Lights in the Sky, Lights on the River

At the full moon in the twelfth lunar month--in other words, right now--Chiang Mai celebrates two festivals at once, the festival of lights known as Yee-Peng and a worship ritual called Loy Krathong in which people honor the spirit of the river by sending down it little floats made from flowers, candles and banana leaves.

You'd think the Thai might not feel like celebrating rivers in this year of devastating floods, but these festivals are also a time of letting go of bad luck and making wishes for good luck to come. And Chiang Mai has been celebrating with a vengeance.

People all over town decorated their entryways for the occasion:

Flower-sellers laid out the materials for making the krathongs and sold ready-made prayer boats as well:

The Burmese kids at Thai Freedom House decorated their krathongs with great enthusiasm:

 I got a kick out of it myself:

Tonight, the last night of the festival, featured the biggest parade yet:

And down by the river, as they have for several nights, people gathered to light their lanterns, let them fill with hot air and send them up to the night sky:

(KK)

Little Altars Everywhere

One of the delights of strolling around Chiang Mai is coming across the spirit houses that stand outside many homes and businesses. These little dollhouse-like structures--all different--house guardian spirits who are kept in a good mood (like anybody would be) through frequent offerings of food and fresh flowers. Here are a few Rie and I found:

 I love how the person who made this offering thoughtfully provided straws for the soda and the coconut. (MK)

(MK)

 This one has a spray of fresh orchids among the lit sticks of incense. (KK)

(MK)

(KK)

 

(KK)

Then there are the prayer offerings at spots like the city's north gate:

(KK)

or a banyan tree along the moat:

(KK)

 

(KK)

or my favorite, to these very cheerful figures in front of a clothing store:

(KK)

(KK)

Thai Farm Cooking School

Yesterday we spent the day learning a few simple, fun-to-make Thai dishes. Benni, our instructor at the Thai Farm Cooking School, took us first to the Ruem Chok market in Chiang Mai.

 

 We picked up a few essential ingredients there, including palm sugar 

and chili paste made with tamarind.

Then off we went to the green countryside and the organic farm where the cooking school is. Benni introduced more ingredients as she showed us around the farm.

kaffir lime leaves

holy basil

galangal, or Siamese ginger

Thai parsley

turmeric

and spring onions, which for some reason were hilarious.

Then it was mortar and pestle time. Our classmates--from the U.K., the Netherlands and Brazil--were a friendly and enthusiastic group.

 I made green curry paste and Rie made red.

Green curry paste: green chili, lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime peel, hot chilis, garlic, shallot, spring onion bulb, Thai ginseng, roasted cumin seeds, roasted coriander seeds.
Red curry paste is just the same, except that it includes dried red chilis instead of green ones.

Then it was into the kitchen and time to make soup, Tom Yam with shrimp for me, vegetarian coconut milk soup for Rie.

 

Tom yam soup: hot chilies, mushrooms, lemongrass, onion, galangal, tomatoes, kaffir lime leaves, lime juice, Thai fish sauce, brown sugar, Thai chilli paste, shrimp, spring onion, coriander, salt, Thai parsley, water.

 Remember those curry pastes we so strenuously pounded? Now it was time to put them to good use and make (naturally) curry. Mine was green curry with chicken.

 

Green curry with chicken: green curry paste, bitter eggplant, sweet eggplant, onion, chicken, brown sugar, Thai fish sauce, kaffir lime leaves, sweet basil, coconut milk, water.

 And Rie's was red curry with tofu.

 

Red curry with tofu: red curry paste, sweet eggplant, bitter eggplant, onion, tofu, brown sugar, Thai fish sauce (or veggie alternative), kaffir lime leaves, sweet basil, coconut milk, water.

Next up, chicken with basil for me and some of the others,

 

Chicken with basil: chicken, soy oil, garlic, long beans, hot chilies, holy basil, Thai fish sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, onions, water.

tofu with cashew nuts for Rie.

Tofu with cashew nuts: tofu, roasted cashew nuts, carrots, onions, roasted and dried chilis, spring onions, mushrooms, soy oil, salt, brown sugar, water, Thai fish sauce and oyster sauce (or veggie alternatives).

Isn't it time for lunch yet?

Mmmm, yes. We were all quite pleased with our creations. We ate and ate and ate and then lolled about for a while gazing at the lotus.

Then it was back into the kitchen for part II--appetizers and desserts! I figured you shouldn't go to Thai cooking school without learning how to make pad Thai.

Pad Thai: rice noodles, mung bean sprouts, tofu, egg, pickled white radish, roasted peanuts, tamarind juice, brown sugar, Thai fish sauce or soy sauce, spring onion, dried shrimp, chili powder, soy oil, salt, garlic.

Rie opted for another Thai standard, spring rolls.

 

Spring rolls: carrot, cabbage, onion, mung bean sprouts, glass noodles, tofu, salt, pepper, spring roll sheets, soy oil, coriander, brown sugar, soy sauce. Dipping sauce: red chili, vinegar, brown sugar, salt, garlic, flour, water.

And for dessert, we picked two easy but delicious treats--bananas in coconut milk and mango sticky rice.

Bananas in coconut milk: coconut milk, water, palm sugar, bananas, pandanus or vanilla bean.

Mango sticky rice: steamed sticky rice, coconut milk, mango, palm sugar, salt, pandanus or vanilla bean.

When it was time to take the truck back to Chiang Mai, we were all in a well-fed stupor. But we were only too glad to take away some leftovers--and recipe books so we can practice on you all when we get home. (KK)