The sizzle of fried rice, the hint of garlic in the air and the mouth watering smell of chicken frying on the stove – mmm, it’s Southern Fried Thai cooking at its best. by Debbie Wilson
MARCH 2008 • Y’ALL
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he marriage of two unique styles of cooking is wafting through the home of Noy Wilson, of Florence, Ala. Her name is also the result of the real marriage of two unique cultures – the Deep South USA and Far East Thailand. Noy is not your typical Southern name nor is she a typical Southern woman. In the South, where cooking is revered as an art, her interesting blend of Asian spices and the mystical Southern “touch” of cooking make for some mighty fine dishes. She doesn’t read English, so her cooking skills were acquired by observing her mother-in-law and her husband’s “Ma Ma” Danley.
From those first days of her arrival to North Alabama in 1971 as the wife of a U.S. serviceman, Wilson was interested in cooking. She had been used to a tough life in Thailand, with scarce resources for her family. With food so plentiful in America, she was eager to experience it all. Folks really didn’t notice until a few months had passed how much time she spent watching her mother-in-law prepare meals. She started trying her hand at cooking more than just her Thai food. She experimented with one Southern dish at a time and then she would cook it everyday for weeks trying to get it “just like Mama-san’s.” Wilson’s first dish was German chocolate cake. Then she went for the staple of every covered dish dessert menu – banana pudding, or as she calls it, “banna pud.” Then came the fried chicken and finally the fried apple and fried chocolate pies. Man, oh man, folks in North Alabama will drive many miles and bribe many folks to have her fried apple pies.
Here’s a great Noy Wilson recipe, just for Y’all:
Fried Apple Pies 1 quart dried apples 4 cups water 1 1/2 sticks butter-softened 1/2 cup sugar 2 Tbsp. cinnamon Butter-me-not-biscuits (1 biscuit per pie) vegetable oil flour First in a deep dish saucepan, place water, 1/2 stick butter, sugar, cinnamon and apples. Cook for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Allow mixture to cool and add remaining 1 stick butter. Mix together. Now pour oil into skillet. Heat oil to high heat and then turn heat to medium. Sprinkle flour on countertop, place 1 biscuit in a little flour so it won’t stick to surface. Roll out biscuit so that it is very thin, add a spoonful of apple mixture in center of rolled-out biscuit, fold ends together and press around edges with a fork so biscuit won’t burst open while cooking. Place apple pie in hot oil and brown on each side or until the biscuit is done. Take out and place on paper towels or napkins to drain off excess oil. Eat while hot with ice cream or by itself. Great either way.
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Y’ALL • THE MAGAZINE OF SOUTHERN PEOPLE
Another unique Southern favorite from Noy….
Chocolate Gravy 2 Tbsp. flour 1/2 cup sugar 2 Tbsp. cocoa mix 1 1/2 cups water 1/2 stick butter First mix flour, sugar, and cocoa mix together, and then add water. Over high heat stir constantly so it won’t stick. Add butter and when mixture is thick remove from heat and serve hot over homemade biscuits. Wilson’s cooking skills are put to use daily at Wilson School in Florence, Ala. Along with her co-workers, she serves meals to about 1,100 school kids a day. She rarely takes a day off, as she worries about the kids that depend on her to assist them with mealtimes and to make sure they are fed properly. Only in the South!