Garlic

[gennisis]

I am fed up with the types of garlic on sale here...all very mild....no bite.

I have tried the small cloves after being told they were the strongest grown in Thailand,but was not impressed.

I can import from Australia what they claim is of .'eye watering.' strength cloves for 30 A$,but do I have to pay any import tax?

I can grow cloves in my garden and then store.

[PJcm]

Yes the garlic and the onions, have no bite to them, I use a least 12 cloves of garlic when I make a big pot of sauce, back home 4 cloves. Onions one good thing is you can eat them raw, however I love raw onion on a hamburger with a bite to it, sadly not here.

[Dante99]

Oh my God, really? You mean it is not the same as back home? How can tha

[mizztraveller]

I find the onions in Chiang Mai have a good bit of bite as opposed to those we buy in the UK which are more of a texture than a taste. I agree however that the garlic in CM is bland.

[luther]

Even the ("kratiem ton") small, round like a pearl onion

...is too mild?

[cooked]

I tried growing European onions, garlics and chives here. They don't like it here.

[kaptainrob]

We consume a lot of garlic and my wife even bought a 40kg lot from a local grower. When fresh, back in March, it would blow my head off eaten raw but has now mellowed considerably.

[junglechef]

Of the many things to complain about here, some with my still lingering Western sensibilities I can't dispute, produce is a hard one to accept.

Often substituting something, such as the small red onions called "hom deng" for shallots, others times by simply using in a different ratio as PJcm suggests, all give good results if perhaps a slightly different taste profile. Some things not so much such as Thai Eggplant in Ratatouille but most foreign products can be obtained here.

True I couldn't find fresh horseradish last week, but to quote Dante, when he referred to it not here is not the same as bak home, "How can tha", whatever that means, but I think we all get his point (maybe "How (the f@#*) can that be?" but I added the descriptive adjective all by myself )

Kaptainrob bring up a great point, as any good cook knows purchasing is of utmost importance, as I like to say "I take what he (pointing to the sky) gives us and try not to f@#%* it up!" (oops there's that word again ). Not particularly easy but one can learn if they are interested as much as you appear to be. In culinary school I was required to attend a class called Purchasing for a whole term! And here with so many undistinquishable vegetables to us non-locals, and many natives, so try taking a trail and error approach as it can be both fun and educational.

So maybe it's just a case of "a bad mechanic blames his tools" (I only say this in defence of the Thai food, so nothing personal gennisis) so maybe you need to look at it differently.

But if that is one of your main complaints of living here you sure must be well adjusted and love it as much as many of us!

[zeichen]

I have read comments like this for a while. Also not liking the sweet basil compared to the European. I really don't get it at all. I find that my dishes taste as good if not better here than anywhere. Of course knowing how to pick the right vegetable at the market is important which I think most people don't know how to do.

I think the local varieties of garlic are wonderful. My father who grows a lot of garlic in the US brought back a bunch of the local varieties. Funny how his "thai garlic" outsells his European varieties at farmers markets back in the US.

Grass is greener I think.

[junglechef]

Interesting zeichen as though it has taken a while for something like Pesto in the beginning I didn't like using Thai Basil but now it's absolutely fine also using Cashews Nuts but also the traditional ingredients of Parmesan and Olive Oil. But for me, a traditionalist at heart and one with a trained palette, true Genoa Basil and Pine Nuts can't be beat. So if it's a special occasion or something important like teaching my kids to cook I'll splurge on those kind of ingredients.

[zeichen]

True about Pesto but that is quite specialized and obviously uses an abundance of basil. But for most dishes with a few leaves thrown in it won't ruin the flavor.

Like I said it is funny because a lot of fancy eateries in the US use Thai basil to distinguish themselves when cooking traditional European dishes. People always like to have what isn't common locally. To me gourmet means "spends a lot on crap you don't need to make a mediocre meal, that my grandma could make with fridge leftovers and taste better."

For the average taster though, I doubt they could tell the difference between them blindfolded. For top professionals and super tasters yes it is noticeably different but still pleasant.

I have never liked pine nuts nor capers but 99% of of other traditional European ingredients are often on my shopping list for special meals too. My daughter who is now 5 loves different types of olives and blue cheese which I am quite proud of.

[junglechef]

I think even most Chefs would have trouble with many blind tastings.

I find many Thais don't appreciate olives, likely the upfront saltiness. My GF didn't like them after her first try but now she loves them. But still haven't conquered blue cheese.

So many things, especially ones with strong or unique flavors are an aquired taste. One thing I do is serve a very good quality example to get them to going, it worked for me with single malts.

That's great about your kid, I've only asked my Thai boys, whom have been with me since that age, to just try something. Amazing how many things they like. Actually a funny story, and to come full circle, is we dined at Sole e Luna last week and my 11 yr old ordered the Pasta with Pesto and the Chef, a Thai who cooked in Italy as the private Chef of a professional footballer, remarked that it was the first time she ever had a child order pesto!

btw - I recommend Sole e Luna (https://www.facebook.com/soleelunachiangmai)

[luther]

Where do you buy decent olives?

[junglechef]

I found when looking for most things it's takes a bit of searching to find what one wants. Last week I wanted to serve a small olive tray and I found some nice Nicoise Olives at Rimping's Rumchok branch and when I got home I noticed it said Large Kalamata on the bill so I might have ben undercharged.

The problem with that store is that often the olives in the deli section have a layer of white scum on them which is a sign of being handled by bare hands, I believe it's from a reaction with the oils. It also shows that they don't skim the scum, a sign of uncleanliness and understanding their product so I won't purchase them if they look like that which is often. That deli is generally unsanitary with dried blood on the meat scale and having cutting boards that have not been wiped never the less properly cleaned.

As I wanted Green Olives too I tried the Tops Food Court in Central Festival Mall and found some nice Spanish Manzanilla Olives.

I don't like the common Black Olives, as I find them tasteless nor Pimento stuffed Green Olives but with a little persistence I was pleased with my purchases. My guests devoured them so I guess they were too!