Among gourmets, Kampot pepper is becoming increasingly prized for its strong yet delicate aroma and taste. As with fine wine, it’s all about the climate and soil. Modern mass cultivation began in the 1870s, when the Sultan of Aceh burned his Indonesian plantations to keep them out of Dutch hands and moved production to Kampot. So, the people around these parts have generations of experience in raising pepper.

The tiny flowers of the pepper vine. These will be pepper berries in five to six months.

Any of the tour operators around Kampot or Kep can arrange a trip to a pepper plantation, where of course you can buy pepper in bulk at really good prices. You will also find Kampot pepper in the town’s market<, in several shops and restaurant, or you can visit the FarmLink office in town. FarmLink operates as a farmers cooperative, selling Kampot pepper to the world with full traceability.

Onions on sale in the market.

Onions are among the most ancient of cultivated vegetables. No one is quite sure when or where they were first cultivated. They were mentioned in first dynasty Egyptian texts dating back to 3200 B.C. In later years, we know that bread, beer and onions were the important rations to the highly valued artisans who decorated the tombs in the Valley of the Kings.

Although Egypt was the first to record onions, many think that cultivation first began in ancient Iran and Pakistan. One of the reasons it’s hard to know for sure is that there are hundreds of varieties of wild onions spread throughout temperate climates all around the world.

A bushel of fresh galangal in the market.

In the fresh markets such as the Muang Mai wholesale area in Chiang Mai, the baskets of galangal stand out, due to their white roots which will often have the pinkish stalks of the plants still jutting straight up from the tuber. Most market vendors leave the stems on the root. Although the stems are pink where they emerge from the tuber, they transition to green where the stalk breaks through the earth into the sun. The texture of galangal is harder and more woody than ginger. In taste, it has a pungent spiciness that is quite unique. The taste can change, becoming more pungent as the root ages.

The name "galangal" is apparently an Arab corruption of the Chinese word for ginger. Arab traders introduced the spice to Europe around the ninth century. In Thai, galangal is called ka. Some English language recipe books also refer to it as "Laos".

According to contemporary research, galangal contains high concentrations of a powerful antioxidant flavonol dubbed galangin that is capable of modulating enzyme activities and suppressing the genotoxicity of chemicals. The research concluded that galangin is a promising candidate for chemo-prevention of abnormal growths.

Traditional medicine, both eastern and western, uses galangal to relieve gas, indigestion and stomach pain. Like ginger, it may be useful in treating seasickness. One recent study found it to be nearly as effective as nitroglycerin for certain types of heart problems.

Bunches of shallots on sale in the market.

You will see shallots in a variety of sizes, from small round bulbs the size and color of cherries, to larger bulbs that could even pass for small onions. The smaller ones are a bit more pungent and good for grinding into curry pastes, while the larger ones are easier to slice for salads and sauces.

Garlic, and some dried chilies.

I sometimes wonder if the abundant use of garlic is due to its wide availability, or if it’s availability is due to high demand. Garlic is the traditional second crop of northern farmers. Once the rice crop is harvested sometime in the cool season, around October to December, the farmers will typically plant a second crop. What is planted for the second crop traditionally depends mostly on how much water is still available for irrigation. Garlic requires a bit more water than other possible crops, but since it is such an essential ingredient as much as a quarter of the land around Chiang Mai was used to raise garlic as a second crop.

You almost never see fresh-picked garlic on sale in the markets, even the wholesale ones. Instead, the spice vendors will have great piles and baskets of garlic that has been partly dried on sale. The wholesale markets will often have great conical stacks of bunches of whole bulbs that have been bound or twisted together by the stalks. All stalls will have baskets full of separated cloves, usually in various sizes. The type most favored by Thais comes in very small cloves. This type has a very thin skin. Thai cooks will often simply crush the cloves with the flat blade of a cleaver and throw the whole thing into a stir-fry. It is certainly efficient, although it can be a bit of a surprise to western diners.

