Smelly Thai Food

[mxr]

Why are some thai foods so smelly? i am especially thinking of the sauces

they use - prala made from small fish, and kapi, made from small prawns?

i really cant stand the smell of them, but the thais seem to be all over these

sauces, have any foreigners here developed a taste for it?

maybe this is the prime reason to having them cook outside in their own kitchen?

[barrybankruad]

These foods are made from raw, fermented sea food. They are dangerous, especially plaa laa. Last year a farang in Pattaya was given some by his lady and he died of botulism poisoning. Don't touch them

[Brunus]

khao kluk ka pi really stinks. My wife once took it in our room. Smell of dirty feet in the room for days. I forbid her to eat that anymore.

[simon43]

I have a way to fight back! - smelly blue cheese, Danish Blue, Gorgonzola etc.

I have found that blue cheese is the only food that Thais will run a mile from! Forget about Jackfruit and Durian - fight back with blue cheese!!! Aroi Mak!

Simon

[Garry9999]

I have a way to fight back! - smelly blue cheese, Danish Blue, Gorgonzola etc.

I have found that blue cheese is the only food that Thais will run a mile from! Forget about Jackfruit and Durian - fight back with blue cheese!!! Aroi Mak!

Simon

My wife says my imported cheeses smell like cat sh_it.

[Birdman]

http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/ingredients/gkabi.html

Can't get enough of that gkabi together with various vegetables. Never had any disgesting problem.

[dumball]

They make that plaa at the bottom of our apartment , it is so rancid I complain most bitterly about it every year , it can be smelt one block away . The small fish are practicaly rotted to get the desired taste , if you can call eating food not fit for a dog tastefull , the Japanese get a lot of illness because they will eat fish raw and fresh that has bacteria in it . 24 hours in minus 4 degrees for 24 hours is all it takes to kill off the bacteria , no , it has to be fresh , so can you even start to imagine what rotten fish will do to your insides ?

[mahtin]

I trust my nose; it knows it's no.

[Brunus]

I have a way to fight back! - smelly blue cheese, Danish Blue, Gorgonzola etc.

I have found that blue cheese is the only food that Thais will run a mile from! Forget about Jackfruit and Durian - fight back with blue cheese!!! Aroi Mak!

Simon

Gorgonzola stinks. But it's nothing compared to khao kluk ka pi. Luckily I don't have experience with blue cheese or Danish blue

[purplehaze]

The smelliest cheese they sell here only has a stink range of a couple of feet max.The Thai sauces/dips a max stink range of a couple of Soi's at least

[mxr]

I havn't thought about the revenge with the blue cheese, but thats a good idea!

whenever i am at the local market with my gf, i have to go away from the vendor

that sells the fish stuff, stinks so bad - the lady there laughs, says no falangs buy

from her.

is that food the smelliest in SE Asia? have been all over, cant recall other coutries

having such stinky sauces!

Any opinions?

[jackspratt]

khao kluk ka pi really stinks. My wife once took it in our room. Smell of dirty feet in the room for days. I forbid her to eat that anymore.

What a lucky lady to have such a strong, domineering husband

[Brunus]

is that food the smelliest in SE Asia? have been all over, cant recall other coutries

having such stinky sauces!

Any opinions?

khao kluk ka pi is the smelliest food I have ever seen

Edited January 4, 2010 by Brunus

[mxr]

khao kluk ka pi really stinks. My wife once took it in our room. Smell of dirty feet in the room for days. I forbid her to eat that anymore.

What a lucky lady to have such a strong, domineering husband

i do understand the man, but i asked my gf to prepare it outside, didnt command her but asked

her nicely, it really makes me want to vomit, and i promised if i ever eat some food that makes

her want to throw up, i will eat it outside on the patio also.

Edited January 4, 2010 by mxr

[Brunus]

khao kluk ka pi really stinks. My wife once took it in our room. Smell of dirty feet in the room for days. I forbid her to eat that anymore.

What a lucky lady to have such a strong, domineering husband

I promised her I will have a shower more often

[Johpa]

And the reason that those of you who detest the smells of certain favored Thai foods still reside within the Kingdom is what exactly?

A.) servants

B.) wives half your age (actually a subset of A)

C.) affordable pay-for-sex opportunities (actually A and B are a subset of C)

D.) never did fit in at home country

E.) all of the above

[mxr]

And the reason that those of you who detest the smells of certain favored Thai foods still reside within the Kingdom is what exactly?

