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Khon Kaen, The Crossroads of Thailand's Northeast
by Robert Carmack
I am travelling along the sticky rice trail towards the epicentre of Thailand's vast northeastern region of Isaan. Here, all trails lead to Khon Kaen, the provincial hub. This is a land as equally delineated by its geography and language as by its culinary heritage. While Thais in other parts of the kingdom relish plain steamed rice, in the North and Northeast, glutinous grain is the preferred "daily bread."
As a cookbook author, and also as a tour organizer of gastronomic trips to Thailand, I am regularly queried over why I choose Isaan. "What is so special," they ask, “about Khon Kaen?” Why should tourists go to a part of Thailand that rarely makes the press instead of the more popular northern city of Chiang Mai, or the surf and sand of Pattaya, Phuket and Koh Samui?
The simple answer is like some easy melodic refrain: "Isaan on my mind." Its charm quickly grows on you. Isaan is an area relatively untouched — and unspoiled — by foreign tourism. Khon Kaen is really at the crossroads of travel here — with both excellent highways and a new airport — making this city of some 300,000 the hub of Thailand's vast Northeast.
Another reason I choose Khon Kaen: There is something especially gentle about the Isaan spirit, and the warm, hospitable smiles of the locals. They win me over every time, and bring me back repeatedly.
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mages © TAT
Image © Morrison Polkinghorne
/Globetrotting Gourmet
Image © TAT
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Query an architect, and he'll describe Isaan's Khmer ruins, many of which are comparable to those found in Cambodia itself. The closest to Khon Kaen are Ku Prapha Chai, a simple restoration rich in atmosphere. There is also Peuai Noi, a 12th-century temple rich in carved lintels, but still relatively small compared to Isaan's archaeological jewels of Phimai and Phanom Rung — both of which lie much further south from Khon Kaen.
Fresco lovers will want to visit Wat Baan Laan with its vibrant blue hues. Wat Sra Bua Kaeow temple meanwhile contains 19th-century paintings of military and daily life, as well as tales of the Lord Buddha, heaven and hell.
So what does Isaan really mean? Well, if you talk to a foodie like me you'll hear an audible “Ahhhh.” This is truly a region to wax lyrical about.
It is a rare cuisine that tastes dynamically different at each sitting. Yet I never tire of the Isaan diet, and seize each and every meal as an education in new flavours, tastes and dishes. In Khon Kaen, local food rises to rarefied levels. Quite simply, this is the primary reason I come with tour groups. I especially savour the al fresco lakeside eateries of Bung Kaen Nakhon, filled nightly with locals supping on some of Thailand's most deliciously classic dishes, from salt-coated grilled fish to garlic imbued sai krok Isaan (sausage), and som tam, a green papaya salad, plus ubiquitous sticky rice.
In Thai, aroy means delicious. Its Isaan dialect counterpart sap implies a multitude of flavours, particularly the characteristic mixture of sour and spicy. For example, the national dish phad Thai — stir-fried noodles — is always aroy. By contrast, tart and spicy regional som tam is archetypically sap.
Please click here for a map of Khon Kaen Province.
Please click here to view the full story with images.
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