What Do You Like To Eat In Isaan

[EirikJohannesen]

I have met a lot of Farangs that love isaan food, all Isaan food even raw bloodbeef "lap luet" and ratten fish, "padeek". I preffere western food but I like the sticyrice and BBQ Chicken and pork. Most of the time I eat western food my wife make for me. So what about my fellow Falang Lao friends

[onionluke]

I enjoy home cooking and eating in town . I would say that the quality of the food in an eatery varies on a daily basis just as much as homemade . Some of my favourites are tom pla , om gai , larb phet , som tam tua with the green beans. I occasionaly cook some western pasta for my son . We make bread and sun dry tomatoes . Aaaargh it must be dinner time .

[SanukJoeII]

Although I started to eat every thing Isan when I arrived the list has been tremendously shortened in the years.

Partly due to hygienic circumstances, I refuse to eat with dirty handed people who put their fingers in the main khao niao pot after just having had a pee around the corner, I don't eat blood, and for my gout I was advised not to eat poultry (chicken/geese/turkey/duck) and no organ meat (liver/heart/stomach). What I never ate is fresh cow- or pig placenta after birth, grilled lizards (as I like lizards) and eggs with chicklets in it.

What is left is what I mostly cook myself: Panaeng moo, Khao pad (kai dao), red and green curry either with shrimps, muscles or pineapple, Sai grok (sausage) with khao niao and so on. When outside I like noodle soup or the meat you put in leaves (forget the name all the time).

Furthermore I cook western food, mainly pasta (spaghetti, macaroni) with different kinds of sauces (tomato/cheese/mushroom/carbonara). Then I like to make french fries and a variety frozen little whole potatoes, then when potatoes are large and good I make either broccoli or cauliflower (spelling) with a curry sauce and boiled and then fried potato cubes.

In the morning I like to eat toast with cheese, luckily was able to find Edam cheese at Makro, was lost for a while as a cheese head (Dutch).

If I'm in Udon I have a shop for fresh coffee beans that I grind myself for delicious coffee and the same shop has always special things like Chorizo, Salami, French and Italian cheeses and frozen pistolets (small bread, US call it subs I think, pistolet is the original French name), so then I go home and have several days with a variety of breakfast. Don't forget the Mozzarella at Makro for over pasta meals (melts so nicely).

I have to stop now, drooling on the keyboard....

I cam just get oud of the keeboad that i like babbecue on the tellace, spare ribs, steaks, sausages, fish, scampis anddddddddddd keyboad stops

Edited May 20, 2011 by SanukJoeII

[EirikJohannesen]

In the morning I like to eat Bread form Lotos whit salami, chees and TGM product. We make a lot of pasta here as well all in the famly likes that:)

I dont eat mashpoteto but plain boiled poteto or bakedpoteto, Porkchop and chickenbreast whit red bisto gravy and veg. and mushrom I love

[robbo1]

I love alot of Issan food Laab Nua, Laab Phet I think that is duck,Pat Kapow Moo Kai Dow and I love the barbeque chicken and pork with Khou neow.

Som Tum Thai I love but the Som Tum Low not my cup of tea that pla rah just stinks to much for me .

I also love some of there breakfasts rice soup and the noodle soup is just arroy mak mak.

I do love to cook bacon and eggs every now and then when I am over there in fantastic Issan.

[cardholder]

I love alot of Issan food Laab Nua, Laab Phet I think that is duck,Pat Kapow Moo Kai Dow and I love the barbeque chicken and pork with Khou neow.

Som Tum Thai I love but the Som Tum Low not my cup of tea that pla rah just stinks to much for me .

I also love some of there breakfasts rice soup and the noodle soup is just arroy mak mak.

I do love to cook bacon and eggs every now and then when I am over there in fantastic Issan.

That pretty much sums up my personal tastes for Thai food in Isaan. Some great omelettes as well.

