If you have an interest in the good life of Thailand’s past you could enjoy two happy experiences on the same day — a visit to Khlong Bangkok Noi and a traditional Thai snack cooked by a local chef.
Waterfront living: The homes along Khlong Bangkok Noi are accessible only by boat.
It seems almost unbelievable that Khlong Bangkok Noi remains practically unchanged from what it used to be in less hectic times.
The people who live along its banks still enjoy the same water-based lifestyle they did generations ago. Their houses are kept cool by the breeze that blows in off the water, and it doesn’t matter that roads don’t lead you there. Locals don’t need cars for nearby short journeys — they paddle to their destination on small boats. Longer journeys, such as to school or work, mean catching a regularly-scheduled boat from one of the local piers.
In the morning, monks with their begging bowls paddle up to the pier in front of the houses, and in the evening people still bathe in the khlong at the same pier. The water may not be as clean as it once was, but a quick shower afterwards brings cleanliness. This way of living is an authentic part of the country’s national heritage that doesn’t only exist in remote areas.
Chaluay Phuangphuangrawt, a former civil servant, is a local chef with a deep knowledge of Thai cuisine. The 80-year-old specialises in mieng som, an old-fashioned Thai snack that is eaten with sour fruit and served with nam plaa waan yang haeng, a sweet-spicy-salty dipping sauce eaten with sour, unripe mango.
Ms Chaluay likes to cook to stay active. “When you work, you keep moving,” she said. “It is something that I can do well, and even though I do sell some, the income from it doesn’t meet the costs.” She sells her mieng som, packaged in plastic containers, for 50 baht each, and only prepares 10 portions at a time. She delivers them to a shop at Bang Khun Phrom on Samsen Road for sale, and prepares a new batch once sold.
“Experience in making old Thai dishes is passed on between generations,” Ms Chaluay said. “My recipes came from my grandmother and my mother on to me.
“Years ago, when neighbours were planning an auspicious event, a funeral or merit-making activity, food would be offered to monks. Everyone who could cook pitched in.
“People would make something that they were known for. My mother was famous for her kaeng buan, a spicy curry made with beef or pork innards, and for her kaeng massaman kai (massaman curry with chicken), khanom jeen nam phrik (rice spaghetti with a mild, semi-sweet sauce and condiments) and yam yai (a sour-spicy salad).
“Lighter foods and snacks she made included mieng som, maa haw (pieces of pineapple with a mixture of minced pork, palm sugar, peanuts, garlic and other ingredients on top) and nam plaa waan (a sweet-salty-savoury dipping sauce for fruit).
“Later on, the children in many of these families still knew these dishes, but fewer people knew how to make them.
“I kept up with them and continued to make them, because I love to cook. When I prepared something like yam yai, I liked to invite relatives or friends from work to come and eat.”
Ms Chaluay said her version of yam yai involves cutting boiled pork into thin slices and mixing with pounded dried shrimp, pounded peanuts, grilled dried squid torn into long shreds, and cucumber-like melon with the inner part removed.
The salad is seasoned with lime juice, palm sugar and fish sauce.
“When making khanom jeen nam phrik, it is important to get the fish first, and it had to be either plaa ngo or plaa salaad (two local fresh water species),” she said.
“It has to be eaten as soon as it is made. The plaa ngo has to be grilled, then the meat torn from the bones and cooked in a dry wok before being pounded to a fine consistency. Mung beans are then boiled, skins and all, and lightly pounded to a very coarse consistency. Both the fish and the mung beans are then cooked in coconut cream, with lime juice and a bit of sour tamarind water, fish sauce, and palm sugar.
“A lot of people also like tom yam haeng — it’s almost like a ready-made meal, because once it is cooked it can be kept for a long time. To make it you take dried plaa chon (snakehead fish), grill it and pound it fine. Then pound shallots, garlic, galangal, lemongrass, and makrood lime zest and cook together slowly in a wok until it becomes fragrant.
“The seasonings are sour tamarind water, palm sugar and fish sauce, added to ensure an even balance of flavours. Then the mixture is fried in a wok until almost dry.
“Tom yam haeng is eaten by itself with rice, or it can be added to regular tom yam to enrich it the way nam phrik phao (a sweet, sweet chilli paste) does.”
Ms Chaluay has lived on the bank of the canal since she was born. She still paddles her boat from her house to Wat Bang Oy Chang, located across the canal, to take public transport to wherever she needs to go.
“People who live on Khlong Bangkok Noi still live pretty much the way they always have,” she said.
“It’s peaceful and it’s safe.”
Taste of tradition: Mieng som, a delicious snack that has become increasingly hard to find.
This source first appeared on Bangkok Post Lifestyle.