On the (Rising) Trail of Thai Food in America - most popular chicken dishes in major restaurants

SAN FRANCISCO —
Crispy heart of palm and giant shrimp --
Fry with holy basil and perfect red pepper.
A green papaya salad, chopped fresh and mashed with a little Thai lime.
Living in Bangkok for ten years as a New York Times reporter, surrounded by delicious Thai dishes like this, there is one drawback: When I moved back to the US, it really raised the standard.
Last year, a few weeks after my family and I arrived in the United States to start a new life, we went to a Thai restaurant in Manhattan, where my 9-year-old son was, he made a random order of his favorite, and pad saw ew gai-stir-
Fried rice noodles with a mixture of chicken, garlic, green leafy vegetables and dark and light soy sauce.
The Thai waiter is very attractive because he has not met many American children who can speak Thai.
He dotes on my son. after he sent the food, he made a standard Thai question: is it delicious?
The boy told him in Thai: "This is good . ".
"But it's very, very sweet.
"We 've just met so many Thai restaurants in the US and elsewhere outside Thailand to find bland and sugary food.
Since then, I have been focusing on a mystery: one of the most complex and delicious dishes in the world is how to be reduced to such a starchy and tedious mess.
I have heard a lot of explanations.
One is the persistence of faith --not unfounded —
Thai chefs who like their food sweet in some Westerners and can't handle spices.
When I lived in Bangkok, a Thai friend told me that she worked in the kitchen of a Thai restaurant in Austria.
I asked her if it was difficult to cook for Farrance, a term used by Thais to describe Europeans and Americans.
"It's easy," she said . "
"You pretend to be cooking for your child.
"On a journey across the ocean, Thai food is not the only dish that has been changed.
But my task is to find delicious Thai dishes in the Bay Area, and I am now the director of the Times bureau.
I tested every Thai I met, exchanged tips with diplomats, and looked for senior positions on the streetend and hole-in-the-
A promising Wall Street restaurant.
What I found was encouraging.
Many of the restaurants here offer dishes that respect the complexity of Thai cuisine as well as a balance of sweet, sour, salt and spices.
This is part of an ambitious and well-received change in Thai restaurants across the country in recent years, especially in West Coast cities such as Los Angeles and Portland.
"This is the golden age of Thai food," said James Syhabout of Thailand . "
Born chef and recipe writer, owns a San Francisco restaurant specializing in dishes from the Ethan region of the country.
"As it is now, restaurants that offer delicious Thai food did not exist 20 years ago, because there is no community to support it except for our own community.
"Now people celebrate diversity even more.
We are more brave and proud to show our race . "
He also owns the Oakland restaurant Commis, which has two Michelin stars.
When his parents opened their first Thai restaurant in late 1980, they made their dishes more gentle and sweet to attract diners who were not familiar with them.
"The last thing the chef wants is to send the food back. ” he said.
"You want to play in a safer way.
"In California, this change is partly due to the fact that the Thai population has reached a critical number: the Thai consulate in Los Angeles estimates that there are more than 200,000 Thai people in the state, enough for restaurants to serve them only.
The Tenderloin district of San Francisco, located in the center of the cityand-
In a city where almost everyone can't afford except very wealthy people, it is also home to the best Thai food in the city.
There I met naron Silargorn who came to the city as an art student and opened Lers Ros Thai in 2008, where most of the early customers were Asian.
"I don't care if farangs like it," he said . ".
He also doesn't care that many customers can't pronounce correctly (layre rote tie)
It means "The taste is good.
Now he has three branches, two.
Thirty of his customers are not Thai.
Mr Farangs, the image of no taste is out of dateNarupon said.
Over the years, Thai chefs in the United States have pointed out that there are no fresh ingredients;
They were forced to buy Thai vegetables in frozen or canned goods.
With the interweaving of California's immigrant population, things have changed.
Thai chefs today described an informal partnership with Lao Miao refugees who came to the United States after the Vietnam War.
Many people settled down in the central California Valley and became farmers.
This is a classic American and California story: Miao farmers grow herbs and plants essential for Southeast Asian cooking, and Thai chefs are happy to get freshly picked Kaffir lime leaves;
A small citrus similar to kumquat;
Prepare chopped immature papaya and chickpeas
The size of Thai eggplant can be found in dishes like green curry.
Miao growing coriander has been a staple food in California for decades;
They know not to cut off the roots used in Thai soup, chili sauce and meat marinade.
Michael Young, a Miao immigrant working on the University of California Agricultural Program in Fresno, helped organize small events
Size Miao farmers sell Asian vegetables and herbs to restaurants, grocery stores and farmers' markets in the Bay Area.
"We took a bus full of farmers to meet the restaurant owner . "
Yang said he described a trip three years ago.
"We want them to connect.
When he started working with farmers 24 years ago, they planted about 50 Asian vegetables and herbs.
Now they are up 200.
"The list continues . "Yang said.
"I'm still looking for new crops.
"A fanatical customer of Miao produce is Pim Techamuanvivit in Bangkok-
The owner of Kin Khao's birth (Let’s Eat)
A Thai restaurant between tenderloin and Union Square.
Kin Khao broke the pattern of Thai restaurants in many ways.
The staff is a mix of Thai and non-ThaiThai.
There are no wooden elephants and pictures in Thai landmarks;
On sparse woodand-
Lady, white restaurant
Pim chose mai toh with a Thai accent as the logo of the restaurant.
My favorite dish so far is yam
O, usually made of grapefruit, a citrus of the size of cantaloupe grown in tropical areas.
This version is a mixed citrus fruit.
Grapefruit, grapefruit, Blood Orange-
Mix shrimp, coriander, peanuts, scallions, mint and roasted coconut.
Sometimes one of the items on the menu is followed by this: "Warning: this is not Thai for beginners. ”Ms.
Pim describes a dish like this, namprik long rua, a strongly spicy sauce.
"There's shrimp sauce, a lot of garlic, and raw vegetables, and it's a bit bitter," she said . ".
"It should hurt you and could hurt you for a few days. ” (
Another practice broken by Kin Khao is the price.
A few months ago, it cost me over $100 to eat alone.
The crab meat and curry leaves I made are delicious, but they will be refunded for $55. )A 10-
It was a few minutes walk to Zen Yai and the check for two people was $35.
Zen AI is a gathering place in the Thai community, and most of the conversations I hear at a nearby table are Thai.
Still, there are plenty of mediocre Thai food in the Bay Area and beyond.
Leela Punyaratabandhu a Thai family
The American recipe writer, who shuttled between Chicago and Bangkok, said she had been to restaurants where chefs and waiters apparently did not eat the food they provided.
In particular, Thai fried rice noodles have become the most representative Thai food in the United States.
The food here is probably more than in Thailand.
Worst Thai Fried River powder
Leela was in a restaurant in Detroit when she was in the United States.
Thai waitress warned her not to eat but she
Leela says she wants to do experiments.
"It's really bad," she recalls . ".
"The waiter looked at me with the puppy's face and said 'sorry' and 'I told you.
How to find delicious dishes suitable for American taste in Thai restaurants?
I usually speak Thai and hope the server will take me seriously. Ms.
Leela asked the staff what service they would provide if their parents came to the restaurant.
Sometimes, authenticity can be painful.
When I begged the waitress in the daughter Thai Kitchen near Montclair, Auckland, not to hide the spices, she asked me to estimate my heat resistance with a scale of 1 to 10. I told her at nine.
I almost cried for three months.
South Curry alert
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