Listen: I have long ranted and raved about how it's damn near impossible to recreate the cuisine you find in one country, thousands of miles away in another. After pretending that Thai food didn't exist for a the last couple months, I broke down a couple of times, and got just about what I expected: A jumbled approximation. This is owing to a myriad of reasons some of which might include: availability of ingredients, customers unfamiliarity with the cuisine, and or catering to the American palate. Sometimes you can find something resembling a dish from a far away land, but once you've had the "real" thing, it's hard to be satisfied with its distant cousin.
Taking a walk through Berkeley the other morning, we were curious why there were so many rather hip looking white people milling about on the grass in front of the Tool Lending Library. Near the sidewalk there were parking signs, some of which were in Thai. It dawned on us that nearby was the much talked about Thai temple where there is a Sunday brunch. Friends and acquaintances have heartily recommended it.
We walked into the compound to see Thai dancing, people wearing their unmistakable yellow shirts, and most importantly, food. We saw some familiar dishes, most of which we were in no mood for as we had recently eaten. But one item caught our eye. It was the lovely lovely Kanom Krok. You can see it here or here.
A hard working troupe of Thai ladies were cooking up these little treats as fast as they could, but the line kept getting longer. They cooked. We waited.
The result? The worst Kanom Khrok we have ever sampled. Don't get upset! Remember what I said at the beginning of this post about the difficulties in recreating one cuisine so far from it's place of origin? The coconut milk used was obviously canned, not fresh. They were merely sweet, not a little savory. It simply lacked the subtle flavors, the balance that make this snack a personal favorite. In spite of this being the worst we have ever had, if not compared to the hundreds of Kanom Krok sampled in Thailand, they were actually pretty good. At four dollars a pop, this snack is about twelve times the price of the Thai version. Worth it? I'm not sure, but we might be back some day in the future. Or maybe I'll save my money for tacos.
Come early, or not at all to avoid the mad rush. 9 am to 2 pm Sundays only!
Wat Mongkolratanaram
1911 Russell St
Berkeley, CA 94703
(510) 849-3419
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Kanom Krok, American Version
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8 comments:
Yuck. We even witnessed the same thing with Italian food on returning to the States, and you'd think Italian ingredients would be much easier to come by. But we keep trying. Your photos do make the dish look nice, though!
Maybe I spoke too strongly. It wasn't bad per se, just at the very bottom of the list.
This is the problem with eating a cuisine outside it's natural habitat. So very often it falls short. Sometimes we have to lower our expectations. I ate at a Thai resto here in KL last week with friends ... the meal completely left me cold. But I probably would have enjoyed it more if I'd never eaten banana blossom salad and grilled beef salad (nya nam tok) in Thailand (the usual problem - everything was way too sweet with little salty-sour balance).
So, where to go from here?
I had a similar conversation with an acquaintance today. He more or less hates all but one Chinese restaurant in all of San Francisco. I told him about my experiences with thai food. It pains me to just walk away from it entirely. Maybe unintentionally, this post was a good bye to Thai food of sorts.
For every country I go and sample the local fare, i ruin the possibility of ever really enjoying that food again once back home.
I can imagine how underwhelming that banana flower salad and beef salad really were. What did your dining partners think? I imagine in this case, ignorance was bliss.
Well,Malaysians prefer their food on the sweet side so yeah, they thought it was great. Never having had nya nam tok made by a great Isaan cook in Bangkok probably helped too.
In the US it's geographical. There is *great* authentic regional Thai to be had in LA, and really pretty darned good stuff in CHI too. Good Hmong in WI, so I've heard.
To tell the truth I've never found the Asian food in San Fran to be that great. Chinese, very disappointing. But I understand if you're willing to drive a bit, south or to Sacramento, you'll hit good Vietnamese.
And you're near some good Indian - have you hit VIK's yet, in Emeryville, for chaat? ohmygod... hope it's still good.
Thank you thank you. I will be hitting VIK's tomorrow!
Thai cooking instructor, Kasma Loha-Unchit is the best source for Thai recipes that are adapted to the American kitchen. She has taught cooking classes in the San Francisco bay area for about 20 years and written 2 cookbooks; her kanom krok recipe is adapted to the ingredients available in the USA: http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/recipes/kanomkrok.html
(& you can buy the kanom krok pan, etc. here: http://www.templeofthai.com/cookware/kanomkrok-6210000316.php )
thailandgirl
I have myself a handy dandy super fancy ableskeever pan that I will use if I ever feel compelled to murder kanom krok. Are you that teacher who's been living in the area for 20 years? It's okay if you are... Speaking of adaptations: Maybe I'm an old grump at an early age, but I'm always nervous about adapting recipes for unattainable ingredients or for another palate. For humans, taste and smell are incredibly powerful triggers of memory, I quickly feel the difference as i taste. If it's not right it brings on a flood of nostalgia, and disappointment.
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