It’s the most common sight in Bangkok- a city where more than 10,000 vendors sell their own variations of a regional cuisine known as Isaan food. But just a couple of generations ago, this didn’t exist at all in the capital. So what is Isaan food? Where does it come from and what are the key flavors? And after a few decades stewing in Bangkok’s melting pot, what does the future hold for this humble and incredible cuisine?
Special thanks to @theroamingcook and Chef Chalee Kader for serving as our guides to the dishes, ingredients, and tastes of Isaan.
Here are links to the restaurants visited in this video:
-Likhit Gai Yang: https://goo.gl/maps/7dCYtzquwBHynyTH7
-P’Pie Som Tam: https://goo.gl/maps/Gk48n6srcPrtvHnU7
-100 Mahaseth: https://goo.gl/maps/64JPxnSDXsjNZnaL7
-Rama IV Street Cart: https://goo.gl/maps/k1BUkeDJYY9DPSdu7
…and a few other favorites we showed clips of in this video but filmed at other times:
-Polo Fried Chicken (featured in our Best Day of Eating video): https://goo.gl/maps/zE4UWL6p5Mg9Gscr8
-Isaan Bang Kachao (featured in Mango Sticky Rice): https://goo.gl/maps/gGvnJGq97wzqbrLW8
-Kaengorm Maha Sarakham (featured in Lost Dishes): https://goo.gl/maps/GgDY1S3QABwnA47a8
-Pa Ni Charcoal Roasted Chicken (featured in Talad Phlu): https://goo.gl/maps/rWZQ8wMQHKXtqNuA7
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0:00 – Introduction
1:12 – Rajadamnern Stadium
3:08 – 1956
5:43 – Likhit Gai Yang
7:07 – The Early Days
8:51 – What is Isaan Food? With Gary Butler
12:47 – The Khorat Plateau
15:03 – Thai-Lao-Isaan
17:52 – Som Tam: Safety and Danger
20:22 – Adaptation
22:03 – Magic with Chef Chalee Kader
24:35 – Nose to Tail and Root to Fruit
27:02 – The Soul of Isaan
–
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–
Video Credits:
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HIDDEN BANGKOK PAPAYA SALAD BOAT With Thai Grilled Chicken on The Old Canal!
Incredible Isaan – Northeast Thailand Adventure 4K
48 HOURS Traveling in ISAN THAILAND 🇹🇭 2 days, 5 Provinces
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ISAAN VILLAGE LIFE & FOOD – Rural life in Thailand
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How Two Master Thai Chefs Prepare a Whole Cow Isan Feast — Made in Thailand
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46 Comments
You mean Lao Food.
Need more Dee (beef bile) , I think you can ask the vendor to put some in your Nam Jim.
Not me grabbing my phone and ordering immediately🤤 I'm glad I live in Bangkok!
Oh this bring back so much memory .tbh I did not eat that place that much when I was a kid. But my granddad and grandma always talk about this Likhit Gai Yang
They always said if you want to have Issan food it have to be here. in time . I forget all of that until I watch this VDO. Thank you!
What a fantastic episode. I really like the way you incorporated all the history, you won't understand anything if you don't understand its beginning. As a recent arrival and a planned long stay in Thailand, this is exactly what I am looking for, informative and real. BTW – your resemblance to the actor Giovanni Ribisi- ( sneaky Pete ) is uncanny.
Tip: Close your sticky rice container lid if your not eating it or else it’ll dry and harden
Another awesome and informative video.
Cheers guys. Will try the chicken from that joint when we are back in September.
Cheers
Simon
The original and most delicious grilled chicken come from a district call Khao Suan Kwang in Khon Kaen province.
รสชาติของอาหารอีสานที่เป็นต้นตำรับกับของภาคกลางเองก็มีความแตกต่างกัน โดยที่อาหารภาคอีสานที่เป็นต้นตำรับจะไม่เน้นรสชาติหวานแต่เน้นไปที่รสชาติของเค็มและเผ็ดแทน ส่วนของภาคกลางจะมีการใส่รสชาติหวานและเปรี้ยวลงไปด้วยเพื่อปรับรสชาติให้เข้ากับความชอบทางการกินของคนในพื้นที่
The thing about grilled chicken, indeed any chicken dish in Thailand, is that the local scrawny free range breed of chicken always taste much better than the plumper industrial breed.
Some time in my 30's I developed a pretty severe intolerance to raw chili (mostly the seeds) and a few other south east asian spices.
The sadness of having to be careful with those flavours is perhaps more painful than the gut wrenching colonal catastrophe it inevitably causes. 😓
I make bad choices sometimes. Just because it's so good. If you give me an opportunity to eat Som Tam, I will eat it.
If the government wanna promote second wave of a more diverse Thai food to the World , they might just need to fund this channel.
that Chilly somtum tho!
Hey really love your content and how you give credit and respect back to the dishes roots. I’m Thai teochew Chinese, and it will be amazing if you did a segment on the roots of teochew food in bangkok. Peace 🙏🏻
Once again, you've produced another outstanding video essay on some of the best food in the world!
