(Photos by Lauren Lulu Taylor)
If you haven’t heard of Sweet Life Lanta and are a fan of 1. Thai food 2. Thai islands 3. humorous YouTube videos and 4. achingly cute families, then you should get yourself acquainted. Not only do Mon and Maayan have a YouTube series in which they explore the intricacies of being a multi-cultural couple, but they also run a thriving cooking school in which Mon manages to teach different recipes that each student requests ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Through staying at their properties, they also give visitors the opportunity to truly enjoy the best of what the island has to offer, whether it’s via cooking and eating the food (duh), gawping at the stunning views, meeting the friendly people, or by frequenting the artisans that make Koh Lanta the special place that it is.
Obviously, Lauren, Gen and I took advantage of this grand hospitality, staying in a fishing village on the edge of the ocean at the beautifully renovated Wooda House. What it doesn’t have in air-conditioning, Wooda House makes up with in ocean views, generous neighbors, and the general feeling of being immersed in a small island community in Thailand, replete with early morning rooster crows, calls to prayer from the nearby mosque, and the typical sounds of a village brushing itself off after a good night’s sleep to get back to work plying the waters for food.
Although Mon doesn’t run his cooking school during the low season (which, in case you were wondering, is right now), he did generously show us a couple of his childhood favorites, lugging several armfuls’ worth of fresh produce and fish into the Wooda House kitchen one afternoon. Hence began an exciting day spent making an entire Southern Thai meal from scratch (and we mean from scratch), culminating in a delicious lunch eaten at 4pm (it was worth it).
When you make a Thai meal from scratch, of course you have to begin with the coconut milk.
Like many people who are used to the craziness of making things from scratch, Mon says this is an easy affair, taking roughly 20 minutes from conking the coconuts open with a well-worn machete to slipping the hard-won coconut milk into a waiting curry. Sadly for everyone, with me at the krathai (a coconut grating utensil on which you sit to supposedly allow for easier grating), it took quite a bit longer, even when I sat astride the krathai man-style (a lady never spreads her legs). Eventually, 6-year-old Manu took over for me and we eventually had enough coconut meat (about 4 coconuts’ worth) to make coconut milk.
The next step is to put the coconut in a basin, add a pitcher of water, and basically scrunch the meat around with your hands to extract the milk. Manu, with his tiny hands, also did this chore for us. In case you accuse us of utilizing child labor for our food, please know that Manu readily and cheerfully volunteered for every single task in the kitchen, which was good for me since I was bursting into menopausal flames from the afternoon heat.
Finally came the food, and what food it was: grilled local fish brushed with turmeric and coconut milk; sayo, a stew of local fresh vegetables and coconut milk flavored with a chili paste of flaked fish meat; a delicious shrimp paste dip with even more fresh vegetables; and, possibly my favorite of all, a stew simply known as “Mon’s Mom’s Dish”, thick tranches of local tuna simmered in coconut milk with mellow banana peppers.
The next day, Mon and Maayan en famille braved a temporary monsoon and took us on a small fishing boat to visit nearby Koh Por, home of the charming (and popular) Malee Homestay , where Malee herself treated us to a grand meal of freshly steamed crab, battered local stingray and vegetables, grilled local fish, sweet stir-fried chicken, and, my favorite of all, grilled turmeric-marinated squid. After the meal, we waddled back to the boat in order to watch young fishermen dive for the sweet mussels that blanket the underwater rocks (and try our hand at prying some loose ourselves). We (and when I say “we”, I mean everyone except me) came up with mussels, a couple of clams, and a regiment of hoy thachai, a big flat shellfish that can be hallucinogenic if not properly trimmed.
Maayan proved to be especially adept at prising hoy thachai from the depths, so much so that she has a great future ahead of her as a deep-sea shell diver if she ever chooses. And Malee has a great future ahead of her as a magician, defying the rocky ocean waves to open shells with a large chef’s knife over a simmering wok set on a gas burner held in place by her bare feet.
After returning to dry land, we bid Mon, Maayan, Manu and Mili adieu, adamant that we would return again to explore even more of Koh Lanta. Until then, we have Mon’s mother’s recipe, which we share with you below, in case you, too, want a taste of the sweet life.
Mon’s Mother’s Coconut Soup with Fish, Turmeric and Big Chilies
Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes
Serves 4
- 4-6 shallots, peeled and sliced
- 1 1-inch knob of fresh turmeric, peeled
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 2-inch knob of galangal, peeled and chopped
- 1-2 Tablespoons of tamarind juice (nam macadam piek, or the cooking kind)
- 1 cup of coconut milk
- Any kind of whole fish (but the fattier the better, like tuna), cut cross-wise into four tranches (or four skin-on filets)
- 3-4 banana peppers (you can halve and de-seed them if you are concerned about spiciness)
In a mortar and pestle, pound shallots, turmeric, salt and galangal into a fine paste.
Heat up coconut milk in a wok until it starts to gently bubble. Add the chili paste from the mortar and stir to incorporate.
Once the curry starts to bubble again, add fish pieces and banana peppers. Allow to poach in the coconut milk until the fish meat turns white and the banana peppers soften, about 5-10 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish.
Decant into a bowl and serve immediately with rice as part of a great Thai meal.
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