How To

I have often wanted to create a cheat sheet on the Asian food clues one sees on the table when their food is served. For instance, if you are served a plate of food with a sauce and a small spoon, one uses the spoon to dish sauce onto his or her plate. If one is not served a spoon, one dips their food directly into the sauce.

Of late, we’ve been going to Thaiku quite a bit and I have been watching people flail about with their spring rolls.

Here is how you know it is okay to eat anything with your hands at an Asian dinner table: There will be a leaf or two of lettuce served on the side of the plate.

With Spring rolls, grab the piece of lettuce, use it to grab the lower end of the roll, dip the roll into the sauce and bite.

Don’t fret about double dipping.

AND STOP BANGING YOUR DANG CHOPSTICKS AROUND!

Phở Explained
Corrections for words that are often mispronounced:
E-Pi-to-me not epi-toam.
Bio-pick not by-opic.
Dog Eat Dog World not Doggydog World.
Fuh?, not faux (faux being pronounced foe).
Not that Phở would correct anyone, Phở is too polite.
Phở appears at the table a deceptively simple dish: a bowl of broth served with noodles and meat alongside a plate of sprouts, herbs and condiments. The method in which a person eats Phở is not as simple as tossing a few herbs and sauces into a bowl.
The first thing a person must understand when approaching a bowl of pho, is heat distribution: adding too many cold ingredients will cool the broth too quickly and since meat is added to the bowl raw, the meat will not cook as quickly as it should.
Be aware of the uniqueness of the broth. Each kitchen has its own broth recipe and style. To add condiments such as chili sauce and hoisin without tasting the broth first is like jumping into a pool without toeing the water... or removing one’s shoes.


How to eat Phở:
Phở is a two-utensil dish– use a soupspoon and the chopsticks.
Immediately after the bowl arrives, use your chopsticks to submerge the meat, which will further cook in the broth.
Using a spoon, sip the broth to determine the nuances of its flavor.
Add small amounts of sprouts- unless you want to cool the broth down (like on a hot day).
Add a squeeze of lime.
Submerge the sprouts and gently nestle them next to the meat.
Pluck the mint or basil leaves off of the stems and shred lengthwise.
Add fresh cut chili pepper (if so inclined).
Coax the ingredients together and allow the greens, noodles, sprouts and meat to mingle.
Use the small sauce bowl to mix hoisin and chili sauce together, this will be the dipping sauce for the meat.
Lift t a small amount of noodles with your spoon and select you’re your chopsticks and place in your mouth.
Slide the chopsticks down the noodles, toward the bowl, and stop midway between your mouth and the bowl.
Pick up the noodles at the middle and slurp simultaneously.
Try not to bite noodles off mid-strand.

Yesterday Erik and I went out to Ballard and had Miang kam. Erik, at one point knew a guy who was Thai and worked in the kitchen. Erik has now taught me the dish’s proper eating technique, which impressed the server mightily. So here is how to impress your Thai server and eat Miang Kam right:





1. Point the tip of the leaf toward you.
2. On the stem end, loosely fold the sides toward the center (as if you were makinga paper airplane)
3. Pinch the fold to hold the cup in place.
4. Place peanuts, lime, peppers, etc., in the cup and drizzle sauce on top.
5. Eat in one bite.