Lopburi’s Culinary Secrets: Mushroom Curry & Fried Catfish

One, a curry soup made with smooth, round mushrooms that looked like little river stones, was explained as a trademark of the dining establishment. The various other, a stir-fry with gold portions of egg yolk looking out from a mound of crunchy little bits of fried fish, was a trademark of Lopburi itself.

MadMeee’s Culinary Delights

The frog legs appeared first, on a bed of lettuce with a pleasant dipping sauce. They were delicious (frog is a very lean white meat, in between white fish and chicken breast in both texture and taste), yet it was the various other 2 dishes that truly took our breath away. MadMeee’s mushroom curry was a dish of steaming coconut broth loaded with rough-hewn fish balls and slivers of bamboo shoot. I identified hairs of cha-om, or “climbing up wattle,” a natural herb with a poignant, tarry scent and a taste comparable to asparagus. However the stars of the program were the mushrooms themselves, perfectly spherical bubbles that popped in our mouths as we chewed them.

For one thing, my frog legs were much, much smaller sized than the ones we had in Thailand (which makes me ask yourself regarding the original size of the frogs!). As thrilled as I was to find canned hed pah in New York, the mushrooms in Thailand had a firmer, chewier texture. While I can not say that I entirely fractured the code, generally, both my sweetheart and I discovered this meal comparable sufficient to what we had in Lopburi to be pleasantly timeless of one of the ideal days of our journey.

The egg recipe we ordered was likewise not fairly like anything I had ever before had actually consumed prior to. Throughout our brief Google examinations, I saw it stated in a Michelin guide to the food of Lopburi, which explained that the city and its eponymous district are famous for salt-cured duck egg yolks, thanks to a local lime-rich white clay made use of in preserving the eggs. I recognized with salty egg yolk from Chinese food, however I had never ever had them in pad prik khing– a design of dry, stir-fried curry– with crumbles of fried catfish called pla duk fu.

Recreating Thai Flavors at Home

I made a purchasing list, adjusting ingredients as essential based on my photos and memories. I went on a quest for the much more details components at small Thai grocery stores in Queens, such as Thai Grocery Store and 3 Aunties Thai Market. The owner of Thai Grocery store even provided me tips on exactly how to make pad prik khing with fish (and let me pet her pet cats).

Found just outside the former Thai resources of Ayutthaya, Lopburi is known for its historic damages and its apes (commonly located among the ruins). But it holds a special significance for me since, in the late 17th century, Lopburi was home to one of my preferred figures in food history: Maria Guyomar, a noblewoman turned kitchen area overseer who gained the nickname the “Queen of Thai Desserts” for her payments to Thai food. I covered her exceptional life in 2023, and, since, I have actually intended to go to the ruins of Ban Wichayen in Lopburi, where Guyomar and her household when lived.

Lopburi: History and Food

Getting to MadMeee required us to split up and take different bike taxis (a brand-new experience for both of us). When there, we showed the staff the pictures that had actually sparked our rate of interest, and they brought us those 2 recipes. We also got crunchy frog legs sprayed with fried garlic, one more recommendation from the Google reviews. Our food included jasmine rice and complimentary khanom thuai, coconut dessert steamed in ceramic cups.

When I got home, I also made the khanom thuai using a dish from YouTube, and the fried frog legs, which were really the most convenient to recreate, both due to the fact that the initial recipe was rather easy and because I live near Chinese supermarket that market frogs for culinary usage. I additionally made jasmine rice, and when everything was ready, my sweetheart and I took a seat to see exactly how close I had actually come to recreating our preferred meal in Thailand.

Wandering the falling apart blocks of Restriction Wichayen and the contemporary royal palace nearby made for a spooky experience, despite the fantastic sunlight. Later, we went through a street market and consumed the egg yolk sweets stated to have been developed by Guyomar, which felt like the best tribute to her. We also wanted to go to a regional restaurant, and we hadn’t located much time to study in advance.

Attempting to recreate something I have actually been offered assists me value the level of technique and ability that goes into making it. Now that I have a little bit more experience, I hope I can get even closer to the initial the next time I make these recipes.

The Culinary Challenge

While pad prik khing means “chili ginger stir-fry” in Thai, the meal is frequently made without ginger, and I didn’t taste any kind of in the variation served at MadMeee. Pad prik khing can also be made with different proteins such as poultry, yet the prep work I had in Lopburi is a specifically included one. It needs chefs to debone cooked fish, squeeze out the dampness, and separate it right into fluff that they fry till it appears like toasted breadcrumbs (sometimes combining it with actual breadcrumbs). The outcome at MadMeee included a fascinating textural contrast in between the thick yolk pieces, the crispy fish, and hardly cooked crunchy sections of long bean and chili.

Pad Prik Khing Breakdown

I would later figure out that these mushrooms were Astraeus hygrometricus, referred to as hed thob or hed pah in Thai, and consumed as a seasonal treat in North Thailand and Laos. So why did we encounter them in Lopburi, which is part of Central Thailand? That’s since MadMeee focuses on the cuisine of the Phuan ethnic minority, who originate in an area to the north of Lopburi and whose cuisine attributes noticeably northern components.

I can’t say that this obsession strikes me each time I eat in restaurants, yet I value a culinary challenge, so when something truly makes an impact on me, I start wondering how I can recreate it. The most recent time I got the itch was at completion of 2024, when my partner and I spent a few days in Thailand throughout a month of travel in Asia and Australia. We remained mainly in Bangkok, and although our browse through was short, I had urged that we make time for an excursion to the tiny city of Lopburi, two hours north of Bangkok by train.

3. Go down rough spoonfuls of the fish paste, or store-bought fish spheres, right into the warm brew. Cover for a few mins and allow them to prepare, after that mix and raise the lid. (If you want to make your own fish paste, which is what I did, simply grind boneless raw white fish in a mixer with starch powder and a little salt and pepper. A recipe from a Malaysian food preparation blog recommends a ratio of 3 tablespoons of starch to two cups of fish.).

2. This will certainly make regarding 1 cup of curry paste, which is enough for both these recipes. Alternatively, utilize store-bought Thai red curry paste (the proprietor of Thai Grocery store recommended a brand name called Rungcharoen; Aroy-D and Maesri are also great ones). For enhanced taste, lightly salute the kapi and dried out fish over the cooktop before grinding.

3. Add the fish, breadcrumbs, and 1/2 mug oil to a dish and incorporate extensively by hand, separating the fish as much as feasible in your fingers. The outcome needs to have a light, crumbly texture without swellings.

While pad prik khing implies “chili ginger stir-fry” in Thai, the dish is usually made without ginger, and I didn’t taste any in the variation served at MadMeee. Pad prik khing can likewise be made with various healthy proteins such as poultry, however the preparation I had in Lopburi is an especially entailed one. The proprietor of Thai Grocery store even gave me ideas on exactly how to make pad prik khing with fish (and let me pet her cats).

(If you desire to make your very own fish paste, which is what I did, merely grind boneless raw white fish in a blender or food processor with starch powder and a bit of salt and pepper.

We remained mostly in Bangkok, and although our go to was brief, I had actually firmly insisted that we make time for a day journey to the little city of Lopburi, two hours north of Bangkok by train.