The Best Food in South East Asia

Yummy Malaysian vegetable and dhall curry

After 3 months, 6 countries (with 2 more to go!) and 154 meals (a rough guess), we have tried our fair share of South East Asian food. Despite many mishaps and dashes to the loo(!), the whole experience of trying new dishes, getting out of our comfort zones, and finding great recipes we will be taking home with us has been one of the highlights of our adventure away from home. As most people who have visited to Asia will agree, eating in this part of the world is not only enjoyable but also an experience. It’s where different cultures, climates, customs and histories all come together, and sometimes eating at a street-side vendor is just as insightful as spending the day visiting the different sights and tourist attractions. Food is taken very seriously over here with most streets lined with street vendours. In Thailand the very common greeting; “have you eaten rice yet?” sometimes replaces the usual “hello”.

As we are soon to be leaving Asia for our new adventure in Australia I thought I’d share with you some of the best food we have eaten on this trip.

Pad Thai (Thailand)

Our very own Pad Thai creations during our Chiang Mai cooking class

In my opinion Thailand has the best street food in South East Asia, with Bangkok taking the culinary crown. Okay, so most people who have visited Thailand rattle on about Pad Thai and how amazing it is to the point where it almost puts you off the dish. However, at 30Baht a go it was our main meal of choice and tastes the best when purchased from one of the street vendours rather than a restaurant. We were lucky enough to have a go at making this ourselves during our cooking class in Chiang Mai. For something so simple to cook, it seems wrong that it should taste so good. When you’re on a budget as well, the eggy noodles are the best way to fill you up on the cheap. I’ll definitely be taking the recipe back home with me to England.

Pho (Vietnam)

A steaming bowl of Pho

On a 38 degree day, after walking the city streets for hours, the last thing I felt like eating was a steaming soup of noodles in a sweaty restaurant. But amazingly, a big bowl of noodle soup with wierd bits of beef, and a plate piled high with extras to add as you wish (limes, chillies, mint and a strange-looking assortment of weed-like plants) it quickly became my all-time favourite Asian dish. When I get home I will try (and no doubt fail) to recreate it but it definitely won’t be the same as from a Vietnamese street vendour lady.

Fish Amok (Cambodia)

Source: eattheplate.wordpress.com

Amok is Cambodia’s culinary oyster and you’ll come across it on almost all restaurant menus. The national dish (or so it seems) consists of a savoury coconut curry, sometimes served within banana leaf. It’s rich, creamy and very very tasty.

Tandoori Chicken (Malaysia)

Jim enjoying his Tandoori chicken

The minute you set your foot on the ground in Malaysia, you notice how the food is heavily influenced by Indian culture. During our stay at Penang, the ‘pearl’ of Asian cuisine, we made the most of the Indian influences and ate our favourite dishes every night. One of the highlights was the Tandoori chicken ‘set’ which includes a naan of your choice (cheese obviously), a peice of heavily marinated Tandoori chicken, onions and lime, and vaiorus sauces for dipping. At roughly RM9, this is by far the best bargain you can get in Malaysia!

The Art Of Tea Drinking

After a recent trip to Sarajevo, we decided to have a tour with a local guide to get to know more of the city. Expecting him to talk mainly about the Bosnian war, we were surprised when the majority of the trip was spent discussing, well tea! Yes, as in the drinkable kind. When it came to discussing the hot beverage, our guide became quite animated. There are rules, he said. In Sarajevo a person can’t simply pour tea into a cup and start drinking. There certain steps which must be followed. This was the same for coffee too. But even more so. At the mention of coffee, our guide began a 20 minute talk on the dos and don’ts of coffee drinking.

It really got me thinking. As a Brit I cherish my cup of tea in the morning. But that’s understandable isn’t it? I’m English. That’s what the English like. However, tea holds a distinct place in many cultures, with multiple customs and rituals for drinking it. After all, tea was first drunk by the Chinese before it traveled to Europe right?

Here are a few of the tea rituals which are  performed across the globe:

Turkey

Tea drinking has never been taken more seriously than it is here.  With the highest consumption in the world, Turkish tea is always a rasping orange colour, and taken without milk. It is common practice to dip cubes of sugar in the liquid before sucking on them. The tea here is especially beautiful, with curved-shaped and clear glasses with elaborately decorated saucers.

India

It is considered impolite to accept a cup of tea when it is first offered to you. Only when the host insists, should you gracefully accept. God that takes up a lot of time!

China

In this country you should thank your tea server by gently tapping on the table twice with your index and middle fingers.

Tibet

Tea is commonly brewed with salt and butter. Very strange.

Japan

You may add milk and sugar to your tea, but only once you have tasted it the way it has been served to you. Failing to do this is seen as a major insult to your host.

Morocco

Atai (Moroccan tea culture) is defined by the way green tea is prepared and consumed in Morocco. When drinking tea, a person must not talk about business or serious matters, but instead keep it social. So when drinking tea with a shopkeeper, don’t talk prices until the glasses are empty.

Argentina

Don’t use the straw to stir mate (tea). The leaves floating on the top should remain dry.

Russia

Tea is considered the national drink here and is drunk out of glasses.

England

Now this one made me laugh. After stirring, place your spoon on the saucer behind the cup, its handle pointing the same way as the cup’s. This may have been true a hundred years ago, but now the times have changed. Tea drinking is so common in households that it has just merged into every day life. Now all you have to do is pop the kettle on and grab a teabag, (and maybe a chocolate biscuit) and voila! Your brew is served!

Now I might go make myself a cuppa…