[Hollywood13]

I eat whatever my wife gives me. I don't know the name of any of the foods (except som tam, which is one of my favorites), but so far she hasn't given me anything I didn't enjoy. However, I haven't eaten any critters (beetles, etc), and doubt I ever will. My favorite things to snack on are mangos and watermelons. I used to hate pork, but now it seems I can't get enough. My wife and I rarely go to restaurants...generally we eat whatever is being sold on the side of the road.

The only "western" food I eat in Thailand is an occasional slice of pizza.

[cardholder]

Why does Thai fish always seem to taste 'earthy' or 'muddy' ?

[Grendel]

Why does Thai fish always seem to taste 'earthy' or 'muddy' ?

Because it's river fish. I tend to avoid fish in Thailand, but Thais haven't been spoilt on large cold ocean fish and only have rivers or piddling little fish of tropical seas so don't know how good fish tastes. They get round the taste problem by soaking them in garlic, lemon grass and chilli so you can't actually taste the fist itself.

Myself I tend to eat Indian or Japanese food back home, so try and seek it out in Thailand. Ironically trying to get an Indian to fire up a curry to vindaloo strength is nie on impossible in thailand.

For Thai food some of my faouries are

Pad Grapow - meat and veg fried with chilli and basil, a very strong flavour

Pad Prig, meat fried with varius varieties of chillis and vegetables

Hoy Osuan Tod, fried Oyster omlette, 50 baht with over 10 quids worth of oysters back home

Bahmee geow moo daeng, Chinese egg noodle and wonton soup

Lap rad khao, spicy mince and veg over rice.

Gaeng rad khao, red curry over rice

gai tod gratiun rad khao, garlic fried chicken

khao lam, coconut rice in bamboo

Suki - glass noodles an vegetable in spicy sauce

I also avoid certain foods like the plague and have learnt to translate a food before eating it. Such as

Guay Jup is every where I live. Noodle with giblets (heart, lungs, intestines ect)

Grapow Pla, Fish stomach noodle soup, some parts of animals weren't meant to be eaten.

Teow moo Grob, pig's everything, skins, hair, bones, intestines, boiled and on rice with blood.

It was the final dish that taught me to translate everything before ordering after I recieved it at a street eat. Before that I'd gone with the ignorance is bliss strategy but that was the fail point.

Edited May 20, 2011 by Grendel

[robbo1]

Why does Thai fish always seem to taste 'earthy' or 'muddy' ?

I had a Thai friend taxi driver from Phuket who came to Loei for my wedding a few years ago and could not eat the fish because as you say it tasted like mud.

All he ever eats is sea food in Phuket so yes a huge difference between ocean and river fish.

I personally dont mind the rivrer fish but definately not my favourite issan food.

[CallumW]

Laab made of anything.

Goy Moo (same as Laab but raw pork, even nicer when it has live red ants running all over it).

BBQ anything (big BBQ fan).

Sticky rice (although it has a habit of putting me to sleep when I eat too much)

Cucumber (can't spell the Thai word) used to scoop up dollops of nam prik pla too (very nice alongside a beer).

Oh yes that reminds me, fried pla too for breakfast, Isan equivalent of kippers

Jok or Khao Tom (Mrs makes a big pot and you just eat it all day).

That's a few of the things I like to eat in Isan, although in truth I like it all. The food is one of the main reasons for being in Thailand in my mind.

[farmerjo]

Couldn't go without my toasted ham,cheese and tomato.

Sticky rice covered in egg on the bbq would be my favourite issan food.

Oh and the leo is at the top as well as it seems to be a good supplement meal.

[Familyonthemove]

Hoy!

[onionluke]

I tried the little living shrimp douced in lime and fish sauce once .Great beer food ! They were all jumping around , what a party .

[grumpyoldman]

Hoy!

with minimal fur !

[robbo1]

Couldn't go without my toasted ham,cheese and tomato.

Sticky rice covered in egg on the bbq would be my favourite issan food.

Oh and the leo is at the top as well as it seems to be a good supplement meal.

