On the Menu: Thai Food

Our Friday Feast - Thai Style

Oh, it's been a long week!  This time change stuff always makes me feel like the days are so long.  Anyway, I was looking forward to making and eating some Thai food all week so TGIF!!! If you've never had Thai food you're in for a yummy treat.  It's similar in concept to Chinese food and other Asian cuisines but I find it lighter and more flavorful than Chinese.  They use a lot of lemongrass and basil and a ginger-like spice called galangal.  There are curries and stirfries that range from mild to crazy-OMG- hot!!  It's good and healthy- they use a lot of vegetables and herbs and coconut milk which is supposed to be a good fat.  So we made a couple of dishes and bought a few more from our local Thai restaurant (sorry if you don't have one near you) and had a great little feast in front of the fire!  Winter has finally come to Northern California and it's cold so we were looking forward to some spicy food.  The kids were at their cousin's house so they missed out :)

Here is a picture of our feast- we had Tom Kha Kai (chicken and coconut milk soup), Pork Satay with Peanut Sauce (BBQ pork on skewer), Spicy Pumpkin Beef (stirfried pumpkin and beef with chilies and basil), Pad See Ewe (flat noodles, chicken and vegetables), and for dessert Coconut Sticky Rice with Mangoes!!  I made the pork satay, peanut sauce and dessert but if you'd like more recipes I found a great website ThaiTable.com.  Some of the ingredients might be hard to find but worth the effort!  Here are the recipes for the food we made at home -

Pork Satay w/Peanut Sauce
For the recipe you will need:

• 1 cup coconut milk
• 4 T curry powder
• 1 t salt
• 2 t sugar
• 2 lbs pork sliced into 1/4" strips
• bamboo or metal skewers

1. Combine all the marinade ingredients and add to sliced pork.  Let marinade for 1 hour at least.
2. While pork is marinating, soak bamboo skewers in water.  This will keep them from burning
3.  Thread pork onto skewers.  Mine made about 10 skewers.
4.  Grill or broil until cooked through.  Since the meat is so thin it doesn't take very long.
5.  Serve with peanut sauce (recipe follows)

Peanut Sauce

• 1 c  coconut milk
• 1 T red curry paste (look in Asian foods section)
• 1 1/2 T fish sauce (also in Asian section or sub. soy sauce)
• 4 T peanut butter
• 3 T sugar
• 1 T tamarind paste (I couldn't find this)

1. Combine all the ingredients and tweak the tastes to suit you.  I couldn't find tamarind paste at the Asian market but I thought the sauce was pretty tasty without it.

Coconut Sticky Rice

• 1 c coconut milk
• 2 pinches salt
• 1 c sticky rice (this might be hard to find- it's a short grain rice)
• 2 T sugar

1. Soak rice in microwaveable bowl of warm water for 10 mins.  This step is very important.
2. Cover bowl and cook in microwave for 3 mins.
3. Stir rice and microwave for 3 more minutes or until rice is translucent and cooked through.
4. Heat coconut milk in pan until just boiling, reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes. 
5. Add sugar and salt and remove from heat.
6. Pour 3/4 of mixture over hot rice.  Rice will absorb it.  Save the rest to drizzle over when serving.
7.  Serve warm or chilled with fresh mangoes.  Yummy!!

The Floating Lotus

Loy Krathong: The Floating Lotus Festival

On a full moon in the 12th lunar month (usually November), the people of Thailand set afloat little lotus-shaped bowls filled with candies, coins, flowers and a lit candle.  As they set them adrift a wish is made and the longer the flame on your candle stays lit the better chance for the fulfillment the wish and also for the longevity of your life.  Couples make a wish together with the "promise" that this will keep them together always.  The moonlight and the candles and the wishes all make for a very beautiful and romantic night.  This festival is called Loy Krathong. "loy" meaning "to float" and "krathong" meaning "lotus-shaped".  No one was sure when this festival was started but it has been happening since the 13th century.  We made our own floating lotuses...

D I Y Loy Krathong

For this project you will need:

• paper or foam plates or bowls
• construction paper
• glue
• scissors
• candies, a candle, and a river to float it on.  We didn't have the last item but that's ok it's not a full moon 'til next week.

