Markets: The Beating Heart of Local Gastronomy and Cuisine (page 2 of 3)

Fruit bought at a market in Bajawa on the island of Flores (Indonesia): I don’t know its Indonesian name or its French name (if it has one). Pretty good with a creamy texture and a yogurt-like taste! We even ate it with a small spoon.

Hey, my first guess: soursop. Same family as the sugar apples mentioned in the previous post, but bigger and with a different taste.

Hey Yeah, those are soursops. They're called graviola in Brazil, where they make really good juice with them.

Yes, you're right, the look matches better. The correct spelling is "soursop."

Right now, you can find quite a few of them in markets, but what is this fruit? Do you know it? It’s not that common. The segments you remove from the bunch can be eaten raw or fried with the pit still inside.















Hi, I think it’s jackfruit. You see a lot of it in Indonesia and Malaysia, for example. I’ve never tried it, though!

A variety of jackfruit: the Indonesian cempedak

@Cerelinde @Eiger @Songsam Djalma is right. There was a trick—it’s not jackfruit, even though it’s from the same family; it’s different in many ways. It’s the chempedak, jumpada, jampada, cempadak... (in Thai: จำปาดะ). It’s more elongated and less imposing. The inside forms a cluster where the bulbs are attached, and you can easily remove them, unlike with jackfruit. The bulbs are round, very soft, fleshy, creamy, and the taste is rich, sweet, and sugary.

It stinks... You have to admit it—when the fruit is very ripe, it gives off an incredible smell, not very pleasant. You could compare it to durian, maybe even worse... But man, is it good!

You can also fry the bulbs with their seeds, coated in batter. It grows mainly in southern Thailand, especially around Nakhon Si Thammarat, which produces a ton of it.

Djalma is amazing! 😎 Thanks for the explanation, Philippebrg! 😉 In Indonesia, locals translate it as "jackfruit," but I guess that’s just for convenience.

Mae Sot morning market.

All-you-can-eat dried shrimp.😋 Lovely market, run by what seems to be a Burmese Muslim community.

This time, I headed to Bangkok Province, in the Klong Sam Wa district, to the late-afternoon market at KC (13°53'14.33"N 100°43'8.91"E). Having stayed there many times, I visited the market almost daily. Since the place doesn’t attract tourists at all, the vendors and customers had plenty of time to get used to my presence, so they stayed natural the day I decided to bring my camera along while running errands. The only public transport to KC is a frequent minivan service from Minburi, about a 20-minute ride... but you’d have to want to go through crowded Minburi. Another reason to visit Klong Sam Wa district is Safari World (Safari Park and Marine Park), whose entrance is just 5-6 minutes by taxi from KC and closes at 5 PM—right when the market hits its peak, making for a full day’s outing.

First set: the market entrance and fresh produce vendors:

Lovely market, I don’t know this part of Bangkok.

At first, when I saw those stalls of fish or meat, I told myself I’d never buy or eat those products—they weren’t in refrigerated displays. I was worried about hygiene in that heat, with no obvious cold chain management... But that was before. I admit I don’t pay any special attention to it now. Maybe because I’ve never gotten sick... After every purchase, at home, meats or fish are thoroughly washed. Usually, the food is cooked very well. And what I’m often told is that the meat found in markets comes from animals that were recently slaughtered, and they haven’t been sitting in cold storage—I like to believe that. For fish, since we’re near the sea, they often come straight from the port, which reduces the risks.









I even catch myself eating raw shrimp or oysters... Though I’m not sure I’d try beef tartare...

Here, oysters are always enjoyed with condiments (grilled onion, garlic, chili paste, lemon, fish sauce, *krathin* (a herb from the mimosa family), and chilies. Without these accompaniments, I admit they have absolutely no flavor...



Shrimp are served raw, on a bed of cabbage or lettuce, with thin slices of *mara* (bitter cucumber) and a sauce made from lemon, chili, and cilantro.

