Taste of Thailand: My Homemade Panang

One of my favorite ways to unwind and tackle my travel addiction is in the kitchen. With my most recent adventure coming to an unsatisfying close, I find myself dreaming of where I have been, what tomorrow will bring and where I will find myself wandering next. Therefore, to settle the cogs turning madly away in my mind I decided that tonight was the perfect night to make my favorite Thai curry, a Panang in order to escape to Thailand.

While I was in Thailand I took a cooking class, where I fell in love with Thai food. This particular Panang recipe is one I learned during my class in Thailand and have been cooking ever since, tweaking the recipe ever so slightly to better suit me.

The key to a good curry is the paste. Store bought curry paste is most certainly convenient and on a night where I have just come home from work and I don't have all day to prepare my meal I am definitely guilty of using a store bought paste. However, on a weekend, when I can relax and get lost in my cooking, I take the time to make the curry paste properly from scratch and when I do so, the Panang is to die for!

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do and find yourself transported far away when you finally get to sink your teeth into it. Happy Cooking!

Panang Curry Paste

The Odds & Ends
2 dried large red chilies
1/8 cup ground peanuts
1/4 tsp coriander root (chopped)
1/2 tsp coriander seed
1/2 tsp galangal (chopped) (can be substituted for ginger)
1/2 tbsp garlic (chopped)
1/8 tsp kaffir lime peel (chopped)
1/2 tbsp lemongrass (chopped)
1/2 tbsp shallots (chopped)
1/2 tbsp turmeric (chopped)
1/8 tsp salt

Get into the Grind
1. With pestle and mortar, grind dry spices (not chilies) into a powder.
2. Add chilies and continue grinding until a paste begins to form.
3. Add remaining ingredients grinding until you are left with a smooth paste

Panang Chicken Curry

The Bare Necessities 
1 lb of chicken (chopped into bite-size squares)
400ml coconut milk
1 1/2 tbsp Panang curry paste (see recipe above or step 2 below for alternative)
1 tsp palm sugar
2 tsp fish sauce

Get Fancy
1/2 large red chilli (thinly sliced)
Kafir lime leaves

Let's Get Cookin'
1. Over low heat, boil 4 tbsp of coconut milk in a wok until oil appears on the surface.
2. Add Panang curry paste, stirring for 1 minute before adding chicken.
If you chose to go with a store bought curry paste as opposed to making your own, then simply use a Thai red curry paste and add a large tablespoon of peanut butter.
3. Stir the chicken, coating it in the Panang base until the chicken is cooked.
4. Pour in the remaining coconut milk and bring the curry to a boil, stirring occasionally.
5. Once the curry has begun to boil, add the palm sugar & fish sauce.
6. Stir until palm sugar dissolves
7. Allow to boil until the curry sauce thickens (feel free to add more curry paste to achieve a spiciness to your taste).
8. Remove from heat and serve with steamed rice.

Large red chilies and/or kafir lime leaves make for a tasty additional garnish

(I am a personally a huge fan of chicken Panang. However, you can substitute the chicken for beef or vegetables and achieve an equally tasty dish to transport you to Thailand.)

Not Your Average House Cat

Crouched, low to the ground, hidden by a tree stump. Muscles clenching like a wind up toy, when suddenly, all the strength that had been building is unleashed. Pouncing, sprinting, rolling, paws striking. Massive white fangs gleam in the sunlight as they are bared daringly. Sprinting, splashing, wrestling, panting.

It is play time at the Tiger Kingdom and the big cats are enjoying an aggressive game of tag with one another. From the pure joy shimmering in their eyes, there is no doubt that these big cats are happy and having a blast!









We paid to meet tigers in 2 different age brackets, medium (9-12 months) and new born (2-3 months). Going to meet the medium cats first, my heart was racing as we entered the gates. The tigers are free roaming in a large enclosure. They were obviously not sedated and were in a very playful mood. Watching them wandering around as we entered, running the rules through my head,my heart rate was significantly elevated and the sweat forming in my brow was more due to nerves then the hot summer sun.

Entering the pen with the handler (who had just a simple wooden baton for protection should the unexpected need arrive)  it was obvious that the handler was "friends" with the tigers. The massive animals were visibly pleased to see him (not in an I'm hungry way) and wanted him to play with them. One came straight over to us and lied down to enjoy a rub down in the same way my dog does, rolling on its back after a while and exposing its tummy. While lying down next to this gentle giant, he bounded off to play with another tiger who had caught his eye before sauntering back for some more love. The other tigers in the pen were having too much fun to notice us,  but this one striped angel in particular was a definite fan of affection. The 15 minutes in the enclosure zoomed by and in an instant was over. Having enjoyed the animated nature of the older
 tigers, it was now time to meet the mischievous babies.















