“Arroi maak, ka!” “Chan im maak ka!” I must have said these two Thai phrases hundreds of time this past week.
I was living in a MooBan (village) in Yosothon Province, about three hours northeast of where I am in Khon Kaen, learning about the agrarian life in Thailand. We lived with farming families, and had what CIEE calls ‘exchanges’ each day. Exchanges are essentially meetings where different groups will share their experiences and knowledge, and we will share a bit of our own. We met with groups like organic farmers, farmers who sell at a green market, chemical farmers, and contract farmers. We also visited a rice mill and a sugar plantation. However all these exchanges were far from the highlight of my time away from Khon Kaen. My highlight, you ask? It was the experiences that prompted me to exclaim “Arroi maak” and “Chan im maak.” (Very delicious, and I’m VERY full.)
The food. My Meh in this family was an organic farmer. When rice is in season she grows organic rice, and in the off-season (which is right now) she grows a wide variety cover crops that nourish the soil for the next rice season. The crops included an assortment of vegetables, watermelon, and corn. There were also a number of chickens that roamed the back yard and offered us fresh eggs each day. Everything that was placed before us to eat was fresh, organic, and grown by my Meh herself or by one of our neighbors.
There was an abundance of stir fried vegetables, fish, som tham (green papaya salad), and sticky rice (SO MUCH sticky rice!).
My two favorite dishes were a local Isaan variety of black sticky rice (cow neow see dam), soaked in coconut milk and topped with sweet egg and fresh coconut meat that came from the coconuts plucked from the trees in our yard. I had to slurp down the coconut water first before I could eat the meat of the fruit with our sticky rice. My second favorite was a dish of caramelized onions and whole cloves of garlic paired with boiled eggs that had then been fried so the outside was a little crispy. I dipped my sticky rice (plain white this time) in the sauce, scooping out caramelized onions and garlic, to eat with my bite of boiled/fried egg. A perfect blend of savory and sweet. My mouth waters as I write and reminisce. Arroi MAAK, ka.
Eating from such an intensely local food system was an incredible experience. The food was probably the best I will have in Thailand.