flaming wok

That was one hot wok! This is why stir fries and other dishes made in a wok just aren’t as good when made at home in North America – they just can’t get hot enough! The BTUs of the gas stoves are too low, unless you get one special. But here, no problem! We boiled a big pot of water on the farm in 5 minutes or less. It would take at least 10 or 15 minutes on our new stove in Chicago – even on the “power burner.”

Anyhow, the real high heat gives the food what I call “wok breath.” I think I got that term from Ming Tsai. Anyhow, there is a flavor… an essence, as Emeril would say, that the super high heat provides that turns a good stir fry into an amazing one.

It’s funny, I’ve been wanting to post on a couple topics for a while now, but these last two I hadn’t been planning at all. I’ve got one or two other posts started and saved, waiting for the right inspiration to finish them properly. In the mean time, I’ve gotten many more photos uploaded to flickr – we’re up to 514 on the trip so far, I believe – so have a look if you’re interested. I’m sure you’ll be surprised to hear there are a lot of food photos.

Also, we take pictures of and write about things that we think are interesting or cool, but we also take note of things we think other people would find interesting. So if you’re sitting on the other end of this post thinking “it would be great to hear about …” or “i wonder what … is like?” let us know. We’re always happy to have something else to be on the lookout for.

As for an itinerary update, we’re in Chiang Mai now. This is part cool city and part tourist dump… like the Wisconsin Dells and Niagara Falls, there is genuine beauty that has been completely surrounded by tourist trap. But they sure do it different here! More on that in another post. The main city is surrounded by a moat, and most of the ancient wall that was inside the moat, and there are about a bazillion wats (temples), most of which look really beautiful.

In the next few days we plan to visit some of those wats, go to the zoo, up a nearby mountain, ride elephants and eat really, really well. On that point, I have just two words for you, which will have to be explained more fully in a future post: khao soi. It might not yet, but it should make your mouth water hearing those words.

It’s making me want to run right out of this internet cafe and down the street to get some khao soi… and that’s just about exactly* what we’re going to do!

*in this lifestyle of ours, we basically don’t run anywhere. not only is it not all that fun, it’s way too hot to run anywhere.