that is the main dish I mean we came to eat everything but that dish is what we saw the entire process of that is the Ean hidden dish of Thailand so you should take some sticky rice oh NE my cup okay oh it's really fragrant sticky rice I'm going to take a a piece of the fish okay oh yes the head oh all of those herbs down there dab it kind of like dab it into the fish get a little bit of that buttery fish plus a little bit of those herbs oh yeah oh that flavor is unbelievable I got a sweet chot the Chili's in there the herbs that one bitter leaf that she said that she added that is an absolute must it gives this bitterness but it's a sweetness at the same time like she said it's so well-rounded you taste the dill in there the lemongrass the fish is so buttery melts in your mouth with that fresh young sticky rice that is unbelievable oh what a dish oh man it's just so healthy so natural tasting so herbal the fermented fish in there to bring out the to bring in the sauce um but then also she said you have to use something that's watery juicy such as fish that brings the waters and the juices come out of it to make that broth wow that's that's something extraordinary that is incredibly tasty yeah and some of the you can see that the herbs are at different stages of of dness oh man you taste the lemongrass the dill m that is the most like well-rounded medicinal bitter broth you'll ever taste oh it's good it's like sweet naturally from all those herbs herbaceous chili Laden the oils of the fish has come out oh it's so good while it's still boiling I want to try those crab heads so you dip your sticky rice oh oh that's so rich it's buttery it's creamy and taste the naturalness of it oh it's so good so creamy oh and the even the rum of that smoke smells like hissing melted butter wow that is a delicacy feels like roasted brown butter oh man the butteriness of that fish the balance of herbs that chili is on fire I almost cannot believe that's true like it's the perfect balance Harmony every herb is in there for a reason the counter contrast sweet spicy lemongrass asy herbal the dill the bitterness The Buttery fish the fragrance of the fermented fish sauce it's it's truly extraordinary okay we have some more dishes to try next up I'm going to go go for the next dish which is called Kung mrock so it's the little freshwat shrimp with the water olives what a dish water olives are a unique ingredient oh little shrimps are so fragrant and sharp you got to chew them up oh man then you got the like tastes like roasted shallots and chilies and then you got the bitter kind of like the stringency of the water olive and then you eat it she said it's good to chase it with this this one this herb the contrast what oh like a mustardy Wasabi greens yes oh yes the next St is called Gang so why are the ratan shoots here I believe with bone in ribs oh man this looks incredibly delicious M it's unbelievable again it has that contrast of bitter spicy sweet but not not a sugary sweet like a fresh shs or fresh herbal sweet meaty from the pork M oh that's unbelievable the depth and complexity of flavor is [Music] unbelievable okay and next up for a dish called om om this is beef with lots of Dill so the thing with om is you need to have some of the some of the rice rice in here to kind of thicken it I think and then pieces of looks like beef shin isan has a lot of incredible food and one of the things that I've always thought is that you know like the sometime the green papaya salad is the most famous but these stews these hyper Regional like often times seasonal herbal stews are truly some of my favorite dishes in Ean things that I could eat daily that like just blow my mind with complexity and flavor these traditional stews oh man really heavy on the dill the lemongrass the beef melts in your mouth the rice just kind of thickens it outstanding everything this is award-winning actually and then I think this might be the final dish of the meal lamai this is the chicken that was cooked in the in the bamboo oh wow that melts in your your mouth it is so tender literally falls off the bone it's been cooked overnight you really taste the fragrance of the lemongrass in there chilies oh it has that kind of just so fragrant Smokey W everything is just on the next level these are the highest quality of every dish that I've ever had and just so many unique flavors like it's an actual overdose of complexity of flavor in your mouth right now that was an unbelievable meal I am actually stuffed right now so much food some of the most impressive platters of food I've ever seen and we're having a traditional isan dessert called B manoi and it's a like a leaf jelly a leaf jelly on the bottom with coconut milk on the top M oh that's delicious you mhm well it kind of has a a green taste to it but