Some tasty southern remedies
The herb-intensive cuisine of southern Thailand is more renowned than most for its medicinal properties, and throughout June the Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park is offering a wonderful sampling.
In the Siam Tea Room, a new menu by chef Anukool Poolpipat taps age-old recipes for dishes high in nutritional value and proven to bolster the immune system.
With June bringing the transition from the hot to rainy seasons, the human body tends to be more vulnerable to sickness and infection. Let Anukool put your mind and body at rest.
His new dishes are:
* Gaeng Tai Plaa Dok Benjarong Sod Sai Moo Lae Gai is a spicy combining of fish-kidney curry wrapped in Chinese violet flowers with pork and chicken. The fiery curry paste contained a range of healthy herbs.
* Moo Hong is Hakka-influenced dish of sweet pork braised in soy sauce that’s also popular in Malaysia, Singapore and Myanmar. The Phuket classic features pork marinated in Chinese spices and then braised until it’s ready to melt in the mouth.
* Khua Klong Ka Kop is frog legs stir-fried in southern spices that perfectly complement the tender meat.
* Khao Yum Paktai Puu Foo is a salad based on deep-fried crabmeat with dried shrimps, wild betel leaves and turmeric, finished with rice-cracker flakes, fish sauce and sweet shrimp sauce.
* Plaa Baipo Thod Khamin is made with banded sicklefish, plentiful in the rainy season. The soft, tasty meat is marinated in southern spices before the fish is deep-fried and finally served with a classic dip of chilli and salt.
The Siam Tea Room is open daily from 7am to 11pm. Book a table at (02) 059 5999 or [email protected].
Meanwhile at the hotel’s Goji Kitchen + Bar, chef Jasvir Sanghera has more classic southern treats.
They include Gaeng Som (sour soup), Gai Tom Khamin (boiled turmeric chicken), Namphrik Goong Siab (smoked prawn dip), Moo Waan (sweet pork), Moo Phad Gapi (pork stir-fried with shrimp paste), Goong Phad Sator (prawn stir-fried with bitter beans) and the traditional Thai dessert Khanom Thang Taek (“poor man’s pancake”).
