I am Hong Thaimee, a professional Chef based in New York City.
I have had my own restaurants, starred on TV shows, and worked around the world with prestigious brands and Michelin-starred chefs and establishments. I have served celebrities, royalty, and world leaders. It was great fun but I am ready for my next chapter which is to create a space where I can connect with you to share the cooking tips, recipes and life lessons I have experienced along the way. And it will be a privilege to learn from you as well.
You can find me on: Instagram instagram.com/hongthaimee Tiktok www.tiktok.com/@hongthaimee Facebook facebook.com/hongthaimee
Lastly, for those of you who are Thai food lovers and live in the USA, I have created a line of Thai seasoning sauces, which you can find on www.hongthaimee.com, to help you make better Thai food at home. (Hopefully, I can expand it worldwide in the future:)
Thank you in advance for welcoming me into our kitchen.
Yeah, the QR codes for paying the vendors is a domestic bank transfer app. There might be some other apps in use in the high density tourist sections of Bangkok but those'll be super rare. The vast majority or the on-the-spot payments (i.e. not Grab/Food Panda/etc.) are banking apps. Getting a bank account open on a tourist visa, while not completely impossible, is a giant hassle. Tourists should just pay cash, and bring small bills. A lot of the street vendors won't have change for a 1000 baht note.
Som tom is one of my family favorites dishes. When I was living in Chiang Mai as a kid, we had sticky rice, som tom, red meat (jerky?), fried chicken, sauces, & shrimp chips and maybe pork rinds every Saturday. Our cook wasn't crazy about fixing it as she considered it peasant food but we loved it. We first tried it at the Northern Thai Cultural Center during a Khan Tok meal. I don't ever recall eating it from a street vendor so I guess I missed out on that. But i didn't learn to make it until years later when a Vietnamese friend who had lived in Laos taught me. In Montana green papaya isn't available so we have to use carrots. She uses a hand shredder but I use a food processor. I never knew about the pounding part but i did know that it always tasted better the second day. I may have to try pounding now. I put dried shrimp in mine as I like the extra funkiness they provide without being muddy. Lime zest & juice, garlic, jalapeños for the heat, tomatoes, a pinch of sugar for balance and grated carrots or green papaya if I was lucky to make it to an Asian market in Spokane, Washington. My family loves it. I've used it as pickled veggies in a bah mi style sandwich or in a Vietnamese noodle bowl. Or as a side salad with leftover chicken. It's best of course with hot sticky rice and some kind of meat or two, a dipping sauce & pork rinds for crunch.
My parents came to the US in the late 1950’s, and I grew up eating cabbage som tum that was very basic (cabbage, green beans, tomato, ground dried shrimp, but no “funk”) but so delicious. On occasion, when a green papaya was available, the papaya was painstakingly chopped and sliced to get those gentle shreds. This was always made whenever we had grilled chicken and sticky rice, always accompanied by sweet garlic chili sauce for chicken dipping!
Bean sprouts are not commonly found in most Som Tum dishes. They are typically used as a garnish or side vegetable for certain types of Som Tum, such as Tum Pa and Tum Sua (which use fermented rice vermicelli). Unlike green papaya or cucumber, bean sprouts do not hold up well to pounding and can become mushy quickly. However, they could still be used in the dish!
@Hong Thaimee You are SO right in what you said!!!: Creative creaton should come from teh right information.. And i WILL even go a step further -> If you've never had or made the AUTHENTIC TRADITIONAL dish of anything or any country, you can NEVER even BEGIN to know what something should tase like, let alone trying a creative variation of it! If you never had of made real green curry, penang curry, daging roedjak, egg foo yong, coc au vin, vindaloo etc etc you cant fuse it, play around with it or whatever.. Sure, you can use those ingredients... but even than.. if you dont use those ingredients in the right amounts, with the right preparation it will still be something youve made using those same ingredients, bu it still wont come near what it should even slightly taste off... For example like i said coc au vin.. if you've never had the authentic french dish, or made it the traditional way (wich takes 2-3 days, where the meat marinade is also used as the sauce), you will end up making a red wine, 45 minute braised chicken... which is nooothing remotely close to a coc au van... doesnt even come near the same postalcode... And that goes for any "inspired" dish you'd wanna make.... At least in my opinion.. So i pride myself on finding the authentic (sometimes ancient) recipes first.. and make it.. befor attemting whatever :D And i strongly believe it shows a lot of respect for that cuisine and its poeple also
I would love love love an episode on allergies PLEASE. I have always wanted to travel to Thailand but have hesitated because of a fish/shellfish allergy. I would really appreciate any advice on how to navigate eating in Thailand with a seafood allergy and avoid being an incredibly obnoxious tourist.
