In defence of pad kaphrao and those who ban it

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In defence of pad kaphrao and those who ban it
Tulsathit Taptim



BANGKOK: -- Since I'm all for human rights, there is no choice but to take the Army chief's side on this one. The ban on pad kaphrao (stir-fried basil with meat of your choice) at a canteen at the Army headquarters makes absolute sense.

The outcry, the direct criticism and the sarcasm are over the top, and fail to take into account the simple fact that all men are born with equal rights to guard themselves against the lure of this ridiculously delicious dish.

Have you ever walked past a roadside food stall with an empty stomach and the cook happens to be frying chicken with kaphrao? There, I rest my case.

The ban - an eye-catching bulletin at the canteen before the media uproar caused it to be pulled down - stated that the smell of PAD kaphrao could "disturb" senior officers. But you have to read between the lines. PAD kaphrao "disturbing" high-ranking officials is the equivalent of models in bikinis "disturbing" male corporate executives.

How many of you had PAD kaphrao for lunch after learning about the Army canteen controversy? That's how much control this influential Thai dish has over our appetites. We don't even have to smell it to feel like eating it. Imagine hungry men in uniform sitting all day in the seductive path of PAD kaphrao's aroma. It must be like sitting in a torture chamber to say the least.

Armies can only be mobilised when stomachs are full. Remember? General Prayuth Chan-o-cha, the poor guy, has just expanded this old adage a little. Moaning stomachs craving PAD kaphrao may not threaten national security, but Army leaders "disturbed" day in and day out by the smell of freshly cooked fried pork with basil served with rice and a fried egg deserve our utmost sympathy.

This is advanced human rights. It's easy to cry for the food vendors and their customers, but "Bravo!" if you have compassion for Prayuth when he, rather rudely, asked PAD kaphrao lovers to "go eat it somewhere else". The vendors can cook PAD kaphrao elsewhere and their customers can eat it anywhere outside the canteen, but the Army chief and his men are stuck where they are.

What if the ban was a conspiracy among top officials who genuinely hate PAD kaphrao? Some of you must be asking this.

Of course, there is the remote possibility that some unfortunate human beings may honestly find the smell of PAD kaphrao repulsive, but have you ever been to a hotel that bans durian? Is that a condemnable human rights violation? I don't think so.

My bet, however, is on the wearing-bikinis-on-the-street theory. PAD kaphrao must be too alluring in the eyes (or noses) of some generals. The word "ban" is always wrongly associated with total negativity, when the truth is that what is being "banned" is not necessarily bad. They surely ban sex in schools. Many workplaces have prohibited Facebook. Above sickbeds, there are often signs saying "No food or drink allowed."

Pad kaphrao may not be as famous as tom yum gung or as internationally favoured as PAD Thai, but never ever underestimate PAD kaphrao's strong presence in Thai cuisine. In fact, the dish is so common that teenagers call it sin kid (absolutely unimaginative or thoughtless). That's not to suggest the PAD kaphrao tastes no good. It's just like when you are asked who your favourite pop star is, and you can only come up with Justin Bieber.

Which means that those responsible for the ban should not be deemed dictatorial. Few food stalls or restaurants can survive without this dish on the menu, and Prayuth was being entirely rational when he said that if you crave PAD kaphrao so much, you should go somewhere else. He was right in saying that the ban was a non-issue, but what's really disturbing is the fact that the prohibition has been regarded by some as a political crime.

By the time you read this, the uproar will likely have died down. In this era, even a controversy involving an immortal dish can be just a flash in the pan. Yet the issue should not simply fade away with Prayuth seen as a grave human rights abuser. A crime against humanity is not banning PAD kaphrao at a canteen, to save soldiers from temptation, but putting photos of kaphrao kai khai dao (fried basil and chicken with rice and a fried egg) on Facebook after midnight.


-- The Nation 2013-10-02

[Thai at Heart]

Can I have that 2 minutes of my life back please?

[angsta]

The Nation. A new low in journalism.

[SADWING]

This is an Onion article, RIGHT?

[Songhua]

Profound.

[arthurboy]

A pot mess of ineffective tripe.

Suggest the writer looks up irony and takes a long hard look at The Onion, Private Eye or Not the Nation.

sent from my hippo phone

[theblether]

Entertaining satirical article........and I agree, Pad Khaprao is just too alluring.

Rumour has it that the Cambodian army are practicing their culinary skills in case of war, they've sussed they can stop the Thai army in it's tracks. Luckily for them Pad Khaprao is not covered by the UN convention on chemical weapons, so no chance of a UN censure if they use such underhand tactics.

[NongKhaiKid]

Can I have that 2 minutes of my life back please?

I suppose the author had to write about something, after all there's not much else of importance going on.

[richard10365]

<deleted>? Is there anyone at ThaiVisa censuring bad news stories? Tomorrow's news will be about dog poo.

Dog poo is from dogs. It is the poo that comes from the body of a dog. The dogs body does not want the poo...so out goes the poo...Film at 11.

Quite similar to this news story don't you think?

[mrtoad]

Is this meant to be humorous?