then almost a vanilla pandan Aroma to it as well a very light melt in your mouth richness of the coconut milk fragrance of sesame seeds yeah it's really good really light oh yeah oh I'm pretty stuffed that was uh just an unbelievable meal and all the dishes were rare extremely hard to find and I absolutely love what Kun kamam Nang is doing she's a historian preserving the wisdom and culture of isan Cuisine and so I would highly highly recommend her restaurant when you visit Ken from here we're driving back to the city and we have [Music] [Music] dinner okay well it's a little bit dim in here uh but welcome to again while this restaurant's very popular tables are full um and it is a chef driven restaurant but you do order off the menu it is a full menu list not a not a chef's table so they actually have a mix of isan some other Regional Thai Dishes on their menu as well as even some Western food on their menu but I'm going to keep it uh try to try some of their their Ean specific dishes off with a probiotic beverage they had four to choose from I chose the papache it's called they said Pineapple chilies and ginger oo nice oh the chilies and ginger first dish has arrived which is Gang om one of my one of my favorite isan dishes um it is more like a stew with a right amount of ratio of water which simmers down creating this sauce there's usually lots of lemongrass lots of Dill there's basil in here there's green chilies this one is the upgraded version with oobo and also I mean and it is local Thai beef from the next Province over with the bone marrow on the inside oh that beef is so tender I'm going to grab a spoonful it's very aromatic very [Music] herbaceous all the beef melt in your mouth I love the finally shape lemongrass all the herbs the dough in there it's a little bit mild but the herbs are very [Music] fresh okay here we go the rest of all the dishes we ordered have arrived oh thank you but first before we start eating some rice wine kapun I'm going to start with a gang bub this is a isan another stew full of vegetables and thickened with [Music] rice M that one is really Fresh So Many herbs and vegetables so many different textures of vegetables as well okay next up for the suam and suam is of course pounded papaya salad but and we've I mean we've already had the papaya version this morning but this is a totally different version not even made with Papaya but there's pork there's there's shrimp sé on the top and then on the bottom there's the the pounded salad made from hik made from Tom Tomatoes oh there's even cashews in it and long beans and should be some Bala in here as well pick [Music] Sal okay that's really good oh man fragrant not very pungent but nice rounded flavor the hikma gives a crunch it's also very soft like kind of like an apple um kind of like dissolves then you got the nuts got the tartness of the Tomatoes The Long beads in there okay got to chase that with a sa who very juicy okay the next dish that we got is the m so this is and there's fig leaves in it he said there's fig leaves there's fish there's curry paste there's coconut milk I'm going to take some of this onto my rice and then he likes to eat it with PN Chili's fish sauce garlic oh there shallots this one is nice really chunky oh that's really good I think what's really making it are the Smoky fragrance of the Fig leaves the curry paste the fish is just so uh buttery and then with that fish sauce that brings out the flavor the food was really fresh top quality and I loved all those different ferments that they make I want to say a big thank you first of all to you for watching this entire video please remember to give it a thumbs up if you enjoyed it leave a comment below I'd love to hear from you and if you're not already subscribed make sure you subscribe now for lots more food and travel videos and I want to say also a big thank you to the tourism authority of Thailand for making this entire trip happen tomorrow we fly back to Bangkok then we're going to get in our car and drive to the province of Pep Buri which is in the western part of central Thailand for Thailand's next hidden dish and it's going to be a rare dish we're going to harvest the ingredient from a tree and they're going to make a very rare unique Curry something you're not going to want to miss so stay [Music] tuned

Channel: Mark Wiens

Views: 1,526,944

Keywords: Thailand, Thai food, Khon Kaen, Isan food, Isaan food, ส้มตำ กุ๊กไก่, ขอนแก่น, Som Tam, Isaan street food, Thai street food, Khon Kaen food, Mark Wiens, Mark Wiens Thailand, best Thai food, best Thailand food, food vlog, food videos, Thailand food, Thai cuisine, best Thai dishes, hidden Thai dishes, Thailand tourism, อ๋อปลา

Id: KfO5Ry3O5gE

Length: 41min 29sec (2489 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 26 2023