(originally taken from this entry at HSL.)
most of the people i know who are reading this enjoy food, to some extent. and likewise, most of the people i know who are reading this know that i enjoy food a great deal; preparing it, enjoying the smell of it, serving it to others---and eating it, of course.
i also enjoy learning about it, and growing it, and in general finding out all i can about different aspects of it that interest me---in much the same way i end up doing exhaustive and obsessive research into most things i enjoy to any great degree. so, y'know, food geekery. ^^
it seems very likely to me that food is probably as reliable an arbiter of truth as one is likely to find. things political, artistic, spiritual, supernatural, scientific, social---everything can be told in fairly vivid detail through food. while various institutions and individuals may continuously alter various histories concerning people and places and things---it doesn't seem like much thought is ever given to altering mentions of food. food is overlooked as incidental and superfluous---and this is what protects it from such alteration. (i could of course be entirely wrong about this; need to do further research. ^^) but it seems that food, if not entirely truthful, will at the very least be able to tell more about more things with more accuracy than most other historical texts will. one might have an opinion of the food, but the food itself is impartial.
that being said rather awkwardly, probably one of my personal biggest comfort foods is pad-siew. my mom used to make it a lot when i was little, amongst the other things passed down in her family; my dad had taught her to cook it and a handful of other Thai dishes a few years before i was born.
of course, it had to be adapted in order to be made in an American kitchen, particularly at that time. there are of course a whole slew of more authentic options which are fairly widely available now, and thusly much less of a need to substitute ingredients. but still, the thing that's particularly interesting about the Thai approach to cooking is that the philosophy is very adaptable; it uses what's around. it takes other methods of cooking, pulls them into itself, and comes back with something entirely different, and uniquely its own. curry is an excellent example---of course, Thai curries are famous. but so are the Indian curries which made their way to Thailand, which Thai cooks learned from and adapted to their own ends, thusly creating something new, and something uniquely Thai in character.
so the question arises---when is something truly "bastardised"? i don't think adaptation is bastardisation; i think that it's necessary. authenticity is more about the spirit of a cuisine than it is about specific ingredients, barring certain exceptions that become obvious with each instance. a landlocked area is generally not going to be known for its great sea-life-based culinary creations. is it bastardisation if they observe techniques from an island town, adapt them to their needs, and dress their poultry/meat/tofu/vegetables/roots/etc. in it? i really don't think so. of course, this means it's different than what one would get if one travelled to that island town, but that's to be expected. civilisations throughout history haven't all been eating the same thing; there are certainly regional differences to take into account, and even within those, families. generations. individuals. it's not bastardisation; it's variation. according to constraints of ingredient availability, personal preference, and the palates of those who you're serving (and not to mention time and cooking for oneself vs. cooking for multiple people, i.e. CupNoodle vs. something requiring more effort XD).
so complaints regarding bastardisation baffle me---unless it's the spirit of the thing which has been violated. the art of cooking is not one of ingredients; it's of spirit, it's of willingness to adventure into territories unknown. cooking isn't boring at all if you do it right.
all my babbling aside, here's a couple of interesting things i've run across in cursory fits of Googling; haven't gone too far into either, but they do look quite interesting:
and finally, getting back to Thai food---i also found this book, which i desperately need. if it's half the things it describes, i'm quite happily sold. o.o;;;
in conclusion, i'll offer a quick & easy recipe for super-ghetto Thai-style curry. if you've got a few ingredients around, you can pull this together in about as much time as it takes to do a stovetop packet of instant ramen (and i specify stovetop because it's quite obvious that you could microwave it much faster, smartass XD). quick and good, and you can make it as hot or not as you'd like.
TIME REQUIRED: 20-30 minutes, give or take.
INGREDIENTS:
* bit of neutral cooking oil for your skillet
* 1 breast of chicken per person you're cooking for (or shredded beef, or shrimp, or tofu---whatever you'd like)
* variety of frozen veggies. i like bell peppers, peas, corn, squash, okra, onions, mushrooms---most vegetables taste wonderful in curry. broccoli, cauliflower---really, it's up to you! mmm, pea pods!
* curry paste (store-bought or homemade; colour and degree of spicyness up to your delectation---the store-bought ones aren't bad. just make sure to refrigerate them. ^^)
* 1 can of coconut milk (hrrm, can't recall the ounceage on this. a small can, definitely. more if you're doing this for more than just yourself, though. in a pinch, you can substitute cream of coconut mixed with regular cow's milk if necessary. or just use regular cow's milk, although obviously the coconutty elements will be missing.)
* dash of fish sauce (store-bought or homemade; again, your choice---although really, if you're making your own curry paste and your own fish sauce, you probably have no need to read this recipe. XD)
* minced garlic (optional)
* fresh basil (optional)
* the rice of your choice to serve this over (leftover rice makes this even faster, but fresh is always good!)
PREPARATION:
I adore frozen boxes of chicken breasts. They're insanely handy. This is where having a microwave comes in handy---defrosting. One can throw together a meal involving chicken in a matter of moments, and the frozen box lasts for ages; you can use the chicken as you need it, not waste any, and have some always at hand. Frozen shrimp is good this way too---in fact, most familiar protein-laced centerpieces of meals freeze fairly well. Anyrate, if your chicken/meat/tofu is frozen, defrost it before beginning this recipe. Also, if you don't happen to have leftover rice sitting around, you might want to start cooking it before you do anything else. (and if you've got a rice cooker, so much the better!)
Heat a large skillet on med-high heat. If you're using chicken, beef, or tofu that needs cutting into smaller bits, cut it while you're waiting for the pan to heat. Once it's hot, add only enough cooking oil that it puts a nice, thin coating across the bottom of the pan (or less, if using nonstick cookware). Add garlic if you're using it. Add chicken/beef/shrimp. and lid skillet for a few minutes; stir occasionally until browned (or pinked, in the case of the shrimp). If you're using tofu, ignore all that and skip to the next step.
Add coconut milk (or cream of coconut/milk mixture) and curry paste to taste. (start out with a very little bit of curry paste if you're not familiar with it; you can always add more, but you can't really remove it if you've added too much!) Stir until curry/milk mixture is uniform in colour and all paste chunks have been dissolved. Add frozen vegetables. Lid again; allow to simmer for awhile. Turn down heat if necessary; in any case, stir occasionally. If using tofu, add it in and lid the skillet again.
Add just a splash of fish sauce towards the end of cooking; if you're using the fresh basil (and here, it must be fresh---dried basil doesn't do much for it and so i wouldn't even bother if that's all i had here, really), shred it by hand into the skillet and mix in just before you dish the curry onto your rice. If you're using leftover rice, throw that into the skillet with the curry for the last few minutes to heat up. Otherwise, dish the curry onto your rice and enjoy!