Interesting that Pai says she can’t handle spice like the majority of Thais which is exactly the myth they’re trying to bust! Nothing wrong with a culture that is generally more able to handle spice btw.
I have to admit I'm guilty of making peanut sauce with peanut butter but I don't claim it is Thai, only Thai influenced. We use it for dipping grilled meat in when we have sticky rice & som tom in kind of a khan tok style meal. I do know that a true Thai peanut sauce uses ground peanuts but i don't always have peanuts on hand. I don't know how many people I've taught how to eat Thai food with a spoon & fork. Usually once they try it they like it. Besides there's not usually any need to cut anything with a knife so a spoon is just right for eating a stir fry over rice. A bit trickier over noodles but it still works. When we lived in Thailand years ago, we usually just ate hot foods from the market although i do recall eating some freshly cut pineapple now & then after watching it get cut up. The big central market in Chiang Mai certainly had some of everything from fresh produce to meat (smelly place was the meat part of the market) to the spice shops to places to buy kitchenware & even fireworks. I'd never seen anything like it before. It was nothing like a western shopping center that's for sure. I really enjoy your talks. It brings back a lot of memories for me of that one wonderful year i had in Thailand between high school & college. And you remind me why i love Thai food. Keep these talks going so others can see the beauty in Thai food as well.
To really hammer home the point that "ginger is NOT remotely a substitue for galangal (blue ginger)!: ginger is warming whereas galangal is cooling-not just in sensation, taste and fragrance, but also in how Traditional Chinese Medicine classifies them.
I moved to Thailand three years ago and I never cook at home anymore, always eat out. After literally thousands of meals in Thailand I've never once seen peanut sauce. I have seen an awful lot of chilies though, but I'm in Isaan and I ask for it. ;)
such a great video,, reminds me of many conversations i have had with fellow chefs. as a farang executive chef that has worked in Thai restaurants and hotel kitchens for a few decades i can totally relate to what you are commenting on, and your frustration. it was also the same when i had to train Thai chefs in farang cuisines. if i had 5 baht for every time i had to explain to staff that authentic club sandwiches do not have cheese or fried eggs in them, and that it is one of a few sandwiches where you cut off the crust, i could retire. my other peeve is the fact that a hot dog with American breakfast does not make it a sausage. the advent of the Internet has only made this situation worse. everyone thinks they are an expert. ☮
this is very interesting. Where im from in south-south Nigeria many things are spicy and we cannot ask for the non-spiced version. So babies will eat the spicy food too. Thank you for sharing this because i assumed Thailand was the same.
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Hi. Thank you for another great video! One Thai dish...salad..or snack that that I absolutely LOVE but is nearly impossible to find in any Thai restaurant is Miang Kham. In my humble opinion, it truly exemplifies the Thai genius of unexpected flavor combinations. Not sure of its origin but I don't think it's Chinese. I can't express enough how much I love this dish but because the sauce is so hard to make, I don't have the nerve to try and make it. I've only tried it a parties thrown by Thai friends - decades ago. I've never forgotten the experience! It's hard to pick out any individual flavor but I think it it wouldn't be the same flavor symphony without the little ginger pieces. Would either of you be inclined to make a video for making the sauce at least?
People with gluten allergy will have allergic reaction watching this video 😂 I love rice. I'm Indian and grew up eating rice everyday. In America I don't find some of the aromatic rices I was used to in India.
Let's make British food! In a blender add onions (can substitute potatoes), baked beans, white bread, a croissant, some worcester sauce, some borscht, basil (can substitute rosemary), burger meat, ketchup, and mustard. Blend it up and Voila! A British inspired smoothie
Haha, thanks for bringing up the whole "Ginger" myth and mentioning those people who suggest substituting galangal with ginger. I had to laugh out loud when you said, "If you hear that, just walk away and never visit that website/restaurant again!" Such a funny show-I'm really enjoying it! I also always crack up when people loudly order chopsticks in a Thai restaurant to show everyone how "authentic" they are with Thai cuisine. And yeah, while peanut butter might be super convenient for a quick peanut sauce, I’ve never had a single jar of it in my kitchen. But of course, I always have peanuts in my pantry-gotta have them on hand for all those Thai dishes I’m whipping up! And peanuts are needed in Thai cuisine - for sure. But no peanut butter Oh yes, Thai people only eat Pad Thai all day long, just like we Germans only eat sauerkraut with bratwurst. Naturally. 😉 Oh, and let’s not forget about potatoes! Just use your common sense when eating at street food stalls. I’ve never had any problems so far! Thanks for that episode - it was very funny! By the way - this is what Chat GPT answered me when I asked if I can substitute galangal with ginger in Thai recipes: "While ginger and galangal are somewhat similar in appearance and both belong to the same family, their flavors are quite different. Galangal has a sharper, more citrusy, and almost pine-like taste, while ginger is more peppery and warm. In Thai dishes, especially traditional recipes like Tom Kha Gai (coconut soup) or curry pastes, galangal plays a key role in creating the authentic flavor profile. If you don't have galangal, you can substitute ginger in a pinch, but it will alter the taste of the dish. It won't have that same bright, slightly floral note that galangal provides. If you’re looking for the real Thai flavor, it’s best to stick with galangal, but ginger is better than leaving it out entirely! Just be mindful that the dish won’t taste exactly as intended." I would say hat the answer goes into the right direction. But at the end Chat GPT just should have said "NO!"