Dont forget the bacon and egg toasted sandwich with cheese your missus makes arroy mak mak mate

[EirikJohannesen]

Somtimes I go to the Pizza Company in Nong Khai (My Wife like it. hi so lol) The pizza taste like bread whit Heinz Ketchup, and the pasta taste like canedfood uhhh its like anywhere you go you can have better food

[Vegemite]

Nothing is the short answer for me other than bbq chicken and I make sure they cook it through.

They have guts like dogs up there in my opinion.

The village that I visit doesnt seem to know anything about keeping food chilled in 35 - 40C.

Eating sticky rice seems to be the best way to clean fingers and once you know how some of the stuff that they eat it with is made you may feel like running for the hills.

Good luck to anyone who can handle it!

I say these things after getting the trots every time and the last time it was Salmonella.

[farangnoi]

Hoy!

with minimal fur !

but with dip.

[anotheruser]

When I go to Issan I am very happy to eat western food. The local Issan food is pretty much as nasty as what they serve up in Laos. I am not talking about the standard Thai foods people have mentioned I am specifically referring to Issan style food.

There is a difference, I don't consider Pad Thai to be Issan food for example. Pig entrails in fresh blood after a slaughter is more of the sort of thing that I am talking about. It seems the nastier things are the more they like it.

The family i live with in Laos and the neighbors know better than to offer my entrails and gristle when I visit them now.

[onionluke]

When I go to Issan I am very happy to eat western food. The local Issan food is pretty much as nasty as what they serve up in Laos. I am not talking about the standard Thai foods people have mentioned I am specifically referring to Issan style food.

There is a difference, I don't consider Pad Thai to be Issan food for example. Pig entrails in fresh blood after a slaughter is more of the sort of thing that I am talking about. It seems the nastier things are the more they like it.

The family i live with in Laos and the neighbors know better than to offer my entrails and gristle when I visit them now.

There will not be much left of you then ?

I see one of the main diffrences betweem Thai and Issan is the people around me don't use coconut milk in the tom soups or kaengs . The taste is more sour and bitter localy. I enjoy kaeng het - mushroom clear soup and om gai or nuak - chicken or beef with dill and lemon grass. In the town there is more Thai choices . I like the food eaten fresh and tend not to go for stuff that has been sitting around . I almost forgot aboot the fish , I like the one that is caked in salt and BBQ'd and then washed down with Leo.

Sep sep.

[micky6]

The family i live with in Laos and the neighbors know better than to offer my entrails and gristle when I visit them now.

with a nice glass of chianti, perhaps?

[nidan]

Hoy!

with minimal fur !

but with dip.

dyu supply ur own dip?...or...?

[ragandboneman]

Up here in Nakhon Phanom for a main course I like a bit of Golden or Black Lab nice and filling, or if i"m really hungry then maybe a bit of Rottweiler or Golden Retriever, but normally only around pension day as they can be quite expensive. Just for snacking maybe a back leg of a Jack Russell or Poodle type dog.

[Gary A]

My Thai wife likes to go out occasionally but she has cheated herself because she is a good cook. I will NOT eat raw lap or anything that has that super stinking palah. I enjoy the best of both Issan and western food. We do go to the restaurants built on fish ponds for fresh fish and shrimp. I am concerned with the hygiene in many restaurants.

[Boo]

we tend to eat thai for lunch every day when in country, som tum, laab, sticky rice, khanom jinn, whatever the local food place is selling, breakfast is a combo of cereal, toast, jok but for dinner I like to make western. I try to give my son a balanced diet & I don't think thai food offers all the nutrients & food groups a young boy needs so dinner is mash or boiled potatoes with veg & a stew/curry/chicken, pork fillet, pasta or anything I can whip up with what is available at market. lots of fresh fruit & yogurts too. a nice combo i think.

[surayu]

60/70% western food, then the rest are just "easy" local dishes every tourist could eat (khao pat, noodles, etc), every now and then i also add random dishes i find around like sashimi, kebabs, burritos, whatever...

[cardholder]

Fish and chips is nice diversion from Thai food occasionally.

Sometimes I just want a crispy cob with extra mature cheddar and onion soaked in vinegar.

[micky6]

ฉันรักพาย