You will also see baskets full of very large cloves of garlic. It will come as no surprise that Thais call this "elephant garlic." Elephant garlic is almost never used in cooked dishes. Instead it is often used in salads, dips and as an accompaniment to meat snacks such as raw pork sausage or Chiang Mai sausage. Another type of garlic has small bulbs consisting of just a single clove. This type of ‘pearl’ garlic is mostly used for pickling, and that is the only form that you usually find it in the markets.

Pickled Pearl Garlic

Garlic is one of the oldest herbs in use. Its use was recorded in Babylonia as early as 3000 B.C. It was found in the tomb of Tutankhamen, while in Asia, it was mentioned in traditional Chinese medicine books starting around 500 A.D. Traditionally, garlic was used to treat colds and the flu, as well as chronic coughs such as bronchitis. It was also used for skin problems such as acne, and in Ayurveda medicine, garlic is considered an aphrodisiac. In addition to these traditional uses, modern medicine has found garlic useful in slowing arteriosclerosis, and reducing the risk of additional heart attacks in myocardial infarct patients.

Spicy Pork Salad

Larb is generally classified as a salad by western standards, mainly because it is almost always served at room temperature and with fresh vegetables like cabbage or long beans. This point makes it a good dish for a diner party, since it can be prepared in advance and simply set aside while you make other dishes that need to be served hot.

This version of larb is really the northern-eastern ("Isan") variation on the traditional recipe. It’s perhaps the most liked of all the regional variations, and is the most palpable to Western tastes. One of the key ingredients of Isan style larbs is roasted rice, which is used as a sort of binder. To make it, dry-roast uncooked rice in a pan until it begins to brown, then grind it in a mortar and pestle.

(4 – 6 Servings)

Ingredients

Preparation Method

• To make roasted rice, stir some uncooked rice in a hot dry frying pan until it begins to brown. It may puff up a little. Then grind the rice to a powder with a mortar and pestle or a food processor.
• Drizzle four tablespoons of the lime juice over the ground pork. Allow it to marinate for a few minutes. Drain the pork and brown it in a hot skillet.
• As soon as the pork is lightly browned, add the roasted rice, pepper, coriander, shallots and one or two tablespoons of lime juice.
• Once the pork is cooked through and the shallots are soft, remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool. Larb should be served at room temperature, or just slightly warm. Sprinkle the mint over the larb just before serving. Note: if the larb is too hot, it will turn the mint black.

Although it is perhaps not so well know among Western Thai food fans, this dish, made with either pork or chicken, makes a frequent appearance at the street stall. You can also make it with beef. If you can only get dried wood-ear mushrooms, soak them in warm water for a few minutes to soften them up.

Stir fried pork, ginger and mushrooms.

Variations: If you’d like the dish less spicy, use banana chilies instead of the much hotter spur chilies. They give the dish a distinctive flavor that I like. You can also use sweet peppers if you’d like the dish to be not spicy at all. You can also make a purely vegetarian version by leaving out the pork and fish sauce, and using more mushrooms.

(4 Servings)

Preparation Method

• Heat the oil in a heavy skillet or wok. Add the pork and onions, and stir-fry until the pork is browned.
• Add the ginger, mushrooms and chilies. Mix well.
• Stir in the sugar and fish sauce. Allow it to cook for just a bit, then stir in the spring onions just before removing from heat.

Time to take a break from Thai food and try a little Balinese cuisine for a change. While Thai dishes tend to be quick light stir-fries, many Balinese and Indonesian dishes often take a bit more time and are a bit heavier.

Balinese Pork & Ginger in Sweet Soy Sauce served with cooked rice.

I got this recipe from the Bali Post, which in turn got it from Bali Guide’s food section. I’ve adapted this recipe a bit by using thin-sliced pork and shredded ginger, which are commonly available in Bangkok supermarkets. If I were serving this as a main dish at a party, I would garnish it with a little of the fresh ginger as well as the chilies. I also added the chilies with the chicken stock so they cooked with the sauce, which made the dish very hot. I love it that way, but if you have a limited capacity for spiciness, then use fewer chilies or use them as a garnish only.

