The high cost of having a BBQ addiction in Thailand

[Sweaty Paul]

Nice write up and what a view! I‘m looking forward to reading your recipes and seeing the lunches!

[AZ Fogey]

Sandpaper Here's the only recipe I've found that translates to BBQ. Everything else my wife and in-laws make tastes great but it's all stir-fried and, given my limited culinary skills, I haven't been able to make it work well on BBQ meats. This is a long post because of all the photos, so if you're not interested, please skip right over it.

This recipe works well on both beef and pork. Apply it a slather, let it sit for a couple of hours, and then throw it on a hot grill. I've had better luck with this cooking hot & fast.

Sunee's BBQ Slather

1/3 cup cilantro root (about 7 roots) cut small and then crushed
9 or 10 garlic cloves crushed
3 tbs white pepper corns crushed
3 tbs Thai oyster sauce
1/4 cup Thai light soy sauce
1/4 cup Knorr pork bullion powder
for beef, 0 to 1/4 cup brown coconut sugar
for pork, 1/2 cup brown or coconut sugar

To combine all this, you can use a molcajete and pound it all into submission by hand. When I suggested putting it in a blender, the sisters gave me a look and I quickly shut up. My wife said the oil extraction wouldn't be the same. However, a couple of weeks later when I tried the recipe I did use a blender and everyone said it tasted the same. I'm lazy, they're not.

I think the hard part for those of us who live in the U.S. is going to be finding cilantro root. I don't ever remember seeing it in a regular supermarket but it may be available in bodegas. It is the major flavor source for this recipe. Also Thai oyster sauce and light soy sauce have a different flavor profile from the Chinese (Panda Brand) and the Japanese soy sauces we are used to, so if you can find them, it will make a difference in the result. This recipe is good, but can certainly be improved, and I'm hoping that some of the more gifted cooks who hang out on this forum will try it, tweak it, and then re-post it for the rest of us.

Cilantro Root

Cutting and pulverizing the cilantro root



Adding and crushing the white peppercorns

Adding and crushing the garlic cloves


Thai Oyster Sauce

Thai light soy sauce (above)

The final result


Credits: Left to right, Sunee, wife's younger sister and author of this recipe, Mon,
wife's older sister who cooks most of our lunches, and Dokmai, my wife and
the sous chef.

[fzxdoc]

Wow this looks great, AZ Fogey . I'm going to try to source some of the ingredients at a semi-local Asian grocery. They have a lot of fresh vegetables and fresh spices that I don't recognize, so maybe cilantro root is there too.

I hope you're enjoying your stay there in Thailand. Sure looks like you're eating well!

Best wishes,
Kathryn

[Sandpaper]

AZ Fogey - thanks for the recipe! I will be sure to try it out. If your return flight brings you via LAX, let me know and I can point you to some Thai markets for those ingredients.