🌿 SLC31-W5 | My Isaan Diary: Discovering the Soul of Remote Thailand
Hello, everyone!
Today, I want to share a piece of my life that is very far removed from the high-rises of Bangkok or the tourist resorts of Phuket. I have officially settled down in a remote village in the Isaan region, living side by side with the local people.
Living here isn't just a change of scenery; it is a total lifestyle shift—especially when it comes to what ends up on your plate. In the village, we have a saying: to truly live like a local, you have to eat like a local.
🥗 The Isaan Grocery Store: The Jungle and the Fields
In our village, we don't really head to a supermarket. Instead, the grocery store is the jungle and the open fields. The local diet is incredibly diverse and, to an outsider, quite exotic. We eat exactly what the land provides: fresh vegetables, river fish, and poultry.
But it goes much deeper than that. Depending on the season, a typical village dinner might feature:
- Frogs and toads
- Various insects and ant eggs
- Wild mushrooms and jungle greens
- Snakes, lizards, field mice, and even wild birds.
It is a "root-to-tail" philosophy born out of tradition and necessity. But among all these dishes, there is one undisputed king that represents the spirit of Isaan and its Laotian roots: Som Tum.
🥣 What is Authentic Som Tum Lao?
While most of you probably know it as "Thai Papaya Salad," in our local Isaan dialect, we call it Tum Bak Hung (ตำบักหุ่ง). You can find "tourist version" Som Tum Thai (ส้มตำไทย) in malls, but the version I am sharing today is the "real deal"—Som Tum Lao (also known in Isaan as Som Tum Sai Pla Daek).
This dish is the definition of "raw." It is incredibly cheap, face-meltingly spicy, and carries a pungent flavour profile that most tourists are too afraid to even try!
📸 A Note on Atmosphere & Quality
All my footage and photos are captured on my old, trusted phone. Please excuse the lower resolution! I truly believe that in storytelling, it’s not about the megapixels—it’s about the atmosphere. I want you to feel the heat of the kitchen and the humidity of the village, even if the image is a bit grainy.
🌶️ The Ingredients of Authenticity
In the photos below, you can see the "arsenal" required for a proper salad. A true Som Tum Lao contains:
- Unripe Green Papaya: Shredded into crunchy strips.
- Bird's Eye Chillies: a lot of them!
- Garlic & Lime: acidic kick.
- Palm Sugar & Fish Sauce: For sweet-and-salty balance.
- The Secret Weapon: Fermented fish sauce (in Isaan Pla Daek or Pa La).
- The "Umami" Booster: A healthy dose of MSG (Ajinomoto). It is an essential, standard ingredient in village cooking.
Unripe Papaya
Lime, tomatoes, garlic, chillies
MSG
Sugar
Fish sauce (Nam Pla)
The Power of "Tum"
The word "Tum" refers to the action of pounding. We use a large clay mortar and a heavy wooden pestle. You don't just "mix" this salad; you pound the ingredients until the flavours bruise and marry.
Mortar with pestel
🐟 The Ingredient You’ll Never Forget: Pla Daek
The most important component—the one that makes it authentic—is the fermented fish sauce. It is called Pla Raa in Central Thai, but here in the village, we call it Pla Daek.
I fell in love with this sauce almost immediately, but it is certainly an acquired taste! It is made by fermenting fish with salt and rice bran over many months. To be blunt, it is a fish that has been allowed to "rot" in a very controlled way. It has a powerful, pungent aroma that you can smell from down the road or from the dirty socks, but it provides a massive "boost" of deep, savoury flavour. Without it, the dish feels empty.
Fermented fish sauce
🏠 From Observer to Chef
After living here and watching the locals work their magic every day, I finally learnt to make it myself. I bought my own mortar and pestle, and now, whenever I’m hungry, I just grab a papaya from the tree and get to work.
Let's go eat together
In my video, you can see the whole process. You’ll even see my hand holding a fresh papaya we just plucked. This content is 100% original, including the background voices, the atmosphere, and the music. No AI was used here—just real Isaan life!
Thanks for joining me, and I am happy to share these "hidden" parts of Thai life with you all.
💬 Question for the Steemit community:
Have you ever smelled or tried authentic fermented fish sauce? Let me know in the comments!