Which Cooking Equipment/foodstuffs To Bring From Home?

[anais]

I'll be in BKK for at least a year. Love Thai food and nice restaurants, but I'm a cook and I'll *need* too cook at least once a week for mental health. In the States I have a beautifully equipped kitchen, but I'm coming with 3 suitcases and a box or two shipped UPS.

Can I buy a cast-iron skillet in Bangkok? (Gotta have it for cornbread.) If not, my grandmother's is coming in a suitcase. Ditto for the good knives. Are tortilla presses available? For that matter, what about cornmeal and masa? Yogurt maker? Steel-cut oatmeal?

I do a lot of Mexican and Southern soul food ... just wondering what won't be easy to obtain.

Thanks,

Cyn

[The Coder]

In that case, bring everything you possibly can. If you like high end cookware like copper / Mauviel it isn't here. The stuff you can find is outrageously expensive. The cookware Thai's like is as thin and light as tin foil. After searching everywhere from Siam Discovery to The Promenade to MBK to Central, etc etc I decided to import solid copper Falk cookware myself. Want good knives? About the best you can do is find some low end Henkels, but again, price is ridiculous. It's hard to get excited about buying utensils in Thailand when all you can find is average stuff at sky high prices.

The rule is ANYTHING imported in Thailand (computers, furniture, perfume, cameras, you name it) costs more than in the US. High end items are marked up the worst and you often have to pay 2x or 3x, that is if they even exist. Selection and availability is very low.

As for the food items, fill extra space and bring what fits. I can't say if all those things are available here, but even if they are, they will cost more. Villa market is probably your best bet for those type of things. You'll at least have a nice stock as you discover where to to find things.

Edited September 9, 2006 by The Coder

[anais]

Thanks so much, TC; that's EXACTLY what I needed to know. A good girlfriend lived in BKK for years, but she's not a cook and she very airily said, "Oh, you should bring nothing ... you can buy anything you'd like cheaply. And don't think you'll have anyone in for a meal, because everyone entertains in restaurants."

I'm surprised that things like rice cookers, coffeemakers, etc wouldn't be cheaper, as they're all made in Asia! (My current kettle is actually from Thailand.)

Fortunately I do love street food!

[jdinasia]

skip bringing anything that runs on US electricity

[tutsiwarrior]

presumably you want to do cornbread stove top for which a cast iron skillet is ideal (as well as for pasta sauce, chilli, etc.) Unfortunately there is no corn meal that I can see in LOS (corn flour maybe but not the same for corn bread). There also is no masa mix available so forget bringing a tortilla press...

for most of your ingredients you will have to go to overpriced places in BKK like Villa, Foodland, etc. The availability is wildly inconsistent...loads one week and nothing for the rest of the month...has to do with other falangs grabbing everything off the shelves when things are available.

a 12" cast iron skillet is a prized possesion when cured...bring the one that you currently have. Be aware that most places don't have cookers with ovens, only stove top...if you were able to find a good new skillet (unlikely) it would be expensive and no oven to cure it in.

I have made decent corn bread in a baking tin in the oven in the Middle East...big cast iron skillets are an american thing...something that the pioneers hung from a rope offa their wagons on the way West...

also think about spices that may not be available here...plenty of chiles, garlic and onions...but what if you want to do an indian curry? Think about the more exotic spices required for what you want to cook and bring them with you.

where are our other thaivisa european chefs?...Gerd, Spuds, Yorkie?...help the lady out...

[anais]

skip bringing anything that runs on US electricity

<wails> It ALL runs on US electricity! Can't I buy a ... a ... you know, one of those THINGS?

[The Coder]

<wails> It ALL runs on US electricity! Can't I buy a ... a ... you know, one of those THINGS?

Yes, you can get a transformer. But they are not real desirable as they tend to be hot, take up space, unsightly, and waste energy. Check all of your electrical things to see if any can operate at 220 volts. For sure bring those, the others are possible only with a transformer.

The other note is newer places in Thailand are plug compatible with 2-3 prong US stuff. There also little inline plugs if you need to fit into older outlets.

Also keep in mind there might be a percentage duty applied on stuff you bring in so careful not to overstate the price

[anais]

Thanks for the continuing info. Food processor is 120V and weighs a ton. Will try to buy one there or finally learn to use a pastry cutter. But NO OVEN? How can I be expected to make a brandy apple frangipane tart with NO OVEN? It's going to be a long year. (And I'll probably lose ten pounds.)

Curry spices, fortunately, are compact. Can thyme, rosemary, oregano, fennel etc be easily procured?

My friend may be right ... all restaurants, all the time. Sigh.

[jcgodber]

Cyn-

Any time I travel from the U.S. back to Thailand I almost always bring-

Las Palmas Enchilada sauce

Pico Pica –taco hot sauce

Jell-O instant puddings

Masa flour

Heinz sweet relish- in plastic bottles

Splenda sugar substitute

Kraft Velveeta cheese

Good Seasons salad dressings

Etc.

I have brought my-

Tortilla press

10” iron skillet

120-volt electric carving knife (to slice bread)

Bread machine 120 volt (1000watt transformer can be bought here) must be a real transformer; the electronic ones won’t work with this.