'you rarely find a bad version' but as a Thai with no tolerance for chillies, finding good ones that can do the dish justice without being overly spicy is a challenge, often when you ask them for ไม่เผ็ด it throws out their balance, some brick and mortar restaurants can do a Bangkok version will manage to do a less spicy dish for the city boy, the taste is a bit more refined but will often lost some rustic edge.
I used to rely on one lady who turns up to my work with a motorcycle and sidecar, and for 10+ years she was my lunch, but families circumstance change and she no longer does the food now, I have yet to find a good Isaan restaurant or cart that can do no chillies while retaining the taste
How did Isaan food conquerer Bangkok Simple Everybody in Bangkok Comes From Isaan if you need proof try Bangkok in Song Krang it's empty because everybody goes Home to Isaan !!
I moved to Nong Khai permanently in 2005. I like Isaan food. There aren't too many Bangkok style restaurants up here.
As a person that was born and had been living my entire life in Bangkok, I would say that Isaan food is a representative of family and friends. It's a type of food you can't eat alone you need 3-4 friends to eat with. Whenever I hang out with my group of friends we always place isaan food as our first choice. The very savory and spicy dish plus an ice-cold beer and fun chatting nothing can beat that feeling. I would compare isaan food to the soul food in the state I think these two types of food kinda have a similar origin and evolution.
5 dogs … always?
Like your video 👍👍
There is nothing special about this food. Some of it smells so bad it’ll make you want to throw up. Let’s be right here, fermented fish sauce is not appealing and topping dishes off with a fried egg is hardly Michelin star food. When you look around, most food stalls are selling more or less the same. Rice, noodles, rubber sausages, fried chicken. Oh, and don’t forget some of the bellyache you may receive from eating contaminated food.
The same could be said about durian😂 we’ll save that subject for another time eh, don’t be fooled !
Is this same as Lao food?
I sat down to watch this video and at 1:51 was surprised to see the grilled chicken looking at me because it still had a head 🐤🍗 🤣
Awesome episode. Was great to learn more about Isaan food
ฉันดูคลิปนี้ ฉันหิวมาก 🤤
I feel like I failed as an Isaan born for not being able to eat spicy food, Damn IBS
Here’s a few more topics for you to explore: “blood” (aside from the typical explore larb blood, fresh duck blood), wedding food (not the other the top rich people weddings, but the weddings held in small towns and villages, as well as Buddhist ritual foods like those served when a males in the family becomes a monk, then there are all the drippings sauces “nam jim and nam prik” explores those. BTW love the channel
Isaan food is pretty much Laos 🇱🇦 food. When Thailand won the war against Laos, they took the province Isaan, where a lot of Laos people still lived in and annex it with Thailand.
great food documentary as always♥
one thing that is a bit off to me is when theres a food shot on screen, the color looks a bit bland? color grading those shot in brighter and more saturate may make it more eye catching since bright natural color helps with appetite.
only halfway through the video and it already made me tear up. the quality of in depth research is really touching.
personally also because I'm from Udon Thani and it really touched a specially place in my heart.
so thank you.
Keep up the quality of videos and research! it's insanely good!!
Great place, my Dad grew up in Roi Et before going to study in the US on govt scholarship. He came back to Thailand to work for the govt (part of the grant conditions) and settled in Bangkok. One time my Aunties came to visit from Roi Et we went to Likhit. Still probably the best classic Gai Yang I've had outside of Isaan.
all part ot thailand also have this kind of food why it is called isan food.
Isaan people are Lao ethnicity but Thai citizens
I am Laotian American and I plan to retire in Hua Hin. I hope they have Isaan food there too.
I do not want to eat Thai food everyday. I want to eat Lao food too, so Isaan food would be perfect.
By the way, Thaification was quite successful because some Isaan folks would be offended if you say they are Lao🤣and the younger generations speak Thai language very well.
You should consider making a Thai subtitle as well. I want to show this to my parent but it's all English.
Bangkok’s Lao food stop trying to make Lao food Thai
I live is Isaan. why go to Bangkok for Isaan food ?And due to covid, some of the cooks have returned to their hometowns. We're lucky as my wife runs a drinks cafe and next door a returnee has opened a noodle soup restaurant. She's already getting a local reputation , thereby replacing the 100 lunch customers she used to get every day i bangkok. But from her own town citizens. Makes you wonder , why ever go away.if youd like to sample it message me.
จัดปายยยยย…1 ซับ ..ลองอาหารอีสานประเภท ก้อยขมต้มแซบด้วยน่ะครับ🤤
The owner of likit's is so annoying lol
i just found your channel and, damn, am i glad i did
Isan food is basically Lao food that Thai borrowed through the invasion of the Isan province and now claim it as theirs
There’s a lady from Northern Thailand in my local grocery store who’s always trying to get me to make Isan Som Tam with fermented fishy paste. Definitely going to do some this week now. Great video as always. Thank you 🙏 🇱🇦 🇹🇭
ผมไม่คิดว่าวันนึงคนไทยแบบผมจะมานั่งฟังประวัติศาตร์ชาติตัวเอง จากคนต่างชาติ… ขอบคุณมากเลยครับ ได้ความรู้เยอะเลย
Now , i very want to know about "หมูกระทะ"
I can't miss a video with Gary @theroamingcook in it. 😏