[Morakot]

National crisis? Brilliant!

[cacruden]

Don't attack the symptoms, attack the problem..... Fix the ventalation system for the canteen area and go after those that did not install an adaquate system for the bloody canteen. If you don't go after the problem, those that fail to do their job will never be held to account!

[bigbamboo]

Judging from the number of overweight Thai generals it's not what they eat that's the problem but how much.

[noitom]

This is very important.

[Joe Mamma]

Good food for thought! i thought?

[animatic]

The Nation. A new low in journalism.

Actually it is a new high in ironic writing for The Nation.

I think this is my favorite dish in Thailand.

Edited October 2, 2013 by animatic

[Maggusoil]

Can I have that 2 minutes of my life back please?

Once more

[Maggusoil]

A pot mess of ineffective tripe.

Suggest the writer looks up irony and takes a long hard look at The Onion, Private Eye or Not the Nation.

sent from my hippo phone

The joke is perhaps that someone pays him for this. No one is paying us to respond and chat about it.

Who's the butt of that joke?

[siampolee]

The ban - an eye-catching bulletin at the canteen before the media uproar caused it to be pulled down - stated that the smell of PAD kaphrao could "disturb" senior officers. But you have to read between the lines. PAD kaphrao "disturbing" high-ranking officials is the equivalent of models in bikinis "disturbing" male corporate executives.

One is led to wonder how these ''effete officers'' might feel in the midst of a combat zone when they get a whiff or two of cordite, the coppery smell of blood and the smell of death.

These pathetic excuses for officers do not however find the smell of corruption and its gains an appalling or disturbing aroma we note.

These valiant leaders of men are indeed as effective as chocolate fireguards in my opinion and should be cashiered from the military post haste as it would seem they cannot even take the barrage of sarcasm the that PAD kaprao fires at them.

[tingtongteesood]

I never eat that crap, I can't stand it !!!

[keestha]

For a number of years, I had a bar/restaurant, the windowless kitchen right behind the restaurant. I took Khao Pad Khaprao off the menu, because its pungent fumes wafting into the restaurant made people's eyes watery, and made them complain or even leave.

[daoyai]

Most likely the pepperspray effect when the chilis and garlic hit the hot pan and not the smell caused the "ban" from the officers, if they are downwind they will cough.

I think of pad grapaw moo as the Thai equivelent of the burger, comfort food, a default option available everywhere....

[noitom]

When you think about this, it's amazing that this is a national dish. A fried egg in terrible oil. Some ground meat pork or beef or whatever tossed around with basil leaves in blazing hot oil with fish sauce and other sauces thrown haphazardly and continue to toss the mess around. A regulation western sliced lettuce and tomato, plop the fried egg on top of a perfectly formed scoop of rice and there you go - national dish and worthy of an editorial and previous news stories about the army canteen.

[klauskunkel]

Entertaining satirical article........and I agree, Pad Khaprao is just too alluring.

Rumour has it that the Cambodian army are practicing their culinary skills in case of war, they've sussed they can stop the Thai army in it's tracks. Luckily for them Pad Khaprao is not covered by the UN convention on chemical weapons, so no chance of a UN censure if they use such underhand tactics.

I heard (through the grapevine) that they (Cambodians) are also developing a Pad Khaprao aftershave, to be given as gifts to Thai soldiers...just to incite and subvert, pretty devious, huh?

[Bagwan]

National crisis? Brilliant!

Ah! A fellow traveller who recognises satire. Dr. Livingstone I assume?

[phitsanulokjohn]

Can I have that 2 minutes of my life back please?

Well in defence of the nations journalist,and to the 14 members who liked Thai at hearts reply Can I have that 2 minutes of my life back please?

Did the journalist hold a gun at all14 heads and make you read it?Well did he?Or was it your choice?

[FarangTalk]

Thai fascist dictator and Axis ally Phibunsongkram was responsible for misappropriating his personal favourite Vietnamese dish and calling it Pad Thai, as a nationalist rallying cry in the 40's.

Following by revered example, the military could change the krapao recipe slightly and call it something different to celebrate one of their recent achievements; using cluster bombs in Cambodia, being duped into wasting millions on fake bomb scanners, or even something to commemorate their most recent coup and subsequent junta.

Seriously though, eating Krapao regularly is the fastest way to heart attack. It's enjoyable now and again but can't be good for you.

[DocN]

Another proof that "irony" or "sarcasm" is not the strong side of Thai- humor.

Other than "boing" or "whoooooo"- noises and slipping on banana- peels!

Maybe if could have little acoustic piece or an audio- book of this "thing", it might be a lot more entertaining..."huuuuiiiiiiiiiii"

Edited October 2, 2013 by DocN

[phitsanulokjohn]

Aroy Mark.

Durian and a bit of Thai Brands hatch,especially after they've been eating bla mug can be considerably stinkier.

[Wavefloater]

Can I have that 2 minutes of my life back please?

LOL No Kidding!!!

It started off bad as the title suggests the writer is going to both defend phat krapao and those who ban it. How strange, I thought. Unfortunately, it goes downhill from there.