Bread slicing guide made by Presto

A good can opener

A good vegetable peeler

Timer

Large crock-pot

Presto Fry Daddy (remember to bring a 1000w electronic converter from Fry’s Electronics store)

You can find here-

Corn meal

Taco shells

Flour tortillas (Good)

Corn tortillas (OK)

Most of your baking needs (flour, yeast, baking powder and baking soda)

You can easily buy a 3 or 4 burner stove with an oven gas or electric.

I hope this helps

Jim

[anais]

Thanks, Jim. If I can buy good tortillas I'll skip the masa and the press. Let me know if you'd like a homemade pudding recipe ... it is dead easy to make your own.

[jcgodber]

Heres is the one I use for - chocolate pudding

INGREDIENTS:

l 1/2 cup white sugar

l 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

l 1/4 cup cornstarch

l 1/8 teaspoon salt

l 2 3/4 cups milk

l 2 tablespoons margarine or butter

l 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a saucepan, stir together sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt. Place over medium heat, and stir in

milk. Bring to a boil, and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens enough to coat the back

of a metal spoon. Remove from heat, and stir in margarine and vanilla. Let cool briefly, and serve

warm, or chill in refrigerator until serving.

( here in Thailand cornstarch is called corn flour)

Jim

[cathyy]

I brought my knives, cookware, and a couple odds and ends: Splenda and Sazon.

You can get excellent knives here at Verasu. They have (at least on their website) the Classic, Culinar, and Grand Prix lines by Wusthof. They cost not much more than in the US, which means they are outrageously expensive.

I got a Severin brand bread machine there that works just fine and has a variety of cycles. It was not cheap, 50% more than what I'd have paid in the US. Crock pot are available there, too, and I expect to be getting one soon. They cost a bit more than in the US, too.

There is a vast selection of food processors here. Cuisinart and (sob!) KitchenAid are not among them. You may be interested in one of the food processors designed for Thai use, which include a device specifically for replacing a mortar and pestle in the making of curry paste. You may prefer a more typically American slicer-shredder-mixer unit. All-in-one units, that combine a food processor and blender on one base are quite common, too.

You can get Le Creuset at Verasu, as well as Scanpan.

I have been unable to find fresh thyme and rosemary, but I can get dried clear out here in Issan. Cheese is surprisingly hard to get if you exclude the tasteless goo sold here as slices.

[thaigerd]

It looks for me you like cooking a lot

So better you bring all your equipment/ingredients with you if possible.

Guess you'll have a lot friends coming to ur house and enjoy your real stuff, home made.

Gerd

[jcgodber]

Cathy- Thank you for the tip about Verasu. I went to their web site and they really do have a lot of good stuff even though it is a bit pricey.

What is your speciality?

I do Enchaldas, tacos Chillidogs to die for and Beef short ribs and make killer sourdough bread.

I also bake pies and make a really good chocolate pudding.

Where do you live up North/

I live in Sa Kaeo

Jim

[thaigerd]

Cathy- Thank you for the tip about Verasu. I went to their web site and they really do have a lot of good stuff even though it is a bit pricey.

What is your speciality?

I do Enchaldas, tacos Chillidogs to die for and Beef short ribs and make killer sourdough bread.

I also bake pies and make a really good chocolate pudding.

Where do you live up North/

I live in Sa Kaeo

Jim

.....sh.t, I'm living in the south

Gerd

[cathyy]

I live in Korat. Nakhon Ratchasima.

Well, my specialty in the US was baking. I haven't got quite that friendly with my convection oven yet, though. Only been here a few months. Here, my specialty is whatever I can scrape together the ingredients for that my husband might like. He has the picky food habits -and tastes- of a 4 year old. Don't let his spaghetti sauce touch his snow peas!

I come from a family that just cooks, we don't use recipes for everyday cooking. You know what I mean. I do a lovely roast chicken, and I made some really nice chili the other day. In the states I made a wonderful Japanese chicken curry; here I make a delicious sweet green curry but my husband doesn't like any coconut curries. I make a pretty fair phat kra pao, but I actually like it better made with sweet rather than hot basil, which makes it not a kra pao at all. I don't know what it would be called made that way. I do a lot of stir fries with whatever is on hand.

I really do need to begin baking. Cool season is nigh. I have assembled almost all the ingredients for most simple baked goods. I even have vanilla, cinnamon, and a silicone muffin pan from Villa.

OH!! to the OP: Bring your hotpads!!!!! I had my husband bring me some nice new silicone ones that will last forever and clean easily. What they sell here for hot pads is only funny if you don't have to try to use them.

[jcgodber]

Cathyy—

A few weeks ago my wife and I were up in Khorat. I was up there looking for avocado trees to take home and plant. Any time I am in Khorat we stay at the Grand hotel and go shopping there at THE MALL.

While I was in the grocery store there in the mall I was at the check out counter and saw that the woman customer ahead of me had a discount card. I don’t have one. I was going to get one but the lady just let me use hers. Hay! I saved about 250 baht.

