Chiang Mai Treasure Hunt

                   Now you know why it's called 'snakehead fish'

While in Chiang Mai last November we shared a meal with several folks from Lanna Dog Rescue, an organization devoted to the laudable cause of improving the lives of city's stray dogs. I sat next to W, a doctor at Chiang Mai University. W is Thai, so it's not surprising that a few seconds after meeting each other we were talking food. I knew immediately from the way W - after learning we were in northern Thailand to do research for an article on the region's food - zeroed in on the menu's more esoteric dishes that the lady is a real chowhound (no pun intended). So when this Chiang Mai native recommended a particular restaurant specializing in aahaan thang nya (northern Thai food), I got out my notebook.

Problem was, she didn't know the restaurant's address, only its street and its name: Phet Doi Ngam. 'Look for a wood sign,' W said.

The next day, our last in Chiang Mai, we pointed our rental car to Thanon Mahidon and drove, slowly, from the Ping River several kilometers away from downtown. I kept my eyes peeled. Nothing. We retraced our path and repeated the search. Finally, Dave stopped the car and I jumped out to inquire at a hardware shop: 'Phet Doi Ngam?' I was pointed up the street. This maneuver I repeated a few more times, at various places of business, before we spied an open-air place almost obscured by greenery. Above it's entrance, a wood sign. It had taken us 50 minutes to find a restaurant located about a 15-minute drive from our guest house. But boy, were our efforts repayed tenfold.

No English is spoken at Phet Doi Ngam, and the menu is in Thai, which I don't read. No problem - armed with market, kitchen, and restaurant-grade spoken Thai ability and the names of a few dishes that W had recommended, we were set. As soon as we sat down a waiter plonked a basket of vegetables and herbal shrubbery - something essential to any northern Thai meal - on our table and took our order.

Bplaa bing op - stuffed fish - is an edible work of art. For this dish Phet Doi Ngam partially debones and butterflies a whole bplaa chon (snakehead fish), tops it with a mix of diced fresh turmeric, lemongrass, cilantro, green chilies, garlic, shallots, and green onion, and then rolls it vertically, tail-to-head, enclosing the stuffing. The snakehead 'roulade' is then deep-fried.

The result is the most exquisitely flavored fish we could ever hope to eat. Its crispy skin and exceptionally moist, fragrant flesh alone had us fork-fencing over the plate. The stuffing - a bit spicy, sweetly caramelized, the wee-est bit astringent from the turmeric - was extravagant icing on the cake.

Muu hum astounded with its simple sublimeness. This dish of on-the-bone pork (muu=pork) stewed with lemongrass, fresh turmeric, onion, water, and nothing else summarized, for us, the essence of northern Thai food: transcendent flavors coaxed from the most basic ingredients. Spoon-tender meat, clear broth, a garnish of fluffy coriander - unpretentious and truly memorable.

Asked for suggestions, our waiter proffered khua khae gai and this dish, too, was wonderful. 'Khua', slow frying over low heat with minimal oil, is northern Thailand's answer to central Thailand's 'phat', or high-heat stir-frying. And khua khae gai is essentially a 'dry' take on gaeng khae gai, or coconut milk-free northern Thai red curry with chicken (I include a recipe for the latter in the article that resulted from this trip). Gaeng khae - and Phet Doi Ngam's khua khae gai - is a boldly spiced dish that exemplifies the northern Thai love of vegetables. Our serving included pea eggplants, golfball-sized eggplant quarters, long (snake) beans, and plenty of dtam leung, a seasonal vining green.

We finished with nam prik bplaa jee, a 'dip' of chopped snakehead fish and herbs mixed with coconut milk (an ingredient absent in most northern Thai dishes, khao soi being an exception). For us, the most interesting part of this tasty dish was two of the blanched vegetables it was served with: slender young bamboo shoots, another seasonal delicacy, and more dtam leung.

The bad news: our meal left me in such a foggy state of satedness that I floated out of Phet Doi Ngam without a calling card and thus, without an address. The good news: armed with our photograph of the entryway, you'll be able to find it. More bad news: if you speak no Thai, communication will pose a bit of a problem. And good news: if you go armed with the names of the dishes described above, you'll eat well. Repeat this phrase - Dichan jaak gin aahaan thang nya (Dee-chahn yaahk geen aah-haaahn taahng nuh-ah) - to your waiter and you'll no doubt end up with other swoon-inducing regional delicacies.

Phet Doi Ngam, Thanon Mahidon, Chiang Mai. Follow the road along the Ping River, and turn left at the overpass. Phet Doi Ngam will be somewhere on your left.

Oh yeah - look for the wood sign.

Comments

[Muse in the Kitchen]

This meal sounds so wonderful - it's really stirring up the wanderlust in me. The stuffed fish sounds amazing. I had something that looked a bit similar once, at a Chinese wedding feast I attended quite a few years ago, but it definitely didn't have the same taste you describe!

Belle

[Nate 2.0]

Astounding meal and a great find!

Exquisite photos as well. Did Dave do any styling/arranging of the plate, or did they serve the food that way?

[Robyn]

Belle - this was one of those meals that you remember forever. Writing the post (on an empty stomach) was a little painful!

Nate - no styling, no arranging (other than balancing the spoon on the bowl of nam prik), he just shot it as it was served.

[anonymous paul]

fantastic meal. i quite like the snakehead fish in tamarind based broth with lots of cilantro or whatever veggies they put in it. if i remember right they call it pae-sa (pay-sah). soup usually served on this special fish shaped vessel made of metal and over hot coals. kept the soup hot

[luckyfatluke]

I feel gutted. I was recently in Thailand and Chiang Mai, I ate very well, but if only I knew about this site and the treasures you have found. (luke sighs and looks hungrily off into the distance....)

[Robyn]

anon - hmmm, not quite sure what that dish is called. But I know the vessel you're talking about.

luckyfatluke - sorry 'bout that! Time to start planning your return trip, I guess...

[Rasa Malaysia]

In Siem Reap, I had Amok made with snake fish too, but I didn't see how it looked like...now I know!!! ;)

[Phil]

That's some amazing looking snakehead - I had my local fish vendor teach me how to butterfly fillet the fish like that in preparation for drying/smoking - but never would have thought that cooking it like a fish roulade was a possibility.