The northern forests and their foraged greens

The northern valleys and the forested ridges that enclose them form the setting for a cooking in which leaves, shoots and roots gathered from woodland, field edge and stream bank sit beside rice as ordinary table food. Andy Ricker, in Pok Pok, writes of the north as a region whose food differs from that of the central plain, and he returns often to the bitter, herbal and smoky character of its dishes and to the part that foraged ingredients play in it.

The northern table is built on glutinous rice eaten with the hand, and around it stands a group of dishes that depend on what the season and the land supply. Ricker describes northern cooking as less sweet and less reliant on coconut milk than the cooking of the centre, with its character coming from chillies roasted or dried, from fermented soybean preparations, from pork, and from a wide range of leaves and shoots that are boiled, grilled or pounded into relishes. The relishes known as nam prik, such as nam prik num, a pounded dip of grilled long green chillies, shallot and garlic, and nam prik ong, a tomato and minced pork relish, are eaten with raw, blanched or steamed vegetables and herbs, and it is these accompaniments that carry the foraged element of the meal. The gathered plants are valued as much for their bitterness and astringency as for their freshness. Bitter leaves, young shoots, the tender tips of climbing plants and the flowers of certain trees are taken to the table in small quantity, to cut the richness of pork fat and the heat of the relish. Ricker's treatment of northern dishes, among them gaeng hung lay, a pork curry of Burmese lineage made without coconut milk, and the sour, herbal soups and curries of the hills, shows a cooking that seasons with tamarind, ginger, dried spices and fermented products where the south and centre would turn to coconut and sugar. The forest is also a seasonal calendar. Shoots appear with the rains, certain leaves are at their best in the cool months, and what is not eaten fresh is dried or fermented to carry through the year. Bamboo shoots, for example, are eaten fresh, boiled or pickled, and enter curries and soups in several forms. The cook in the north works from what is at hand, and the repertoire follows the hills and fields rather than a fixed list of ingredients. For the cook outside Thailand, the lesson Ricker draws is one of balance and restraint. Where the same plants cannot be found, the principle may be kept by choosing leaves and herbs that bring bitterness, sourness or aroma to a rich dish, and by serving them raw or lightly cooked beside a relish, in the manner of the northern table.

The flavour of the northern forest is bitter, sour, smoky and aromatic rather than sweet, with the roasted chilli and fermented soybean of the relishes set against leaves that cleanse the palate. Ricker's northern dishes are seasoned with tamarind, dried spice and ginger, and the greens beside them supply a green, astringent note that makes the fatty pork and the sticky rice taste lighter.