You are forewarned that you are most likely to get bitten by one of the 2-3 month old tigers because they are teething, so you have to be extra cautious and not allow them to lick you. There were a handful of tigers napping and the rest were pouncing around playing with handlers, various toys, and each other. If they were not playing or napping they were happily gnawing on the wooden benches. One of the tigers was adamantly trying to get another to play, so the one who was napping decided I was base, coming over to climb onto my lap for a little while before wandering back under its bench once his friend had found another playmate. You only get 10 minutes with the newborns, and if I thought the 15 minutes with the  9-12 month old tigers flew by, time was up in the blink of an eye.










Tiger Kingdom is an absolute must if you are ever in Chiang Mai. The tigers are happy and well treated. They are all born in situations that would never enable them to be released into the wild so Tiger Kingdom gives them a home and raises them with love.

An Unexpected Surprise in Northern Thailand

Approaching the quaint little village ahead of us,  I had rarely felt so nauseous. We had been advised by our hotel to travel to the Baan Tong Luang Eco-Agricultural Village to  buy fabulous souvenirs and see how the hill-tribes lived. The shuttle dropped us off at the gates and, realizing we had to pay to enter, we began to feel dubious. However the shuttle had left, and we would either be sitting outside for the next two hours or heading in, so we paid our 500 baht and entered.

Paying to enter this strange agricultural area it felt more like walking into a human zoo. The boulder beginning to roll over my heart as we approached the first village, grew heavier with every step as we approached the small groups of people representing each hill-tribe. The people obviously lived here, they didn't dress up for the day and then get to go home, and not understanding how this came about I was not entirely convinced of its authenticity.

Time to start investigating: The Baan Tong Luang Eco-Agricultural Village was opened in 2005 for tourism. It's stated purpose is that it is a "cultural preservation project." The idea being that these people who are refugees are given somewhere to make money selling their crafts to tourists while preserving their old traditions.

Walking through the different miniature villages there are lots of souvenirs for sale at a price that may seem high compared to all the shopping you have done so far in Thailand but when compared to the cost of these beautiful hand-crafted items in the "Western world" they are still affordable and priced according to what I would consider 'fair-trade pricing.' The people living in the eco-village get to keep the profit from their sales and the entrance fees are solely for the benefit of the villages.

We met people from various tribes who were sweet and engaging but none made a deeper impression then the women of the Karen hill tribe. These ladies in particular, were incredibly friendly and we sat and talked with them for quite some time. They are refugees who had remade their lives in this peculiar village. There are thousands of people from the Karen tribe who fled the brutality of the Burmese army finding refuge along the border of Burma (Myanmar) and Thailand. With nowhere else to go, they had settled-in and while missing their families, felt they had a new home. The Karen women are beautiful all the way through their souls and their stories eased some of the weight off my heart. Having spoken and enjoyed our time together, I asked if I could take some pictures to remember them by. 

To this day I have not forgotten them. I have yet to understand how this strange tourist trap works, yet I feel comfort in believing, that through all of the suffering these women have endured, they appear happy now. I wish I knew how much of the entry fee these refugees actually receive, or how the money is used for their benefit, but I am sorry to say I do not.  If you know please let me know, and in the meanwhile I shall take comfort from meeting these inspiring women in their refuge.

I don't know if I would recommend that someone visit this while in Chiang Mai. The village raises an ethical debate regarding tourism. While I found myself there rather unexpectedly, I am grateful that I went because I was able to support these villagers and encounter some lovely people.  

Whenever I am feeling low, I take a moment to find strength and inspiration in the images below. I see people living free from fear, grateful for the life they have, and hopefully you can too.

Dancing in the Rain with Elephants

Hands down, best day of my life by far was spent with one of the largest animals in the world, the Indian elephant. I had been backpacking from Phnom Penh, Cambodia to Chiang Mai, Thailand with my best friend: my darling mother. Chiang Mai was the last stop on our adventure and I had been looking forward to my day with the elephants.