I maintain a continuing shopping list of what goods to be on the look out for.

Heinz relish

Tomato sauce

Whole Wheat flour

Canned butter

Vanilla sticks

Crystal brand steak sauce

Large Thai grown Avocados

English muffins

Bagels

Colby cheese

Corn meal

Pam cooking spray or similar

Electric carving knife - for slicing bread

Molasses

I am probably like most other farangs that have come to Thailand to make my home. I am always looking trying to find hard to find things. I consider it a treat to get to go shopping at one of the Villa stores. They really do have a lot of things that are hard to find. I normally buy most of my food in Patteya at Foodland, Best and Friendship markets. For me it is a 5-hour round trip but for you it would almost be an overnight stay. I take a 120-liter plastic icebox to keep all the cold things cold while in transit. I usually only go shopping once a month or so as I keep a full pantry and a stuffed freezer.

I had to laugh about the oven mitts. I never had given it a thought. When we moved here to Thailand I loaded a container filled to the max with absolutely everything we owned and if we didn’t own it I went out and bought it. Of course I brought everything from the kitchen even the appliances that were 120 volt only. I just bought transformers to use. Now I have to be perfectly honest, more that once I have plugged something 120 volts into the 220 volt outlet and the appliance instantly became a boat anchor. That is was happened to my “first” bread machine. Anytime I go back to the U.S., which seems to be about once a year, we travel with 4 empty suitcases (well almost). Coming back I have the absolute maximum allowed 40 kilos per bag times 4. This last trip I even brought back 4 dozen bagels, which once home, each one got put into a zip lock bag and frozen.

What does your husband do? Is he retired?

Well bye for now,

Jim

[chatette]

Anais, Don't bother bringing your yoghurt maker. The weather here is designed for yoghurt making. You can buy a cheap, small, plastic insulated ice holder with lid and use that. Perfect. Can confirm the Verasu knife brands. Was looking at them in the shop the other day. They also have cast iron skillets, among other equipment. In the absence of an oven, I'd suggest buying a convection/microwave. I shopped for one the other day: Sony was equivalent of about US$200 at The Mall. You may get cheaper 2ndhand from someone leaving. You can also get small version food processors as well as silicon pie/muffin etc. trays that wld make more sense than lugging all your stuff too and fro for such a short time.

[adammike]

cathyy what is the food processors that has the attachment for grinding thai spices?

galengal is a bitch to grind in a magi-mix.

The Emporium in bangkok has a supermarket that seems to have been stocked for ex-pats

there is an American/brit/japanese section a bit pricey maybe but worth a look.

[tutsiwarrior]

there are cookers with ovens available in Thailand but they are not technically elaborate and it is hard to control the temp...see the cooker thread elsewhere on the forum.

I made a MEATLOAF tonight using my super duper meat grinder to grind up odd cuts of beef bought from tescos, eggs, smashed up saltine crackers, sum kinda of fried rice cooking sauce to substitute for worchester sauce, garlic, onions, etc...turned out OK...gonna have me meat loaf sammiches for the next couple of days...can also do roast pork ribs, chicken, roast pork loin with mustard sauce in the simple oven...check out the selection when you arrive...

Edited November 3, 2006 by tutsiwarrior

[The Skipper]

I like to cook.

Found just about everything at the local supermarkets, Paragon, Central Chitlom, Villa Markets.

Picked up some excellent Pots/Pans/Dishes at Central Chitlom.

I wouldn't bring anything.

[cathyy]

cathyy what is the food processors that has the attachment for grinding thai spices?

galengal is a bitch to grind in a magi-mix.

Just look for a food processor or blender that also says it is a grinder. You can recognize one just from a picture if it has an additional attachment that is quite small. I think Moulinex, Black and Decker, and Philips make them, and some others as well, but I wasn't taking notes as I walked down the small appliance aisle. You might also look for a stand-alone grinder. It might be harder to find, but probably sturdier. Check an Indian shop if you are near Bangkok, as they make similar pastes and need a grinder.

[anais]

I got lucky: My landlady put in a new oven with 4 burners (electric, but oh well) for me in my condo. The pans here are expensive and of poor quality, but I'm slowly building a little collection and it won't pain me to part with them when I move. Very glad that I packed my cast iron skillet, my good knives, and my microplane. I think I'll buy a microwave just to make popcorn and reheat street noodles.

Cooking utensils seem unreasonably expensive and I would recommend to bring things from home unless you're not on a budget. I'll be bringing back a few more things after my December trip.

[zxray]

<wails> It ALL runs on US electricity! Can't I buy a ... a ... you know, one of those THINGS?

Yes, you can get a transformer. But they are not real desirable as they tend to be hot, take up space, unsightly, and waste energy. Check all of your electrical things to see if any can operate at 220 volts. For sure bring those, the others are possible only with a transformer.

The other note is newer places in Thailand are plug compatible with 2-3 prong US stuff. There also little inline plugs if you need to fit into older outlets.

Also keep in mind there might be a percentage duty applied on stuff you bring in so careful not to overstate the price

Coder

Where can I purchase one of these transformers at?

Ray