Thai Supermarket: Silom Market at Thai Town's Thailand Plaza

This morning I ventured out to Silom market in Hollywood's Thai town. Thai town is a small, nohing like Chinatown or Koreatown, but it does hold a little microcosm of Thai culture and food that is worth exploring.

Silom market is part of Thailand Plaza, a building with a restaurant and stores. Parking in the complex is free with a receipt from one of the merchants. Getting there right when it opened at 9:00 am, I successfully avoided the traffic!

Silom had all of the things I needed to make an authentic Panang curry. This market is about 4 or 5x the size of Simpang Asia over on the west side. I was able to get fresh galanga, kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass, Thai chiles, and other ingredients. I also picked up some tasty little pastries right outside the back door. A nice guy was loading them hot and fresh off of his truck. I just loved the big pieces of fried banana he was selling. Pastries pictured below.

My experience here was actually one that reminds me of why I love food so much. Food isn't just about eating, it's a door into the lives of the cultures and people who cook, share, and consume it. I say this because as I walked out the front door I saw a beautiful procession of Buddhist monks, all dressed in their bright orange robes. They were lined up and walking past the many Thai people who were putting food in the monks' baskets. This is a tradition that takes place in Thailand and I had only seen it on TV. I did some more research on it and learned that this is the daily alms round that provides Buddhist monks with their food and is part of the monk's philosophy which promotes dependence on well-wishers. They only eat between dawn and noon. I was lucky to have arrived at 9:00 am when this was happening! I hope I explained all of that correctly. I felt like I shouldn't just stand there and stare at them.. although I wanted to because it was quite beautiful. It was a very quiet and solemn ceremony and the people greeted eachother with praying hands. I was the only whitey there and felt a little bit like a tourist all of a sudden. So, I slowly walked back into the store and then went home.

Silom Supermarket
5321 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Open 9-9 every day

Buddha's Belly 3X

There is a new restaurant near the Pier / Promenade area of Santa Monica that we really like. It's called Buddha's Belly. We like it so much that we've been there for dinner three times in the past two weeks. The other reason for this is that there simply aren't very many good restaurants in that area. And, since we're in that area so often, this is pretty much the default now when we're there and we're hungry.

It's a pan-Asian restaurant with good atmosphere and best of all a very nice combination of Thai, Chinese, Japanese, and California flavors sprinkled throughout the dishes. Plus, it is very reasonably priced, so you could go there any time you feel like it. The only downside is on Saturday night we showed up with five people and the wait was about forty minutes. They're just not set up for groups. But, if you have up to four peeps, you should easily get a nice booth near the window and be happy. Oh, and they have a bar so you could just wait there and have a few : )

Here are some of the dishes we've tried:

Appetizers:
Albacore and Avocado Spring Roll
This thing rocks!! It just melts in your mouth and has a great combination of flavors.

Chilled Vietnamese Rolls
I had to try these since I love these kinds of rolls so much. They were good. The fried onions added a nice touch. The two sauces that came with it were very good.

Salads:
Spicy Thai Beef Salad
Good, the beef was delicious, not a ton of it. Maybe a few too many onions but overall quite tasty.

Vegan Tofu Salad
Tasty, I would have liked some more "stuff" in it. Good if you're not super hungry or as a side-dish.

Rice and Noodles:
Roasted Garlic Fried Rice
Woah.. awesome! Plenty of cloves of roasted garlic in a Chinese-style fried rice. Great side-dish.

Singapore Seafood Noodles
These are squid-ink (purple), kind of thick, vermicelli noodles with plenty of seafood, and the right touch of heat. You could really tastes the five-spice powder in here, and I'm totally into that right now so I loved it.

Yakisoba (w/beef)
These are good if you like Chines lo-mein, because that's what it reminded me off. I'm not nuts about lo-mein in general.

Spicy Peanut Noodles
I didn't like these, although my boyfriend gobbled them up. I thought it was way too peanut-y.

Thai Green Curry Chicken and Jasmine Rice
This should really be listed under Entrees because it's a square meal. You get a bowl of white meat chicken in a delicious coconut curry sauce with lightly cooked fresh veggies such as Japanese eggplant (which is a fave of mine) and others. Generous side of Jasmine rice (not too fragrant though). Great. My boyfriend loved this dish.

Buddha's Belly
205 Broadway
Santa Monica, CA
310-458-2500

also at:
7475 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA
323-931-8588

Grocery Store for Thai Ingredients near the West side

It's not easy to find Thai groceries, so when I found this place, I thought, I have to tell you about it. It's called Simpang Asia and it's actually an Indonesian market that is connected to a cafe. It's small and has a lot of the items you might be able to find at the bigger Japanese markets or even the regular 'ol supermarket. But, the few special items they have are worth the trip. These include:

• Lemongrass: Lemony and fibrous. It looks like a scallion and is in the refridgerated case with the veggies. It really adds that authentic Thai flavor to your dishes
• Galanga: A special kind of Thai ginger. I found slices of it in the freezer
• Curry Pastes: Red, green, yellow, panang or matsaman. In a can or tub.
• Kaffir Lime Leaves: These leaves have a unique flavor.. I found them in freezer
  

They also have coriander seeds, cooking wine and lots of other things. When I couldn't find these things on my own, I peeked in the back and asked an employee to help. She was very nice about it and helped me find everything I needed. Next time, I will stay for lunch.

