The food of southern Thailand: Phuket

A visit to Khanom Chin Pa Mai demonstrates the popularity of the thin, round rice noodles (kanom jeen) that are indigenous to southern Thailand. We grabbed a plate of these coiled noodles and headed to the friendly ladies at the front of the shop to select from the pots of daily-changing curries. There was a creamy coconut sauce, rich with turmeric and poached fish that had been pounded through the curry paste (nahm ya); a slightly sweet and mild curry with a rich nutty taste (nahm prik), and an incredibly spicy, murky sauce made using fermented fish offal (tai pla). We adorned our curried noodles with toppings including fresh and pickled vegetables, seasonal fruits, crispy dried fish, local greens simmered in coconut milk and herbs that range from sweet and sour to bitter and astringent. A side plate of hor mok (curried fish custard steamed in banana leaf) and gai tort (fried chicken) ensured we didn’t need feeding again for a good few hours, and added to the flavourful joy that is a kanom jeen meal.

Eating at shop houses serving curry over rice (raan khao gaeng) is a similar experience. Ko Huat just outside downtown Phuket boasts up to fifty different trays of curries, stir-fries and soups, with staples such as a thin orange broth of fish and vegetables (gaeng som) that packs an intensely spicy, tart punch. There were also bitter beans stir-fried with shrimp paste and prawns (goong pad sator), and the more forgiving yellow coconut curry with crab and wild pepper leaves (gaeng bpu bai cha plu). If eating on your own, the etiquette is to simply top your plate of rice with as many of the dishes on offer as you would like. When eating in a larger group, it’s best to ask for separate bowls of dishes to be shared in the middle of the table, as is normal with family-style eating in Thailand. It becomes apparent very quickly just how vast the cuisine of Thailand is when confronted by the kaleidoscope of dishes available at a good khao gaeng joint.

Roti Thaew Nam’s popularity with both locals and tourists is undeniable. When we stopped at this tiny shop house the place was buzzing with activity at 8am. People in Thailand don’t hesitate to wake up early for a decent meal, with many spots opening as early as 5am to cater for such demands. At the shop house’s front, the owner single-handedly shapes, cooks, flips and turns rotis over a metre-wide flat griddle pan fuelled by a roaring charcoal fire. The roti here are crisp, flaky and buttery; the perfect vessel for dipping into beef curry rich with dry spices (gaeng massaman neua) and the obligatory fried egg with runny yolk (kai daow). Another must-try is cha yen – Thai tea over ice, sweetened with condensed milk. Not only thirst-quenching but delicious paired with a roti breakfast.

Another place of note for a speedy breakfast is Wattanapol Curry Puff. This shop specialises in these bite-sized, almost pasty-shaped snacks with both savoury and sweet fillings. Wattanapol’s pastry is flaky and rich, encasing traditional curried fillings of slow-cooked chicken, carrot, potato and dry spices. Sweet fillings range from red bean or durian to the more conventional pandan leaf custard (sangkaya).

With breakfast taken care of, our attention moved to the plethora of restaurants that are dotted all over Phuket. Three of our favourites were Mor Mu Dong on Phuket’s southern coast; Nam Yoi, a short drive towards Monkey Hill on the east side of Old Phuket Town, and Peang-Prai, located on the northeast of the island near Bang Pae Waterfall. Mor Mu Dong is scenically located within a mangrove forest, with various open-air dining rooms perched on stilts above pools of calm water. The food here is uniquely southern, with many of the dishes only found at Mor Mu Dong. We tried whole boned-out mackerel stuffed with a curried fish mixture and deep-fried (pla tu yat sai), water snails and wild pepper leaf curry (gaeng hoi khom bai cha plu), squid stir-fried in its own ink (pad pla meuk dam) and an intensely hot dip made from chilli, shrimp paste and crispy dried fish (nahm prik pla ching chang). Everything was lively with intense flavours and had us so enthralled we visited twice so that we could sample more of the menu.

Nam Yoi is an institution amongst Phuket locals and it’s clear to see why. The freshness of ingredients, many of which are foraged from the surrounding forests, is incredible. The menu is expansive, as is customary with most of Thailand’s restaurants, but we stuck to the local southern dishes and were not disappointed. Pork belly braised in black pepper caramel (mu hong) is an irresistible comfort dish that walks the tightrope between sweet and salty, providing balance to the many spicy dishes in the southern repertoire. We accompanied this with a dry curry of local chicken stir-fried with green peppercorns and makrut lime leaf (kua kling gai baan) – a dish so spicy it left me dizzy and reaching for the ice-cold beers. Other highlights included a split gill mushroom curry (gaeng kua het kren), wild pepper leaf wraps of cashew nuts and lemongrass in a fish sauce caramel dressing (yum dtakrai med mamumang) and turmeric-fried sand fish (pla sai tort kamin).

A visit to Peang-Prai is worth it for the picturesque setting alone as it's nestled in the forested jungle, surrounded by a lagoon and waterfalls. The restaurant is covered but still very much open air, and the main dining room is lifted high up in the tree canopy on wooden stilts, so it’s common to hear the calls of local wildlife such as birds and gibbons in the distance. Food here is again typically southern and boasts an array of fresh seafood across the menu. We tried a spicy-tart orange curry of fish and bamboo (gaeng som pla), a torch ginger salad with peanut sauce (yum djok daa-laa), chargrilled banana leaf parcels of curried crab (ngop bpu) and a spicy salad of sea grape seaweed (yum saa rai). We finished the meal with a Phuket specialty of shaved ice in sweet hibiscus flower syrup with banana starch jelly (o-aew). Truly memorable food.

Mor Mu Dong, Nam Yoi and Peang-Prai are all great examples of southern Thai eateries, but it’s worth noting that within Phuket Old Town one can discover dishes that are true signatures of the island and take influence from the migrant people that now call the south their home. Dishes such as mii hokkien (wok-fried egg noodles bathed in a dark soy gravy with seafood and a barely-set egg) draw influence from nearby Malaysia and is popular at all times of day from many vendors and shop houses.

One of the more unusual dishes that needs to be sampled to be believed is a tumble of taro, egg, tapioca batter, baby oysters, dried shrimp and pork all chopped together and fried in copious amounts of pork lard on a large flat skillet fired by charcoal (o-tao). This sticky mass is topped with fatty pork rinds, fried shallots and fresh bean sprouts, and is enjoyed by locals as an afternoon energy boost or after late-night boozing. O-tao once again has links to Hokkien (Sino-Thai) culture. Another Phuket speciality of piggy parts, namely head and offal, are braised in a five-spice broth until tender, then deep-fried so the surface becomes crispy while the inside meat remains soft and tender (lobo). The dish is eaten alongside deep-fried tofu, shrimp fritters and spring rolls, with a sweet and tart dipping sauce made from tamarind.