Thai curry in a bag

Those little curry bags are pretty amazing. I get them from the supermarket’s deli. One bag makes two or three meals: all I have to do is start the rice cooker and make enough rice for the day, and then add some curry in a bag. It’s not processed, they make it right there at the deli: I pick the best smelling and looking ones and the ladies put some in a little baggie for me.
I say I smell the curries first: I learnt that the hard way, after trying a new curry whose yellow colour I like, to later find out it was stinking out the fridge … why or why, thought I… turns out it was a ‘fish innards’ curry. Gross. Reminded me of Vietnamese rotten shrimp sauce a bit, that smell.
Left that curry for Dan, but even he couldn’t eat it. If you’ve followed our Vietnam blog, you know Dan will eat anything. Well, not fish innards curry it turns out. Thai name: Thai pla. I highly recommend it.

Otherwise our usual curry in a bag favourites are: green curry – not for those who can’t handle spicy food though. It makes me cry and sniffle but I keep going back to it, because it’s delicious. Also, Mosaman curry, Yellow curry, Panang curry and pork-and-basil minced meat which is not a curry but just as good. And also bloody spicy.
I’m finding out that hot food is like everything else: it takes practice. I used to not be able to handle anything spicy… never had spicy food growing up, my taste buds were very sensitive. When I was 18 I went and lived in England for a semester, and my lovely housemates who were from Sri Lanka would often cook for everyone in the house… they had to make me my own little saucepan where they cooked the meat with what they thought was no chillies or spice at all, just for me. So sweet. I still couldn’t handle it though, I think they poured spices in there without even realizing, spices that don’t even count for people who munch on chillies like I munch on cucumbers. Now I can eat very spicy food, and only cry a little. My old housemates would be so proud. Don’t know how happy I would be living in Thailand if I hadn’t sorted that out though to be honest.
So, I get three or four of those curry bags a week, and they cost a dollar each. And that’s all we spend on food. There’s street food also, but that’s about the same price.
To put it into perspective, I have a grande latte from Starbucks here and then. That costs 90 bahts, or 3 dollars. So, one latte costs me the same as 6 home cooked meals…
Gotta wonder if it’s worth it.