It was love at first bite.
I tasted the lemongrass salad at Two Sisters Jungle Isaan Cuisine.
I was smitten.
I loved the bold vibrant flavours. It was a dish reflecting a region and its people so well.
Assertive and kind, simple and complex at the same time.
The taste memory lingered on my palate and mind, it became a taste memory.
I wanted to find out more about it.
This led me to the restaurant again, this time to meet with the chef-owner Khun Somyod.
I returned with Thee who first brought me to the restaurant as a guide with Taste of Thailand Food Tours http://www.tasteofthailandfoodtours.org and the food tour of Bangrak, also called The Village of Love (http://carolineishii.com/bangkok-diaries-village-of-love/)
We were waiting at the entrance to the restaurant when Khun Somyod arrived, taking off his motorcycle helmet, and greeting me with a warm smile and handshake. I did the traditional Thai greeting with palms together known as “wai” and said “sa-wad-dee kha (kha from a woman, khrap from a man).
Khun Somyod and Caroline Ishii
Khun Somyod has a big happy energy coming only in part from his size. It envelopes you and is contagious. I had a fun afternoon with him as he answered my questions about his life and salad, translated and captured in pictures by the wonderful Thee.
Interview with Khun Somyod
Let’s talk about your career. How did you get into cooking?
K. Somyat: I used to be a police sergeant up north. I didn’t’ make enough money with the wages. I wanted to showcase my food and also open up a food business so I could earn a bit more.
Caroline: It’s the opposite in North America. Usually police officers usually make adequate money and the food industry doesn’t make much.
How did you learn how to cook?
K. Somyodt: I enjoy tasting different foods as you can see by my figure [laughing]. I come from a household of good cooks. I travel around a lot tasting different foods from people. I bring these different elements to make my own style of food.
Caroline: I nod in agreement because I too, like many chefs, get inspired that way
Could you give me some history behind the restaurant? How long have you owned it?
K. Somyod: 21 years. I opened it in 1997-1998. Before that I ran the police department up north (in Song Peenong district, Suphanburi, one of the provinces in Thailand that is famous for “jungle food”)
Caroline: Wow, 21 years!
Why did you put this lemongrass salad on the menu?
K. Somyod: Thai food uses a lot of herbs. I created this dish because it makes use the beautiful local herbs (lemongrass is a herb that is part of the grass family) available here and is delicious.
Tell me about Isaan cuisine. I understand it is Laos influenced.
The cuisine is quite healthy and the dishes often use ingredients such as lemongrass and green papaya.
I hear Isaan cusine is spicy? Is this true?
K. Somyod: Not really, it depends on your palate.
Caroline: True, I guess spiciness is relative.
Is the lemongrass salad a popular dish?
K. Somyod: It’s very versatile. It’s a good for customers as it can be eaten as a salad, it can be eaten with rice (food is commonly eaten by hand using warm sticky rice, not the non-sticky long grain Jasmine rice, pressed into a ball with the fingers of the right hand), and it’s good with beer.
Caroline: I agree, [laughing], it’s always good to have food to go with beer!
Where do you source your ingredients?
K. Somyod: I go to the Bangrak market every day and buy from the vendors.
What does your normal day look like?
K. Somyod: It’s a lot of hard work and effort cooking. I do a lot of chopping!
Caroline: No different from most local restaurants. It’s not as glamourous as people imagine!
It seems like you have a lot of help from your family at the restaurant?
K. Somyat: I have my twin sisters help me take care of the kitchen, my niece helps too, and there is a general helper who takes orders, serves, and cleans.
Is there ways that being a cop has helped you in the restaurant?
K. Somyod: I still keep in contact with my colleagues from the police department and they are friends. They help me when I am in trouble [great advantage I thought] and when they want some delicious foods. I support the foundation for the police and have been the president. The staff from police station around the corner come daily for take out meals and I cater for them sometimes.
What do you enjoy most about the restaurant life?
K. Somyod: I love the food service and hospitality industry. I enjoy building good relationships with customers, talking to them, making delicious food for them
Caroline: I nodded and felt a kinship with him when he said that because I felt the same way when I had the restaurant. That part made me the happiest.
Do you have a certain philosophy to life and cooking?
K. Somyod: I try to bring happiness to customers and transmit good energy to them through each plate.
Caroline: I feel the same way, that a chef brings his/her personality to the plate!
The Making of a Taste Memory
When Khun Somyod finished making the lemongrass salad, he encouraged me to taste some.
With fork in hand I was eager to taste the salad again to see if it tasted the same, this time with the chef watching me.
I quickly corrected myself and switched to a spoon because that is the way the Thais eat, with the spoon in the dominant hand and the fork in the other to push food into the spoon to eat. The only time Thais use chopsticks is when eating Chinese noodle dishes.
It was even better than I had remembered!
I created another taste memory that day.
Of a salad that is fresh and delicious, but it is much more than this. It is one man’s pursuit for interesting flavours he can share with his customers, his desire to showcase fresh herbs from his region, and his love of bringing happiness and good energy to the customers he serves.
We didn’t speak the same language but we did speak a common language. That food is love.
Thee tasting the lemongrass salad
Thee’s rating of the salad
The Making of a Lemongrass Salad
Dried shrimp and squid. Fry quickly with oil to cook and make crispy
A few stalks of lemongrass. Cut off green heads, trim the bottoms, peel off any dry or tough outer layers until a softer white core is revealed, thinly slice this core at a diagonal.
Note: Khun Somyod said there are three different kinds of lemongrass and the toughest is used for tea. We must get that kind at home as it’s hard and not that fresh as it comes from a long way, Thailand maybe. For the youngest softest lemongrass, you have to go into a bush of lemongrass and pick the ones inside he says. Not sure where you find that bush unless you are in a tropical climate but there you go.
One Chinese celery stalk thinly chopped.
One green onion thinly chopped.
Add one fresh Thai chili pepper, more if you want more heat. Khun Somyot said he uses three to four chili peppers for his family but one for us as I said I was ok with spice.
Make the sauce – lime juice, fish sauce, sugar
Add roasted peanuts
Taste
Serve on plate decorated with greens
Eat. Yum!
Jungle Two Sisters Isaan Cuisine is open every day from 9 to 9 pm. Please say “hi” to Khun Somyod if he is there when you visit. He’s often greeting customers and talking to them. Take a photo and post it here!
Also published on Medium.
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