Plah Rar Or No Plah Rar, What Will You Choose?

[yourshoutmate]

I'm recently holidaying deep in Isaan territory and have experienced many new things.

A wise gentleman, known by forum members as Cuban, alerted me to local customs and conditions, but one thing stuck in my mind.

A staple of the region called Plah Rar.

Plah Rar is a locally prepared fish stock.

Locals place rice, salt and fish (heads, guts and all) into a bucket with water and allow this to ferment for four to eighteen months.

Nothing can prepare you to the smell.

If the locals use infiltered dam, river or lake water the Plah Rar can be contaminated with River Fluke, a parasite which can infect the human body. Improperly fermented Plah Rar can be dangerous to consume for westerners.

What I do is say "No Plah Rar", a phrase which brings much laughter and amusement from the locals, but, apart from protecting myself from parasites, I don't have to use nearly as much tooth paste.

Other firsts for me are ants eggs, fried beetles & bugs, frogs, ox skin, pigs offal and other delicassies, but Plah Rar stands out for me.

Has anyone had experience with Plah Rar?

I personally prefer Green Thai curry myself.

[Gary A]

I was always taught that if you have nothing good to say, just shut up. I have kept my mouth shut for a long time concerning this repulsive crap and just can't stand to see this post every day and say nothing.

That stuff is just plain and simple rotten fish. It's so far beyond rotten that it has liquidized. It STINKS, period. My wife has been gradually increasing the hot peppers in her cooking over the years. I have gotten used to them and she no longer has to cook differently for me.

She has also tried to put that horrible liquefied rotten fish into my food at different times. One little taste and I know what she has done. It tastes to me as bad as it smells. It took me a long time to learn to NOT smell the naam plah and I use it every meal. I will admit that if I don't have to smell naam plah, it tastes pretty good. The dead long time rotten fish is another matter. NEVER will I get used to it.

[rockyysdt]

I was always taught that if you have nothing good to say, just shut up. I have kept my mouth shut for a long time concerning this repulsive crap and just can't stand to see this post every day and say nothing.

That stuff is just plain and simple rotten fish. It's so far beyond rotten that it has liquidized. It STINKS, period. My wife has been gradually increasing the hot peppers in her cooking over the years. I have gotten used to them and she no longer has to cook differently for me.

She has also tried to put that horrible liquefied rotten fish into my food at different times. One little taste and I know what she has done. It tastes to me as bad as it smells. It took me a long time to learn to NOT smell the naam plah and I use it every meal. I will admit that if I don't have to smell naam plah, it tastes pretty good. The dead long time rotten fish is another matter. NEVER will I get used to it.

I emphathise with you Gary.

At the village I stayed at, Plah Rar was a daily staple.

It's a great source of protein and minerals for poor farmers with little money with which to trade.

Having been raised on it since young, many locals just love the stuff.

In fact I'd go so far as to say, if it involved a choice between Plah Rar or ones partner, I know who'd miss out, Farang or no Farang.

When I mentioned the smell, my girlfriend indignantly, defended it by suggesting many farang foods smell worse.

I had to agree with her.

The family thought it was quite hilarious when I'd repeat the phrase "No Plah Rar"

Each day they'd cook two or three dishes and rice, one of which would be prepared without Plah Rar for my benefit.

I had to watch my diet as the protein source often involved the Plah Rar or deep fried bugs.

On these days my protein source would be omelettes.

Edited May 21, 2008 by rockyysdt

[Cuban]

On these days my protein source would be omelettes.

Try ant eggs.

[plachon]

I was always taught that if you have nothing good to say, just shut up. I have kept my mouth shut for a long time concerning this repulsive crap and just can't stand to see this post every day and say nothing.

That stuff is just plain and simple rotten fish. It's so far beyond rotten that it has liquidized. It STINKS, period. My wife has been gradually increasing the hot peppers in her cooking over the years. I have gotten used to them and she no longer has to cook differently for me.

She has also tried to put that horrible liquefied rotten fish into my food at different times. One little taste and I know what she has done. It tastes to me as bad as it smells. It took me a long time to learn to NOT smell the naam plah and I use it every meal. I will admit that if I don't have to smell naam plah, it tastes pretty good. The dead long time rotten fish is another matter. NEVER will I get used to it.

Oh vile and ignorant heathen, how can you refer to that elixir of life, pla daek/rah, as such? It would be inconceivable to eat the majority of Isaan dishes without a good dollop of pla daek mixed in, so I feel heartily for your wife for having to put up with marrying a barbarian from Ohio, who cannot appreciate the subtle favours and nourishing goodness of the most essential condiment of all. She must surely be a saint to tolerate your bad taste and unkind comments.