Chiang Mai is incredibly touristy there is no doubt about it and about 90% of the elephant events involve gimmicky shows where you watch elephants doing tricks and painting pictures for an audience. I had seen elephants in the wild before and the idea of watching one of these elephant shows did not appeal to me at all. Elephants are in my opinion one of the world's most majestic creatures. I have had this fascination with elephants ever since I was a little girl and when I learned there was a place where you learnt to be a mahout and ride an elephant for the day I had to go.
We were picked up from our hotel early in the morning by a shuttle from the park and driven to the  Baan Chang Elephant park. When you finally turn off the "main road" the van starts winding through the most beautiful fields with an idyllic mountain view surrounding you, taking you to the gorgeous elephant sanctuary. (All of the elephants are adopted or rescued from horrendous conditions and given a magical home.Which makes the experience all the more special as many of the elephants are related and you can see how happy they all are together.).

They debriefed the small group of us  on the rules before being given our blue mahout outfits to change into for the day. Dressed for success we learnt the basic commands we would need to communicate with our elephant, telling them to turn left, right, go forwards, backwards, stop, and to kneel. Once everyone in the group had the commands down it was finally time to meet the elephants. Approaching the gentle giants with gifts of bananas we had quickly made new friends. The instructor even let us meet some of the baby elephants bringing them around to give us "kisses" on the cheek with their snouts. Rubbing the elephants behind the ears and on their backs your hands were met with incredibly rough skin, which was obviously meant to be very tough.

After our meet and greet it was finally time to practice our commands. The first and most important command we learned was to lift knee high (song soong). You would prop one leg on the elephants leg so when it lifted its leg you could use it to jump onto its back positioning yourself carefully on its shoulder blades very close to its head. Once we all managed to mount our elephants we then had to learn how to steer them. "Pai" means go forwards and "How" means stop. These commands were worthless on their own but when used in conjunction with the physical commands the elephants were moving around in no time. (Because the elephants skin is so tough you have to squeeze super tight with your legs to make them stop, making for quite a funny scene as people got going quickly but had trouble stopping, shouting "HOW" a million times as they squeezed away with their legs.) Turning was simple enough and  we were all soon navigating a simple path to show off our newly acquired skills.

We took a break for lunch after our lesson, enjoying a fabulous local meal prepared by the school before finally embarking on the real adventure. You are paired up two people to an elephant. My mum and I were assigned to Bua Tong a large gentle female who was incredibly sweet and fortunately for us not quite as peckish as some of the other elephants on the trek. We began our journey up a pathway into the jungle. It was the most magical feeling, riding bare-back on an elephant through a tropical jungle in Thailand as the rain began to slowly trickle through the canopy. Some of the elephants stopped for a tasty tree branch along the way but Bua Tong kept going, marching along steadily with the group. The trip is broken up into two parts and is separated by a water break where you trade places with your partner. The first half is the easier half as it is on a gradual up hill path so my mum decided she would take the first leg.
                                 Click on this to watch a short clip of us riding through the jungle

After a short water break where we enjoyed a few small nibbles it was time to jump on Bua Tong's back for the second half of the journey. The second leg was mostly down hill and after some time we eventually left the path. The second we stepped off the path the rain began to pick up. By the time we had made our way down a slippery slope and were turning to walk back across the level plain towards the school the skies had opened up and the refreshing Thai rain was pouring down us. It was the perfect moment when you realize the true magic of riding an elephant through the jungle with warm rain pouring down and you can not help but smile and bask in the glory of the adventure. Yet just when I thought it couldn't get any better we made it back to the Baan Chang Elephant Park and it was time for a bath.

Arriving back at the park we hopped off our new found friends and took them into a nearby body of water for a bath. As we were already soaked to the bone walking into the water, scrubbing brushes in hand, did not phase us. With brushes as brittle as the elephants skin is rough we scrubbed down the darling creatures making sure to clean behind their ears. Standing beside Bua Tong, washing her sides, our feet began to disappear into the muddy earth below so we hopped on her back to finish scrubbing the top of her head and her back. To say elephants love the water is a total understatement. This was clearly a fabulous treat for all of the elephants who looked like they had died and gone to heaven being scrubbed away in this muddy pool. (To be fair the same could have been said for all the people giving their elephants a bath.) Elephants and people alike there was not a frown in sight. It had been a truly fabulous day and leaving my new best friend was incredibly hard. After saying our final goodbyes we showered up and changed into our clean clothes to take the shuttle out of this majestic place and head back to our hotel. 

This experience was 100% worth every penny and I hope to do the three day adventure one day. If you ever find yourself in Thailand be sure to make the journey to Baan Chang for this unforgettable experience.