1.  On a paper plate draw and cut out a flower shape with pointed petals. This is the base of the flower.

2.  Cut out some large petals and glue them to base so that the petals alternate.  Does that make sense?
3.  Continue to make smaller petals until you've filled your flower. 
4. Write down your wish and glue to center
5. Curl up the edges of the petals to give a more a 3-D look and to hold the offerings in.
6. Go to a river, stream or other body of water.  Light the candle, make a wish and set it off. 

In Thailand they are starting to make the lotuses biodegradable so they don't pollute down river.  Ours will probably never see actual water but our paper plates would dissolve pretty quickly I'm sure. 

Hope your wishes come true!  Our wishes included: a drum, an ipad and an angry birds game.  I'm only betting on one of them coming true (and it's not the drum or ipad).

The Animals of Thailand

The Animals of Thailand

The country of Thailand is the home to many,many animals.  Some are huge, like the Asian Elephant and monitor lizard, and some very tiny, like the Bumble bat.  Many live in the rainforests and some right in town.  Let's learn about a few with the most significance in the culture.

The Elephant:  The National symbol of Thailand, the elephant has always been a large part of the culture of Thailand.  It has been featured on the currency, stamps, and until 1917, was on the flag.  Thai kings keep a stable of white elephants because they are supposed to bring luck.  Some Buddhist temples are built on the ground where an elephant has died and many contain shrines to elephants. 100 years ago there were over 100,000 elephants, both domesticated and wild, today there are fewer than 5,000.  This is mainly due to an increase in people and farms, deforestation and conflicts with farmers.  With more money to be made through tourism than logging many elephants are being moved to the cities where they are in danger from the cars and pollution.  Hopefully this beautiful animals numbers can be restored and the symbol of Thailand can regain the respect it is due.

The Monkey: Monkeys are also very special in Thailand because of a character in the epic tales of the Ramayana.  The Ramayana is a Hindu tale that is also important in the Buddhist culture as well.  It is a collection of teachings and lessons in values that have been told for centuries in many countries.  Because one of the heroes was a monkey they are given a lot of respect.  They are rarely chased away and, in fact, are given free reign in many temples.  They are fed by the monks, the people of the village and, of course, the tourists who come to see them.  Some areas train the monkeys to harvest the coconuts from the trees and apparently a monkey can pick 300 coconuts a day!!

The Snake: Called a "naga" in Thailand, the snake plays an important part in Buddhist culture.  In legend a naga changed into a man in order to become a monk, so now a part of the ordination ceremony is confirming that you are indeed a man and not a snake.
Many Buddhist temples have naga decorations on the stairs and the snake is also featured in many superstitions-

• If a woman dreams about a snake she will find the man of her dreams in the coming days
• If a woman dreams of being bitten or crushed by a snake she will be united with her true love
• If a snake crosses your path there is money coming your way
• If a big snake comes into the temple to sleep it is said to be a spirit returning.

So because the snake is such an important part of the culture and because my daughter has a deep fear of them that I'm trying to get rid of, we are making "Naga" for our craft!

 Paper Plate Naga (Snakes)

For the project you will need:

• paper plates
• scissors
• paint or markers
• googly eyes (optional but fun)
• red felt, ribbon or paper for tongue

                                                 1.  Draw a spiral on the paper plate.  Start with a head and make it smaller as it goes. 
2.  Paint, color or whatever you choose to decorate your snake.   Have fun and make up your own pattern or do a little research and copy a real snakes' design.
                                                  3. Cut along the spiral to turn it into a snake.
4.  Glue on eyes and tongue 

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!

Week 16!! Thailand

Let's go to Thailand!

Woohoo!!  Week 16!  We're moving right along and we've come to one of my dream vacations.  I love the food, love the scenery, probably would hate the weather and insects but I'd try not to complain too loudly.  Thailand is beautiful.  Have you ever seen pictures of the beaches in Phuket?  The crazy chaos of people in Bangkok?  There's great food and great shopping and plenty of historical and natural attractions to see.  Located in Southeast Asia, Thailand is the only country never to have been a European colony.  It has a constitutional monarchy and the ruler, King Bhumibol Adulyadej (known as Rama IX), has been on the throne since 1946, making him the longest seated ruler in the world.  They take the King seriously in Thailand, in fact, the movie The King and I is banned in Thailand because they felt it was insulting to the monarchy. 