At first, when I saw those stalls with fish or meat, I told myself I’d never buy or eat those products—they weren’t in refrigerated displays. I was worried about hygiene, with the heat and the obvious lack of cold chain management... But that was before. I admit now I don’t pay any special attention to it anymore.

Whether you cook at home while living there or eat only in street stalls or restaurants as a tourist, the products usually come from the same kind of rustic shops anyway, so... And some meat or fresh fish vendors who are more careful about hygiene go so far as to set up old, grimy recycled fans as fly repellents by attaching a plastic bag to a single blade spinning just above the goods—it’s reassuring... Below is an illustration from the Sangkhom market (Nong Khai province, on Route 211) where there are no fewer than 5 fly repellents spinning above the meat. You can also see one (cleaner) in your first photo.

Here, oysters are always enjoyed with condiments (grilled onion, garlic, chili paste, lemon, fish sauce, krathin (a herb from the mimosa family), and chilies. Without these accompaniments, I admit they have absolutely no taste at all...

Oysters in Thailand? I tried them twice. Oh, the rage, oh, the despair!... They’re completely bland, and for good reason—those #@µ$ wash them before serving, so goodbye to the briny taste, which is pretty much the only flavor the little critter has. As for the condiments, that little herb (krathin?) in your photo has absolutely no taste, and the rest are just tongue-and-palate-traumatizing stuff for farangs (and oysters!)...

While I’m at it, I’ll also mention prawns and other crustaceans of similar shape, whose species name changes depending on their size. They’re excellent, but damn—will no one ever tell them that grilling on the barbecue isn’t the only way to cook and prepare them?* During my last visit to the food corner at Chiang Rai’s night bazaar, I noticed that all 20 or 30 food stalls were selling prawns, but just like everywhere else, every vendor served them grilled on the BBQ (and took "uniformity" to the extreme by selling them all at the exact same price). Ffffh...

Conclusion: I love Thai cuisine, but when I start dreaming of a good seafood platter, no way—I’ll wait until I’m back in France**, even if it costs me three times as much.

* You’re implicitly on the mission now 😉 ** Or until I go back to Chile or Argentina... 🙂

Oysters in Thailand? I tried them twice. Oh rage, oh despair!... They’re completely flavorless, and for good reason—those #@µ$ wash them before serving.

Same thing in Vietnam. The first time I bought oysters at the nearby market, I saw the vendor open them with a hammer/chisel and then scrub the inside with a high-pressure water jet

Here, oysters are systematically enjoyed with condiments (grilled onion, garlic, chili paste, lemon, fish sauce, Krathin—a herb from the mimosa family—and chilies. Without these accompaniments, I admit they have absolutely no taste at all...

Conclusion: I love Thai cuisine, but when I start dreaming of a good seafood platter, well, now I just wait until I’m back in France**, even if it costs me 3 times as much.

* You’re implicitly on the mission now 😉 ** Or to head back to Chile or Argentina... 🙂

Please don’t talk to me about seafood platters... I’m drooling...🤪

I don’t even know if it’s the fact that they’re washed before eating that removes the briny taste, or if they just don’t have it to begin with...

For raw shrimp, they’re washed with sparkling water... 😏

Oysters in Thailand? I tried them twice. Oh rage, oh despair!... They’re completely tasteless, and for good reason—those #@µ$ wash them before serving!

Same thing in Vietnam. The first time I bought oysters at the nearby market, I saw the vendor open them with a hammer/chisel and then scrub the inside with a high-pressure water jet

Do they taste the same as in Thailand? Do you eat them with condiments too?

They’re always cooked in the shell, over charcoal, with various sauces and ingredients: butter (actually margarine), green onion, peanut, chili... and even Laughing Cow cheese! 😄

Mmmmm, oysters with Laughing Cow cheese, what a wild combo 😄. Had to be bold.🤪

Coming from a region where the only accepted pairing for oysters is Muscadet, it’s definitely a change

Coming from a region where the only accepted pairing for oysters is muscadet, it’s definitely a change

Not even Gros Plant is tolerated??