This episode made me laugh, tear up with joy, and connect with you all. P Hong, I too have cancer patients that enjoy my food and it makes me so happy to hear your story. Pailin, I love listening to you and enjoy all your deep research on every dish and learning from you! I am one of those thai Americans that enjoy your show so much. Arnold, always a fan and yen ta fo is one of my favorite dishes that we still sell every year during valentines just for fun! ❤ So many fun dishes mentioned that brought back memories. Just had to share my joy tonight listening to you all! Kob kun ka! ❤🙏🥰
I once told a Thai friend that I like Indian style basmati rice, apparently he interpreted it like I just said "I hate Thailand" - and he refused to talk with me for almost a month.
Oh dear, my daughter is one of those who always orders pad Thai at a Thai restaurant. Lol. She doesn't like coconut milk so she won't try a curry. Having lived for a year in Chiang Mai in 74-75 i learned to love most Thai flavors, however, we learned that our cook was Burmese not Thai. So a lot of our food may have landed more in that direction with some Thai influence. Still I'm much more likely to order larb or khao soi or the spicy salad with bean thread noodles. If i ever saw sai ua, I'd order that with sticky rice as that was part of our favorite Saturday dinner in Chiang Mai. And I love som tom. We no longer have a Thai restaurant in Helena, MT but there are some in other towns in Montana. Some are better than others. There are no big Asian markets in Montana. There's a small international one in Missoula and a Vietnamese restaurant there sells a few items. It's nearly 5 hours, over 3 mountain passes, to Spokane, WA where there are several Asian markets. So I've learned over the years to cook Thai dishes. Pailin's site is very useful in helping me get proportions of spices & seasonings right. I pass on info to others when i can.
Again - great Podcast, I really liked it! I totally get what Arnold is talking about. Pad Thai can be a bit of a "boring" dish. But hey, what can you do when the guests keep asking for it? And let's face it, Pad Thai sales are probably topping the charts at his restaurant. My suggestion? Why not put his own twist on it-something that gets him excited to cook it. Maybe a special version with an "Egg Nest" wrapped around the Pad Thai, or swapping out the regular shrimp for first class King Prawns? Or how about offering some of Pad Thai’s cousins that are more exciting, like Pad Mie Korat? In the end, he'll start having fun serving "Pad Thai" again in no time!
Just watching your videos and content has opened my eyes on how small vision (as a ignorant American) it is to only get the pad see ew at my local restaurant yesterday. I walked into this small but awesome place that has a lot of Thai dishes to try. Ive been to this place more than ten times. The owner came up to me and said "Oh your going to get the pad see ew? Would you like to try something else? I know you'd like this since you like pad see ew?". Now I understand she was helping me against my own anxiety of trying new things. Thanks for that.
My 1st experience with Thai food was 30 yrs ago in a small Thai restaurant in Opelika, Alabama. The waitress was the granddaughter of the chef and she introduced me and my best friend to so many dishes that I had never had before. I became a fan and started to learn to make some things myself. I'm a decent Thai cook now, but at 74 can no longer tolerate the levels hot pepper I could back them, but I haven't lost my love of Thai dishes. I've been following Palin on RU-vid for years. I'm so glad y'all are doing this collaboration. It is most enjoyable to me.😅
I'd never thought about putting fruit into a fresh spring roll until I ran across a recipe that called for using blackberries with chicken, bell peppers, lettuce & rice vermicelli. They were fantastic. And the dipping duce used crushed blackberries, fish sauce, lime juice garlic & siracha (I think as it's been a while since I made them with my sisters). I'm going to have to try to make them again with fruit in them and not just veggies & a protein. Thanks for the reminder.
This is a great, unique podcast for talking about Thai food. Well done! Pad Thai is one of my favorite dishes. I came across this video on some history on pad Thai. It’s on the YT channel My Name is Andong - What you don’t know about Pad Thai. I’d be curious about your thoughts on his research for that video.
