Chillis flourished after Portuguese traders introduced them to the Thais in the 16th century; as did much foreign produce, such as eggplant, tomatoes and corn.

Our house in Phuket was not exactly luxurious, although this rich man’s playground certainly offers fancier options. My friend and I did it low budget, cold shower style, especially since we were staying for a month. Yet we did have a kitchen (though kitted out in a Thai favourite: plastic) and that was the most important thing after all. We were there to indulge in Thai cooking. The owner of the house gave us directions to the local market, where we could find all the fresh ingredients we could possibly need, every Monday and Thursday. In the meantime we had to make do with the local restaurants.

Designed for tourists, the main street had one local spot, called Thai Kitchen. Apart from street food, that was the only place where we could avoid watered down tourist versions of Thai meals. Big pots of green, red and yellow curries, as well as some colourful stir-fries infused the air with nose-clearing scents.

Since the Thai cooking courses in Phuket were quite pricey, we were planning to sample dishes at the Thai Kitchen regularly and simply improvise. Chicken curry with bamboo shoots. Snail curry. Stir fried tofu. The most interesting thing we learned was that Thais traditionally eat lots of raw vegetables and fragrant leaves with their meals. Huge platters of raw string beans, aubergines, basil and cashew nut leaves were served as a side dish with any order. Munching on these fresh bites in between spoonfuls of curry really helped to cool down the spicy flavours and made us feel really healthy.

We decided that making friends with the Thai Kitchen ladies could only help us on our Thai cooking quest. In broken English, they told us that theirs was one of the few places that still served these raw vegetable platters as a courtesy to customers.

Their Thai Kitchen has been in the same family, using the same recipes, for sixteen years. Between the four of them, they prepared 20 different dishes from scratch between 9am and 10.30am every morning. Not that they were slaving away; the average Thai dish takes a mere 12 minutes to prepare, fun and games included.

They were enthusiastic about their restaurant and thrilled that we were interested. The owner, Jeed, even welcomed us into the kitchen so we could watch and learn. Surely that was a more authentic Thai cooking lesson than any of the expensive hotels could offer.

Catfish, crabs and the greenest greens

We made a mental shopping list for the market... curry paste, coconut milk and lots of crisp veggies. Armed with a bottle of purified water we took on the afternoon heat. Still, we were not prepared for what we found. Nothing that fresh had ever been seen in a South African supermarket (especially not during the blackouts).

Rows upon rows of the greenest greens. Live catfish and crabs. Sausages that look like beaded necklaces. My friend really enjoyed the fried chicken stall, where they managed to get the chicken really crisp, yet juicy. I got hooked on bags of sweetcorn mixed with grated coconut. My jaw dropped when we happened upon a corner where a young boy and his mother squeezed fresh coconut milk, one of Thailand’s most important exports. I watched, enchanted, until the drops of white liquid appeared. "We need some of that..." my friend said, shattering my daze.

I turned into the flower stall, delighted to find delicate pink and purple orchids at around R3 a bunch. The rest of the market was a colourful splash of cerise pink dragon fruit and slithery snake fruit and lots of different kinds of super fresh green leaves and green limes and red chillies and squirting cockles and cockroaches.

Actually they were beetles, used to flavour most Thai sauces, but they sure looked like cockroaches. Then, of course, there was the shoe stall. Unlike Italian shoes, these were R35 a pair and certainly not designer quality. Nevertheless, they were dainty and pretty and so terribly tiny. As a size 5, I never thought I had big feet until I started looking at shoes in Phuket.

Ready-made food such as salads, fried noodles and interesting snacks, were everywhere. I turned up my nose at the live shrimp salad. It seemed a tad barbaric to me. Instead, I found this guy who used a poffetjiepan to make rice pastries filled with coconut, condensed milk and corn.

Freshly squeezed sugarcane juice was just what we needed after all the shopping in the tropical heat. I wondered why I have never seen this delightful drink on offer in Natal. Laden with plastic bags full of fresh seafood and other treats we took on the long walk home, anticipating our many Thai cooking adventures.

As a part of their sense of fun, Thais have a passion for food. Their joy of life’s sensual pleasures seems to fit right in to the Italian philosophy. Add the exquisite beaches, clear seas and sugarsand islands all around and Phuket becomes sweeter than the sweet life. Especially when you can round off your own home made green curry with a real Italian cappuccino just down the road.

For more info...
• Finding suitable budget accommodation requires patience and a lot of looking around. Our house on Fantasy Hill in Karon was clean and simple (R2000 a month during high season).
• For something a little more indulgent, contact Claire Mossop at www.pipsphuket.com.
• Visit the Tourism Authority of Thailand to find out more.

AFP