A.) servants

B.) wives half your age (actually a subset of A)

C.) affordable pay-for-sex opportunities (actually A and B are a subset of C)

D.) never did fit in at home country

E.) all of the above

Johpa: every country has its good and bad points, for me its a matter of the good outweighing the bad, and the bad being tolerable, which for thailand it is.

for me personally, i am married and have a baby, and never engaged in the activities you speak of. my wife is 4 years younger than me, i dont have a maid (my parents taught me to vacuum and clean the house myself), never engaged in ©, i fit in australia quite well, but came here to obtain my pilots license and liked it enough to stay...

so please johpa do not generalize too much - there are in fact several dishes in melbourne that are not palatable, but they dont have the pungent aroma of the fish sauces here, or in other parts of asia. i stayed and worked for 2 years

in singapore, but didnt like the durian smells at some food courts there, but singapore has nothing to do with the

points oyu mentioned above.

not liking dishes with pungent fishy smells has nothing to do with the points mentioned above, but maybe those

are your personal reasons for staying here. how about your wife and maid? they the same?

be happy dude

Edited January 4, 2010 by mxr

[dumball]

Johpa , glad you finally 'fessed up' and told us all what brought you to Thailand and why you linger on , keep your head in the box and I promise not to enlighten you about the rest of the world out there . You like the stinky smell of fish finger , did your mother not tell you , naughty boy .

[surangw]

[

the fremented ( stinky) tofu in japan comes to mine when reading this, it would probably take some of the nasitest thai sauce to get the taste ( smell) to go away from the tofu

[manarak]

haha.

the most disgusting food I ever saw and smelled was japanese natto.

Johpa:

which of your five possible answers do you think would make me feel guilty - or... all of them? LOL.

[moe666]

The french cheese shops can be smelled for a block or two.

[Meridian007]

It's all based on what you are used to. There are many western foods that taste or smell bad, I'm sure all of you can identify the fact to some extent. Even though they might have a strong taste or smell, you enjoy them because you have acquired a taste for them, so they no longer offend.

It's the same with the food here. The Thais grew up eating this stuff and they have acquired a taste for it. I'm sure that the only redeeming factor to some nasty foods (globally), is their nostalgia factor.

If you look at the strange foods here, and can put yourself into the mindset of someone who grew up eating it, you might find yourself pleasantly surprised by trying them.

As to the bacterial part, I think that we as westerners have weak immune systems in part because of our lack of exposure to things that we should develop an immunity to. When I first came here my stomach was almost constantly in trouble because of the food and water, (I think I had the runs for a month or two straight at one point), but now my problems are few and far between. I do try to make sensible, (if subjective), decisions about what I eat, but if it seems clean enough, and/or there is a social aspect, I will try it.

Plaa ra isn't all that bad, but it depends on how it's used. I only recently tried it on its own at the hundred day anniversary of a friend's father's funeral at a local Wat. His mother and her friends prepared a lunch for the monks and (later) the rest of us. At occasions such as this, I feel uncomfortable refusing anything that is offered to me, so I tried it. It smells terrible, but it tastes good! I had seconds, and thirds, I like it! (but then again, when it comes to cheese, I think that the smellier, the better)

I'm willing to try most things, within reason. On the other hand, maybe this is why I won't go to the Philippines, the idea of eating baluut really scares me! I guess we all have our limits!

[sbk]

Limberger cheese. Need I say more?

Judge not lest ye be judged

[dantilley]

I have found that blue cheese is the only food that Thais will run a mile from!

Not all Thais are anti-blue cheese - my wife loves the stuff.

The worst smelling thing in Thailand has got to be cha-om, the herb (southern Thai I think?) often mixed in with omletes which are then cut into chunks and added to gaeng som. When it's cooking it really reeks, it's been banned from our house after I couldn't stay inside while my wife was cooking some once.

Sa-tor is pretty pungent also, but it's the taste of it that's really rank so I guess it's probably just because the smell reminds me of the taste.

Durian's pretty strong smelling if left to linger, I don't mind passing by a stall selling it though, but it gets a bit sickly if left indoors for a while, hence most hotels banning it from the premises. Tastes great though.

[purplehaze]

And the reason that those of you who detest the smells of certain favored Thai foods still reside within the Kingdom is what exactly?

A.) servants

B.) wives half your age (actually a subset of A)

C.) affordable pay-for-sex opportunities (actually A and B are a subset of C)

D.) never did fit in at home country

E.) all of the above

As I write on the visa form at immigration,to support my Thai wife and kids.