One man's "repulsive crap" is another's ambrosia.

For Cuba and other's interested in making up a hai (clay jar) or two of your own, let me offer my own recipe, developed after several attempts at making some decent pla daek and based on a recipe from Kalasin.

Take a kilo or two of small freshwater fish bought in market (e.g. sprat size pla soi or similar) and clean out guts but leave on heads. Thoroughly mix in with salt at ratio of 1kg fish to 2 kg salt. This is very salty and will lead to a v. slow fermentation process, which many Isaan villagers will be unfamiliar with. They usually go for much less salt and allow a rapid fermentation, which leads to the mushy mess you'll mostly see. My recipe leads to harder fish, which lasts longer, has less pungent odour and can be used in smaller quantities to flavour dishes.

You leave the mix in a tightly sealed hai (to avoid any flys getting in) for about 6 -8 months, then open up and add a genous quantity of khao kreua (stir fried but with no oil broken rice) and ram (rice bran) to give the pla daek more flavour and stir the contents of the hai up to get a good mix. Reseal for a further 2 -3 months and then it can be opened and used for eating. Very salty but the fish has now got good flavour, smell and texture and can be used in all the favourite Thai-Isaan dishes, incl. Tam makheung and gaeng awm.

Compare this to the usual fly-blown pla daek and I think you'll find that it's a superior product, although your OH may not agree, having been brought up on the stinking, maggoty version.

Let me know how you get on in 8 - 9 months time, as this method cannot be hurried.............

[Totster]

Mair adds pineapple after 6 months to give flavour, and then closes for another 5-6 months. I suppose everyone has their own recipes and methods, bit like the Italians and their tomato sauces.

The (still whole) fish are all part of the experience, with them being eaten after the somtam is finished, very salty and not bad tasting once acquired. The fish can also be stuck in the krok and mixed with some other things to form a paste, which is used as a condiment to dip your sticky rice in. Rather tasty.

Totster

[Gary A]

Absolutely makes me shudder to even think about the stink. Just thinking about it has put me off my breakfast. Salt water fish, fresh water fish, crabs, eel, cat crap for additional flavor? How could you possibly tell what is in it?

[rockyysdt]

Try ant eggs.

I can still see the beamimg smile on Khun Toms face after selecting two serves of fresh ant eggs which the market stallholder carefully wrapped in banana leaves.

My preference continued to be egg omelette on these days.

Perhaps, in time, I'll relent as ant eggs sound very healthy to eat.

[rockyysdt]

Thoroughly mix in with salt at ratio of 1kg fish to 2 kg salt. This is very salty and will lead to a v. slow fermentation process, which many Isaan villagers will be unfamiliar with.

It sounds like you have perfected a very tasty recipe Plachon.

I'm not so sure that consuming such high volumes of salt is a good thing.

The villagers I spent time with added Plah Rar to all their meals.

[plachon]

Thoroughly mix in with salt at ratio of 1kg fish to 2 kg salt. This is very salty and will lead to a v. slow fermentation process, which many Isaan villagers will be unfamiliar with.

It sounds like you have perfected a very tasty recipe Plachon.

I'm not so sure that consuming such high volumes of salt is a good thing.

The villagers I spent time with added Plah Rar to all their meals.

Well, that's the thing about Isaan folk - they love their tastes in extremes - as I'm sure you've discovered. Nice piece of mango or pineapple -surely a beautiful taste in itself? No, not if you come from Isaan, where you have to smother it in fish sauce, added salt, chilli powder and sugar just to eat it and say, "saep"! Then horror of horrors, some even ladle in the Ajinomoto to accentuate all the favours! Some farang like extreme sports, like bungee jumping and bar hopping, while Thai's love extreme foods!

It can't be a little bit salty, it has to be really salty!

It can't be a little bit spicy, it has to be really spicy!

It can't be a little bit sour, it has to be really sour!

It can't be a litttle bit sweet, it has to be really sweet!

It can't be a little bit bitter, it has to be bloody bitter!

etc

etc.

So, while I have always loved Isaan food, experience has taught me that if you want to retain your sense of taste for any but the most extremes of tastes above, you have to take it in moderation and go easy on the additions. Or end up with a dead set of taste buds, like the majority of our wives/GF's. We love 'em, but it's difficult to say which is more questionable - their taste in faen or pua, or their taste in foods!?

[Cuban]

To pineapple they add salt, to 'Pad Thai' they add sugar! - sums up Thai food.