Chef Num, Champion of Isaan Cuisine

Chef Num in his kitchen

My whole career as a student and alleged chef of Thai cuisine has been predicated on the belief that the food of Thailand is vastly underrepresented in the west (and within the country itself, to be fair). I have done everything I can to point towards the fact that there is a local and seasonal aspect to the cooking of every region that until recently wasn’t really something most people were aware of. The reasons for this are multiple, not least of which it’s hard to find the ingredients outside of the regions. But that’s not the only reason; there are cultural barriers, commercial barriers and lack of knowledge on the part of the consumer. Also, as the world modernizes and digitizes the old traditions are forsaken by the youth and eventually die with the old folks who carry that wisdom. Luckily, there are some younger chefs, suppliers and cultural preservationists who are embracing these customs and knowledge, doing their best to hold onto the past while pushing towards a future Thai cuisine that includes their modern ideas.

To understand and illustrate this more clearly I set out on a 4 day motorcycle trip to visit one of my favorite chefs in Thailand and a good friend: Chef Num Samuay (Weerawat Triyasenawat is his given name but Thai people almost always have a “cheu len” or nickname). Num owns and operates a restaurant in the city of Udon Thani in the Northeast of Thailand (Isaan) called Samuay and Sons with his brother Joe. His mom’s name is Samuay, hence the name of the restaurant. It’s common for businesses in Thailand to be named after a loved one and as you will hear in the interview, family is very important to Chef Num.

The region of Isaan is a vast area populated mostly by folks of Laotian descent and to a lesser extent Khmer people to the south near the border of Cambodia. It is thought of mostly as an arid land with a crude cuisine born of tough conditions, the people as itinerant workers who staff the factories, fields, construction camps, bars and restaurants of the kingdom. But like many cliches, this is not a fully accurate picture and is certainly tainted by a classist society that has not bothered to learn more about this under appreciated area and it’s fabulous culture, including the food. Num is dead set on changing that view, first with his staff, then his customers and eventually (though he is too modest when sober to admit it) the whole world.

I had been there several months ago during the filming of an episode of “Made in Thailand” by my pal Paul Travis of Lanna Films (see below) but it was time for some one on one with cheffy to learn more about his personal journey.

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To give you some idea of what the food at Samuay and Sons is like, here are a series of photos and descriptions of the dishes I ate during my visit:

Aperitif: Lao Buai: ume plum rice wine. The plums (actually a type of apricot) are grown in the mountains of Northern and Northeastern Thailand, often in coffee plantations.

Naam Phrik Thua Din: Local peanut naam phrik topped with river fish floss, served with local herbs, baby pumpkin, charred luffa squash, grilled pickled bamboo shoot.The herbs range from bitter/sweet to sour/tannic to umami/spicy.

“Kai Yaang Som Tam”: A riff on the ubiquitous Isaan meal of grilled chicken and papaya salad using green papaya for noodles to replicate the flavor of Phat Mii Khorat, which Num likes to eat with grilled chicken, local chicken mousse wrapped in its own skin, shaved papaya hiding Kathin seeds and Som Tam dressing.

Young Jackfruit Taco: Nixtamalized jackfruit seed tortilla (it really works!), long grilled young jackfruit, mole of ripe jackfruit. This was an homage to the connection between the food of Mexico and Thailand; so many ingredients now considered Thai staples (chilies, tomatoes, the above River Tamarind seeds, etc) came from the new world and there is more than a passing similarity in the cuisines.

Field crab “Chawanmushi” steamed in eggplant, ice lettuce jelly, long beans and baby mustard greens. A play on a local Thai dish.

Grilled river prawn with with flowers and chilies pickled in reduced Cape Gooseberry (now widely grown in Thailand), shrimp head wonton with the wrapper mad with the fat of the head of the prawn, grasshopper naam plaa tuile, cultured butter from Sarapburi (Chef Num said “It looks a bit too fancy”)

Plaa Neua Awn (Sheatfish) with Kaeng Awm Isaan sauce, cabbage baked with pureed squash between the leaves, dill vinaigrette and fresh dill. Kaeng Awm in Isaan is a soup with lots of vegies and dill in it, usually made with fish; this dish nailed that flavor precisely.

Isaan Wagyu beef short rib and tongue, 4 varieties of green rice in beef reduction, Jaew Hawn broth (flavors of Isaan dipping sauce in a soup, usually made into a hotpot), Jim Jaew (dipping sauce) mounted with beef blood, Kaeng Neua (beef curry) with pea eggplant, Buu Naa (field crab) lon with steamed river fish, pickled makheua som (sour tomatoes) and flower kimchee. .

Mafeuang (Starfruit) Cake with young rice creme anglais and hibiscus puree.

Caramelized banana with Silkworm ice cream flavored with Khao Yai vanilla and honey fermented barley.

Digestif: Por Sawat’s Lao Klan flavored with local bitter herbs

Missing in the photos (oops) was a Miang of grilled sadao (very bitter Neem flower) wrapped in a tofu skin with sweet tamarind.

If any of this seems outlandish, it is mostly because of the unfamiliarity with the ingredients. I am here to tell you that this was a tour de force of Isaan flavors and was utterly delicious.

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Chef Num is working hard to share his knowledge through his food and discourse. And he is not the only one pushing to advance Thai food culture while keeping and firm grip on history and tradition…stay tuned for more in this series!

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