This Global Kitchen | Day 13: Thailand
Hi, my name is Melanie and I live with my family in Northeast Thailand near the border of Laos. We live near what I would call a small city (or large town.) We are fortunate enough to live 10 minutes from an airport, but also near fields, trees, cows, and a lake. It’s the best of both worlds and we truly love living here.
We moved into this rental house about eight months ago. It’s brand new, with a yard for our two little boys to run around in, and a great location near the lake— wow, so much to be thankful for! But of course, every home will have pros and cons. In this case, we had to put the kitchen in the “con” column. First off, I will say that I am SUPER grateful for the newness and cleanliness factor (nice to work with a clean slate this time around). I love the windows that let me enjoy the neighborhood’s comings and goings, and the windows bring in an excellent breeze while I’m washing dishes. The main quirk of my kitchen is its size. Pretty much every person (local or foreigner) that walks into our kitchen goes, “Oh! Small!” We have to laugh at times, because if one person goes in and opens the fridge, the kitchen now fully belongs to them because no one else can come in or out. But as you all know, eventually you adjust to things, and I’ve gotten used to just piling things high during big meal prep. There are times when I’m setting hot dishes precariously on the edge of the sink and hoping for the best. It’s a bit stressful at times, but it works!
I took these photos on a random Tuesday, and decided not to tidy up first. This is pretty much what it usually looks like in here— although there are times it looks much tidier and other times when it’s chaos!
Kitchens in Thailand typically do not come installed with much in the way of cabinets and drawers. It’s mainly a place for washing dishes and food prep. Before we moved in, the washing machine was set up in here too — but we moved it out in order to gain a bit more storage space.
Under the counter you’ll find an open, unfinished storage space. This is where I keep my “odd foreigner” needs like a bread machine, popcorn pot, and slow cooker.
Local people tend to cook with just one wok on a gas burner, and that is typically done outdoors behind the kitchen. In my case, I use an electric induction burner. I like my one-burner situation just fine, and I’ve actually never found myself desperately needing another one. I don’t have space in here for an oven, but I use it regularly — so we got creative. (Frankly, in this hot climate I’ve never been super excited about keeping a hot oven in the kitchen anyway.)
In the dry season, the oven lives outside on a little table behind the kitchen window where there is (conveniently and surprisingly) a power outlet. The rainy season has led to some extra acrobatics, because the space behind the kitchen isn’t shielded from the rain. So, for now, the oven has moved to the carport area along with a sketchy extension cord situation.
Thanks for stopping by to see a little snapshot of my life! I’m looking forward to seeing the other global kitchens, too!
My Must Haves for my expat kitchen:
As for what always makes it in the luggage, I do always give a hefty portion of our weight allowance to Frank’s Red Hot sauce. Although we live in a land of spicy food, it’s just really nice to have a totally different flavor of spicy sometimes! I use it for various recipes, including buffalo chicken pizza. Yum!
The other thing that I really treasure in my kitchen is cute coffee mugs from home. I came with a few favorites, but inevitably several have broken over the years. My sister is great at finding mugs she knows I’ll love, and every now and then for a birthday or something she will send a new one over for me.
My Favorite Expat friendly Recipe:
The easiest rice and chicken ever
by Melanie | TakingRoute.net
The recipe I’d like to share is something so simple, it’s borderline obvious. 80% of you probably already know this and do this, and will say “well, yeah.” But because I went too many years not knowing about this “hack,” I will share it for the other 20% who are in the dark and need to know!!
Did you know you can cook chicken in the rice cooker along with your rice? (This is ideal for those of you who live in Asia or other places where you have electric automatic rice cookers.)
This method is awesome for:
- hot days
- lazy days
- solo parenting days
- or any time you just want an easy, simple meal
Measure the rice and water into the pot according to how you normally do it (I make 2 cups of brown rice and 3 cups of water). Place the chicken on top, along with a chicken seasoning cube. Put the lid on, press “cook” and you are literally done cooking your meal.
The rice sops up all the seasoning and chicken juices, so it’s much more flavorful than plain rice. And the chicken cooks perfectly, nice and juicy. When the switch flips from “cook” to “warm,” you are all set!
Other perks: There is no cutting of raw meat (therefore no cleaning up yucky cutting boards and knives). There is no stirring or standing in front of a hot stove. It’s the simplest thing ever, and actually pretty yummy!
Choose your own condiment and enjoy. Bonus points for steaming veggies at the same time in the tray above the cooking pot.
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This Global Life | Day 2: Thailand (Day in the Life)