Pla Kem

[lomuamart]

Pla Kem is that horrible (to me anyway), stinking, dried, salty fish that you often see hanging around - literally.
Anyway, I got home around lunchtime on Friday and one of our neighbours from BKK was down for the weekend. As I walked by their house, I was nearly bowled over by a rather strong smell. My wife saw me take note and was laughing her head off. I thought she'd been cooking with pla ra or kapi and wasn't looking forward to entering our house, but she pointed out a basket of pla kem that the neighbour had left hanging in the sun. The neighbour had gone out all day and into the night.
During the afternoon, I was sitting outside with a cold beer and a book but the wind was in the wrong direction and it was pretty smelly. The Thai lady who lives the other side of the neighbour's house was also having to put up with the reek, as was my wife.
On Saturday morning, the foul fish had mysteriously disappeared and it turned out that the other lady had called the neighbour and told her she was going to dispose of it if the neighbour didn't first. The lady claimed she hadn't been able to sleep the previous night, so had thrown the stuff away - with or without the owner's consent.
I just asked her to make sure that the neighbour knew it was her that had chucked the stuff, not me as I reckoned the farang might get the blame. It all worked out OK, but the neighbour didn't look too happy, even yesterday.
So, has anyone else got any "smelly food" stories and what was the outcome? I emphasise that this was really smelly A bit like living on the pier in town with a million squid drying off.

[PeteC]

I can put up with things like sum tum and gang sum but if someone is cooking bamboo it makes me run into the night screaming. I have no idea why but the smell of cooking bamboo is horrible to me. Pete

[lomuamart]

Same here, Pete. My wife likes the occasional bamboo dish and I try to stay outside if she's cooking it

[richard]

Up in the village I'm pretty used to everything and as the kitchen is outside on our very big porch it's no problem provided you don't venture too close to the kitchen end. We have fermenting fish, fermenting frogs and all sorts of evil smelling stuff.Some hanging off the washing lines. The wife just shrugs and says 'well this is Isaan food'

I did have to buy a fridge for farang only as opening our original fridge was too much for me

[playboy]

One night out with my sister to thai's restaurant in Vancouver. There were a few tables with some canadian customers in that evening which was a little bite slow night. My sister knew the owner of the restaurant well since she own also a thai restaurant. So that evening dinner, my sister ordered "fried pla kem with broccoli" which normally it is ok to do it. But after couple minutes we smell something very strong out from the kichen and customers from other tables started to walk out from their table and out the door. My sister mummured to me that "it must be pla kem". Suddently the owner walked out from the kitchen to our table and said "the kichen hood doesn't work, so that what we smelt in here now". That's to teach us not to do any "pla kem" if there is no hood or well ventilated.

[usual suspect]

Changing the subject slightly...whats the name of the fermented fish thats sour tasting,brownish on outside,moist,often got some dried garlic flakes on skin..only need a small bit,but the taste is great..kinda bitter/sweet..BGs are always getting 1 of these fishes, sold by street vendors,then the girls will sit around & pick at the pink flesh (of the fish). Come-on,whats their name..??

[chopsticks]

Is it Pla Chon ?

[Bamboo Grove]

Pla Som? Fish in vinegar. Used to like that meself, as well.

[margaretcarnes]

When I was in Pattaya the neighbours to the rear used to bury fish outside to ferment it. We were in one of those 3 story shop house premises off Beach Rd - back to back almost with the next Soi - with no back doors. You know the layout!
The stink of the fish only had one way to go - up and into any windows or vents it could find. Humungous. Apparently they would dig it up and eat it after a suitable time - give me durian any day!

On a less smelly note, I remember my cashier at the old Hare and Hounds once spreading big green leaves out on racks to dry in the sun. It took several days to achieve the desired dryness, and she pounded the dry leaves up to make an infusion 'good for stomach'. It just seemed an awful lot of faffing around to achieve what a pack of Rennies might have done