upfront
BK MAGAZINE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 09, 2018
04
HOT OR NOT
BACKPEDALLING
Instead of watching that “My Country’s Got” clip, Thai netizens should be looking at “commerce-related things.” That’s the verdict of Generalissimo who predictably wasn’t buying into the hype for the rap track slamming four years of military rule. The video (23 million Youtube views and rising) went viral when the artists, and their families, received threats of prosecution. The police have since backtracked and confirmed, nope, the video doesn’t break any rules.
This cookbook author is spreading the gospel about northern Thai food INTERVIEW
American writer and photographer Austin Bush, 41, just launched his first cookbook, The Food of Northern Thailand, and it has everyone from Andy Ricker (Portland’s Pok Pok restaurant) to Pim Techamuanvivit (Nahm) praising its esoteric recipes and vivid storytelling. A resident of Thailand for almost 20 years, Bush talks to us about his love of the north and why this book is more than a cookery manual.
“I just want to document the food in English because it’s always changing.” THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID
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What inspired you to write this book? I came to Thailand in 1999 on a scholarship to study Thai at Chiang Mai University. I would use my free time traveling around taking photos. I find people are always happy to talk about food. Around 2007, [Portland restaurant] Pok Pok blew up doing northern Thai, so many foreigners started learning there are other types of Thai food. The time was right. In putting together this book, I mostly knew where I’d be going and what dishes I’d be covering as I’d built a lot of connections. How long did it take to finish? I first envisioned this 10 years ago, but I knew then that I wasn’t a good enough writer or photographer. I worked on it for about three years. I both wrote and photographed it, which was kind of insane. I’d roll into a town, into a restaurant or family kitchen, with my notepad, iPhone and camera. I’m most confident in my photography skills, so I over-compensated by taking a lot of notes. Then I’d have to go back and test a recipe. I’m not a super-talented cook, but I’m pretty familiar with northern food. How would you describe northern food? It’s close to what Thai people ate thousands of years ago. A lot of the cooking methods are very basic, so you have a lot of grilled dishes, you have a lot of raw meat dishes, soups and nam priks. Traditionally there’s not a lot of frying; that’s either new or introduced by the Chinese. Northern cuisine uses chilis but it’s not as spicy, there are a lot of bitter flavors which you get from herbs, ingredients like cow’s bile and dried spices. A lot of people in Bangkok tell me they don’t like northern food, that it’s bland. I just think they haven’t had a good version of it. One interest-
LINING UP Queuing behind Chinese tour groups at the BTS counter could soon be a thing of the past if Rabbit Line Pay has anything to do with it. When the service launches fully in early 2019, Skytrain passengers will no longer need to queue up to buy tickets, add value or top up fares, as all it will take is a few swipes on the smartphone. Now, if only there was an app to clear those crowded carriages.
ing thing I learned from talking to older people in remote areas is that in the past they would eat meat once a year. If you grew up 60-70 years ago, they would kill a buffalo or pig for a Buddhist ceremony for everyone to have. Now, it’s all about grilled meats. Do you ever get put down for being a foreigner writing about Thai food, like some chefs do? Yeah, sometimes. On Twitter I might get comments like, “white privilege.” I’ve never claimed to be an expert on northern food. My whole approach is as a journalist: I just want to document the food in English because it’s always changing. Normally, someone writes a cookbook and then sets up a studio in NY or LA to take professional pictures. My photos were all shot at the places I visited. Me being a white guy who speaks Thai opens a lot of doors, I can’t deny that. I was allowed into so many homes and kitchens, and I’m very grateful for that. What’s your favorite Thai province and why? I love Mae Hong Son near the Burmese border. It’s really beautiful, very mountainous, with lots of caves and hot springs. It feels like another country. The people there are Shan, which is an ethnic group related to the Thais in the same way the Spanish and Italians are related. But they speak a different dialect and their food has elements of Burmese and even Indian, so there are more dried spices, it’s mild and kind of oily. There are dishes you can really only get there, such as khao som, which is rice kneaded with tomatoes drizzled with garlic oil. Megan Leon
SOI 11 Gone are the days when grabbing a few drinks on Sukhumvit Soi 11 meant a toss up between beers at a seedy sports bar or buckets at a curbside van. The likes of The Photo Booth and The Bar Upstairs have recently brought a touch of class to Nana nightlife, and there’s a whole lot more on the way: Cali-Mex, Fowlmouth, Rocket Coffeebar and Hemingway’s (minus the century-old teak house, sadly). Head over to goo.gl/bMqg5h for the lowdown.
TRAFFIC JAMS We love Charoen Nakhon, we do (see page 6 for why we almost want to live there). We also love the prospect of shopping at Apple and JD Sports by the river at IconSiam. But we also can’t help thinking that maybe, just maybe, the infrastructure promised for 2020 should have come first, the mall second. The luxury development expects to welcome 150,000 shoppers a day—consider this a warning.
The Food of Northern Thailand is available on www.asiabooks.com, B971
by Kathy MacLeod (IG: @kathy_macleod)
11/2/18 6:00 PM