Culinary crossover

Bangkok for several reasons reminded me of Mumbai – an elevated highway connects the airport to various sections of the city. From that height, you can only see skyscrapers, which give the impression that the city is prosperous, but once you take the exits, the disparity between the rich and poor is obvious. Truth is, India and Thailand share a lot of cultural similarities – even their king is believed to be a descendant of Lord Rama, and is aptly named so. The current one is Rama IX. Thailand worships the same Buddha as the one we do in India and celebrates Ganesh Chaturthi. They even sell Ganesha idols outside temples and modaks in the market.

Déjà vu at the market 

Of course, culture also means food and so you're bound to have Déjà vu moments. Walking through the street markets in Bangkok, I saw several stalls selling fruits and vegetables that are common back home – mangoes, pomegranate, jackfruit, durian, pineapple, papaya and guava. When I look back, it shouldn't have come as a surprise as both countries primarily enjoy tropical climate and vegetation.

But it's not just about the produce, even some of their dishes are like ours. For instance, some street vendors were selling chicken, pork and beef preparations stuffed in what we call karanjis. Although our version, usually served during the festive season, has coconut and jaggery, their puff pastry is filled with meat that is either steamed or fried, and is served with sauces.

On another stall were rows of puris made of rice flour and shredded coconut, transporting me to Eid, as it tasted very much like the malpuas you get during the month of fasting. I just missed the rabdi.

Come night and it was time to venture into the real purpose of our trip—an in-depth look at the life of JW Sahar's Chef Rungtiwa Sorlae, who grew up in the outskirts of Bangkok.

She and Vishal Atreya, Executive Chef, JW Sahar, played the role of sous chefs as Sorlae's aunt, the family matriarch, prepared a three-course meal comprising stir fried vegetables, lotus stem curry with fish, sticky brown rice, and a chicken and basil preparation. For dessert, we could choose from steamed bananas or pumpkins with crushed coconut.

While serving us, Chef Rungtiwa demonstrated how we were supposed to eat the food. She took a gigantic portion of lettuce and filled it up with the vegetables, fish and chicken. Then she added some fish sauce to the preparation and gobbled down the entire thing, much like one would eat paan.

While overall, the food was delicious, the fish sauce was the hero; the balance of sweet and spicy was just what the doctor ordered. My cold vanished in no time! Not consistency, but the flavour of the sauce reminded me of the schezwan sauce at Udupi restaurants.

More home food and China Town

On the second day, Chef Rungtiwa took us to her uncle's date farm on the outskirts of Bangkok. After a 30 minute tour, we were served a lunch of chicken rice with familiar spices: ginger, garlic and turmeric. But unlike what we're used to back home, what I loved about their version was the subtlety of flavours.

The next stop was China Town, back in the main city, where restaurant owners insisted we try their offering. After walking through the crowded street that the municipality had smartly divided into pedestrian and vehicular zones, we stopped on seeing a pig's face – it had been deep fried and put on display. While many were put off by the sight and smell, I wondered how it would taste. But just then, a group member came running to inform us that he'd found the stall where insects are sold.

My friends in Mumbai had told me I won't have the guts to sample insects; so I took it up as a challenge and eating some creepy-crawlies was on top of my priority list here. With determination, I followed a fellow journo and Chef Atreya, equally interested in trying insects, to the stall. It was more like a thela displaying grasshoppers, beetles, worms and tiny frogs in separate trays. We decided to mix them all up and eat. While some hesitated initially, I took a grasshopper, put it in my mouth and shut my eyes in nervousness. In all honesty, it tasted like fried bombil. The frogs and beetles tasted like chicken. The worm was too squishy for my liking. But accomplishing something I'd wanted to do for several years felt really good.

We then settled down at another stall for a dinner of seafood – the best meal so far. We had an assorted plate of squid, octopus, prawns and clams; tom yum soup with prawns (that tasted more like rasam) and a palak-sabji-like preparation of Thai spinach (locally called morning glory).

Despite the high I got from eating such good food, I knew I should take an antacid as I had to fly back to Mumbai the next day.

When thinking of the similarities I found in the cuisines, I wonder whether the earliest settlers moved between the two countries and made their culinary preferences felt. From what I experienced in 48 hours, I won't be surprised if that was indeed the case.