Chinese Celebration Meal

As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, a Chinese meal was served for the Teachers’ Day lunch. Chinese meals of a certain style are often served at important social functions in Thailand – weddings, housewarming parties, etc. They are very different from what a typical Thai meal for a similar occasion might be.

Last year, I asked my co-teacher if she liked the food served at these meals. She told me that she doesn’t, and that most people in our area don’t. When I asked her why it was served, then, if people would prefer to eat Thai or northern Thai food, she replied that it had to do with status – the Chinese meal is a sign of wealth, so serving one gives the impression that you are well off. (This would explain the 100 baht per person price tag for yesterday’s lunch, which all the teachers were expected to pay. Peace Corps volunteers were served free.)

Anyway, here is a description of yesterday’s meal, which is fairly typical of what you would find at such an occasion:

The first course includes a plate of appetizers, mostly different types of meat. Yesterday, it included pork dumplings, processed pork, baked jerky-style pork, picked eggs, and some pineapple and pickled ginger in the center. Robert says that the jerky-style pork and the dumplings were "pretty good." I refrained from eating any of it, though I did try a pickled egg once about a year ago at the command of a teacher from Robert’s school. I thought it was pretty nasty.

Yesterday’s second course, not pictured, was called "fish stomach soup." However, my co-teacher explained that these days it no longer includes real fish stomach. Instead, it had chicken and pig skin. Robert thought it was "pretty good."

The third course included two dishes: fried rice with pork, and spicy shrimp and pig skin salad. The fried rice was called "American fried rice" because it had raisins added. (I told my co-teacher that we don’t put raisins in fried rice in America, and she laughed.) I should point out here that all of the courses are served on one large plate in the center of the table, and diners serve themselves into small bowls using chopsticks or spoons. Robert says that the spicy shrimp and pig skin salad was "tasty, with a nice mix of flavors and a crunchy texture," and the fried rice "did justice neither to fried rice nor to raisins."

Next came a plate of stir-fried vegetables with shrimp and a flaming pot of tom yam soup. "Tom yam" is a spicy soup made with lemongrass and kaffir lime leaf. It is traditionally made with seafood but can be made with other meats, or mushrooms or tofu, as well. Yesterday’s tom yam included squid, fish meat, and processed fish balls. Robert isn’t a big tom yam fan, and thought that one bowl was enough. (I like it when it’s made vegetarian.)

A whole steamed fish, also on a flaming plate, came next, which Robert reports was "ok." And last came a plate of sliced fruit, including guava, papaya, and orange sections. This, finally, I did enjoy a small bit of. I really like guava.

So there is a description of what you might find at a Chinese celebration meal in Thailand. To our great relief, this one did not include Robert’s all-time least favorite food here: chicken feet!