Thailand is home to many big/ long things:

• the largest saltwater fish - the whale shark
• the longest snake - the reticulated python (up to 33ft long)
• the longest venomous snake- the king cobra (18 ft)
• the largest lizard - the monitor lizard (7ft long)
• the largest freshwater fish- the giant catfish (up to 10ft)
• the longest name for a city - the capital of Bangkok's official name is... Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mhadilokphop Noppharatractchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkathaltiyawitsanukamprasit !!  Whew, bet those street signs are big too!!  The name translates to City of Angels, Great City of Immortals, Magnificent City of Nine Gems, Seat of the King, City of Royal Palaces, Home of the Gods Incarnate erected by Visvakarman at Indra's Behest.

That is one build up for a city it must be pretty awesome!!  You can find this City of Angels on the map at 13.75°N/ 100.48°E.  This puts the country pretty close to the Equator and explains the hot and humid climate.  The rainforests thrive and the flora and fauna are exotic.  It is said that 1/10th of all the animals in the world live in the rainforests.  We will have to do a whole post just to cover the animals! 

I found a few customs in Thailand that I thought were interesting. 

• The head is the most important part of the body and you should never touch anyone on the head in Thailand.  If you are in a conversation with anyone older or more important you should also try to keep your head lower than theirs. 
• Feet are considered lowly.  They associate then with attachment to the ground and human suffering.  In Thailand you should never sit with your feet pointing at a person or a statue in a temple.  When seated you tuck your feet under your body.
• When going in a temple or home you should remove your shoes.  It is disrespectful not to do so.
• It is also disrespectful not to eat at least a small bite of any food served to you by a host.
• To greet someone with respect you should join the palms of your hands and bow your head.

I think we've got a good start to an interesting week!  Hope you'll join us!!

Field Trip with the Dead!

A Dia de los Muertos Festival!!



GO GIANTS!!

My husband with some "dead" lady

Today we did something really fun and totally different.  November 1st and 2nd is when the Mexican culture celebrates Dia de los Muertos, a celebration of life and death when the spirit of the dearly departed return to Earth for a family fiesta.  The East Palo Alto Community Church was having a festival to celebrate the day so off we went for a field trip!  What fun!  There was lots of food- pupusas (stuffed pockets with meat and melted cheese), tacos, pozole (spicy soup with hominy and lots of toppings), nachos, tamales, cupcakes!! Yum. There were lots of people with their faces painted up as skulls and crafts for the kids to make - sugar skulls that they could decorate and drawing pages.  Mariachi bands and singers, an Aztec dance troupe and folk dancers (we left before them).  It was a great introduction for us to learn about a wonderful tradition.  Here are a few of the customs we learned about:

Ofrendas - While some people visit the graves of loved ones and celebrate there, others build an ofrenda, or altar, in their homes.


Pan de Muertos (middle) and some other sweets

It would have the photo of the one being honored and prayer candles in purple for pain, white for hope and pink for celebration.  There should be pan de muertos (bread of the dead), which is a sweet bread baked in round loaves to symbolize the circle of life and decorated with bone shapes. Sugar skulls, tissue paper decorations called papel picado, copal (incense to clear the path for the spirit to return), a glass of water and a bottle of beer or tequila would also be featured.



Calaveras- These are skulls and skeletons posed or dressed whimsically and used in artwork, toys, jewelry and many other forms.



Cempazuchitl- Also known as "the flower with 400 lives", marigolds were thought by the Aztecs to symbolize death.  It is believed that the scent of the petals forms a welcome path for the spirits to return to the altars or graves. 

Sugar Skulls- These are skulls molded from a sugar paste, then decorated with icing, glitter and foil.  Often placed on altars, the sugar represents the sweetness of life and the skull represents the sadness of death.


We came home from the festival having had more fun than we expected.  I was especially touched by the altars.  I had been reading up on Dia de los Muertos and so yesterday (Nov. 2), I took the kids to the cemetary to visit the grave of my Grandmother.  We cleaned her gravestone and put some flowers and candy on it.  But there were so many other people who had done huge flower arrangements and really put us to shame.  It made me sad that I don't visit more often and I was so moved by the altars that when we came home we made a little one that we'll keep up for a day or so.  It honors the parents and older sister of my husband and 3 of my grandparents who have died.  It doesn't have all the components of a traditional ofrenda but it has a few.  I hope they can all join us tonite for a little fiesta :)

 

Our ofrenda to honor those we have loved and lost