(4 Servings)

Preparation Method

• Heat the oil in a heavy skillet or wok (I prefer a skillet for this dish). Add the shallots and garlic, and sauté over medium heat until lightly colored.
• Add the pork and ginger; continue to saut&eacut; for two more minutes over high heat. Add the soy sauces and crushed black pepper; continue to stir-fry for another minute.
• Pour in the chicken stock (and, optionally, the chilies), lower the heat, and simmer for about an hour. When fully cooked, the meat will be dark and shiny, with very little sauce remaining. If you didn’t cook the chilies with the pork, use them as garnish.

A large pile of fresh ginger on sale in the market, with some shredded ginger behind.

Ginger is grown in northern Thailand as well as the central and eastern regions. The variety used in the various regions are slightly different in general appearance, but taste more or less the same. The northern variety is specifically called king puak, for its light creamy color. In the markets, you will often find ginger sold at stalls along with cloud ear mushrooms. Both are products of the forest. The cloud ear mushrooms grow on the sides of mature trees, which is why they are sometimes called "wood ear" mushrooms, while ginger grows in the shady ground around the trees. Customers have the option of buying whole roots of ginger, or they can purchase it already shredded (called in Thai king soy) for use in stir-fries. A whole kilogram of shredded ginger costs around just one U.S. dollar.

Thais use ginger medicinally as well as in their cooking. While doing the photography for this site, we stopped at a temple outside of Lamphun that I had not visited for many years. The temple is composed of a large monastery at the base of a hill, at the top of which is a large pagoda surrounded by prayer halls, monk’s quarters and other buildings. When I last visited the temple about 15 years ago, there was only a dirt road up the back of the hill, and so we ended up climbing the 409 stairs to the top, which then had only the still-under-construction pagoda. Now the road is paved, and being 15 years older I readily agreed to be driven to the top. In the parking area behind the pagoda, a lady had set up a stall to sell tea powders. Her big seller was ginger tea, which is quite delicious hot, and is believed by Thais to be good for the digestion as well as the throat. International studies on the effects of ginger show that it may be good for the circulation as well.

The exact origins of ginger are unclear, although most assume it was first cultivated in Southeast Asia. It was one of the first Asian spices introduced to Europe, having been known to both the Greeks and Romans. Apparently, during the middle ages it was even thought to be a cure for plague!

In the 16th century, pepper was a currency preferred more than gold. According to the Encyclopedia of Spices, pepper was so valuable that dock workers were prohibited from wearing clothing with pockets or cuffs for fear they would make off with a few peppercorns. The Venetians controlled the supply, which was transported overland. Fed up with high prices, the Portuguese set out to find a sea route, which took them to India and later to the Malay peninsula, where the various city-states at the time were vassals of the king of Siam.

Eventually, so fierce was the competition for pepper from southern Siam (modern day Thailand) that it lead in part to a blockade of Bangkok by western powers to force concessions from the king. The output of pepper in Siam around that time was estimated to be around 3,000 tons. The new world’s first millionaire, Elias Derby of the Salem colony, made his money importing pepper and went on to endow Yale University. Even now, pepper accounts for a quarter of the global spice trade.

The Thais typically use pepper that has been washed, which makes it look like white pepper, but the taste is not the same. Coarsely ground pepper like that called for in most western recipes is never used. Thai recipes will either call for whole peppercorns, which are ground together with other spices, or if ground pepper is called for, Thais will use pepper that has been ground to a fine powder.

A number of stir-fry recipes will call for fresh green pepper. This is pepper fresh off the vine, and easily available in markets all over the kingdom. Green peppercorns have a very short shelf life. They will begin to blacken within a few days of being picked. Cooks will typically use whole sprigs of green pepper, without separating the seeds from the vine.