I have become a great fan of a Thai dish called Som Tam Thai.
It is distinct from the Issan version, Som Tam Lao, which uses a lot of fish sauce and smells foul as hell.
In English, Som Tam Thai is papaya salad. It is more than just thin sliced strings of papaya, however. The secret is in the sauce, and in the garlic. Somehow, Thais succeed in making Som Tam Thai sweet, sour, garlicky, and spicy, all at the same time. It is spectacular. It is also very good for you.
You can find recipes for it by googling, if you are curious.
Thais typically buy their Som Tom Thai from carts on the soi. I do not eat food from the soi. I have learned the hard way. I buy my Som Tam Thai from a little booth in the Robinson's Department Store complex on Ratchadapisek Road in Bangkok. The guy who makes it is a katoey, meaning a transvestite. He invariably calls me "handsome man" when I go, and he tries to flirt with me, though I do not speak enough Thai for him to succeed. I just smile, say thank you in Thai, and tell him "mai kao jai krup," which politely means that I do not understand. He just chatters on, apparently admiring my beard, or something. I do not know. I do not want to know.
I was initially nervous about buying food prepared by hand by a man with large arms wearing earrings and make up....but I got over it. The guy makes it great.
Som Tam Thai typically includes small dried shrimp. I tell the guy "gung mai ao," which means "no shrimp," and I tell him "nam blah mai ao," which means "no fish sauce, please."
I get mine with two perfect red Thai peppers chopped into the mix. The typical Thai gets his with ten or twenty peppers. If you are not acclimated to it, eating Som Tom like that can kill you. It is spicy enough for me with just two peppers.
It is freakin' delicious.
There are a ton of beautiful girls at that Robinson's, too.