Simpang Asia
10433 National Blvd #2
Los Angeles, CA 90034
310.815.9075

Across the street from the market are two Indonesian restaurants, so it appears to be a little microcommunity here. I've never had Indonesian food, so I am excited to go back to that area for lunch or dinner. Happy shopping!!

Thai Lettuce Cups = Crazy Delicious

These were, like da bomb (my nephew is insisting people use that expression). Now, I make lots of stuff all the time, and not all of it is blog-worthy. So, rest-assured you can believe what I say.

These cups are loaded with juicy ground animal seasoned with the most delectable of Thai flavors. I mean, the blending of coriander, ginger, garlic and cilantro just explodes in your mouth with flavorful goodness. That is, if you like cilantro. I suppose you could leave it out if you don't like cilantro, maybe substitute Thai basil or mint. But I love cilantro. People either love it or hate it. There is actually a whole community of peeps who hate it: check it: I hate cilantro.com.

Anyway, the recipe is below. I substituted ground turkey for the ground pork and coriander seeds for coriander root. I also left out the chiles because I am a spicy-hot wimp. I credit this recipe to the appropriately named book: Thai by Lesley Mackley.

Not sure where to get Thai ingredients? Sampang Asia should have everything you need.

That Lettuce Cups

• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 fresh red chiles, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 T (tablespooon) chopped coriander root
• 1 T grated fresh ginger
• 3 T veggie oil
• 1 T hot water
• 1.2 lbs ground pork, chicken, or turkey
• 2 fresh kaffir lime leaves, shredded finely
• 2 T fish sauce
• 1 T light brown sugar
• 2 T coursely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 head of iceberg lettuce
  
  Garnish:
• More chopped fresh cilantro
• Thin strips of red chile

1. Place the garlic, chile, coriander root, ginger, oil and water in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer to a wok or skillet.
2. Heat and stir the paste for 4 minutes over medium heat, then increase the heat and add the ground meat. Stir-fry for 3 minutes, or until colored.
3. Add the lime leaves, fish sauce, sugar and chopped cilantro. Continue to cook, stiring, until the pork is dry.
4. Break up the head of lettuce into cups and serve with the meat mixture, garnished.
   

Fresh Summer Rolls

Introducing the Fresh Summer Roll! Sound familiar? That's because it's pretty much the same thing as the Fresh Spring Roll except it is summer-time when you eat it. I referred to these tasty delights in a previous blog entry about Pho-Reign, a Vietnamese restaurant nearby. That is where I was I first inspired to make this version.

Fresh Summer Rolls

See, for years I have been making fresh spring rolls with this recipe. (Something to note about the recipe in that link: the second list of ingredients is for a sauce I have never made, but I always serve it with the Hoisin sauce which is the third list of ingredients. Check out the recipe and then come on back.)

At Pho-reign, instead of just using boring cocktail shrimp, they mix things up with BBQ beef or pork. So, I decided to make a Thai chicken version with a peanut dipping sauce. I took the main recipe you just checked out, and eliminated the cilantro, mostly because I didn't have any, and the shrimp. Then, I broiled two boneless chicken breasts dousing both sides with a sauce made of:

• Soy Sauce
• Fish Sauce (Optional, use sparingly!!)
• Teryiaki Sauce (a thick version used for BBQing)
• Drop of Sesame Oil
• Peanut Butter

(I am really sorry about not having measurements but you're just going to have to use your own judgement and taste.)

When the chicken was done, I cut it into 1/2 inch strips and started my assembly line with the other ingredients. Instead of the shrimp, I used the chicken strips, and wrapped everything in the wet rice papers. For a dipping sauce, I mixed up:

• 3 parts Hoisin Sauce
• 1 part Peanut Butter

Sprinkle the combined sauces with chopped peanuts

These are really soooo good. But at the same time, kind of an acquired taste. The moist rice papers are kind of.. chewy, and they look transparent. If you are entertaining, however, it is nice to put whole fresh herbs on the wrapper first, so they end up showing through and looking very pretty. The exciting thing to note here, I know you can hardly contain yourself, is that you can really use any kind of meat or even tofu if you are vegetarian or vegan. This is a very healthy recipe as well and great on a hot day because it is so light and the herbs always make everything taste so fresh.

You may be thinking: what are all these crazy ingredients and where can I get them?? Well, the good news is you can probably get most of them in the ethnic sections of your larger supermarkets. If you live near an Asian supermarket that carries Thai and/or Vietnamese groceries, even better, and cheaper. If you live in LA, I did find a place for Thai and Indonesian ingredients.. you can read about it here.

Here are some links and info for some items so you'll know what to look for:

• Rice Spring Roll Wrappers: These are round, the size of a dinner plate, and very brittle until they are dipped in the hot water. They are made with the same kind of rice flour as rice noodles (Pad Thai is made with rice noodles).
• Fish Sauce: A very popular sauce that goes into a lot of Thai cooking, you just didn't know it. Don't ask what's in it.
• Hoisin Sauce: Very tasty right out of the jar, albeit salty. Made from soy, sweet potato, and other things.
  
  Well, that's it kids, happy rolling!