Word on the street food

To quote Alice’s Restaurant Cookbook, a sacred text for 60s hippies, «Don’t be intimidated by foreign cookery — tomatoes and oregano make it Italian, wine and tarragon make it French.» And what makes Vietnamese Vietnamese is nuoc mam, a fish extract that’s left to rot in clay vats. Get used to the idea: 2006 is going to be the year we all discover Vietnamese food.

Harden’s restaurant guide wrote that in 2005 eight of London’s 40 most talked-about restaurants were Asian. That fascination will only increase, not least because Malaysian and Vietnamese food is that bit lower in fat, and lifted by aromatics such as coriander, mint and dill. Japanese street food will also become more popular — after yakitori, get ready for kushikatsu (deep-fried asparagus and lotus root on skewers), curry pan (spicy sweet rolls) and omusubi (fist-sized rice balls, the Japanese equivalent of pre-packed sandwiches).

Cheese will be big in 2006, too. More and more restaurants will install cheese rooms, where they can lock the stuff away from those who don’t like the smell. I wasn’t prepared the first time I went into one, so be warned: natural fibres carry the smell for weeks, as my wool suit kept reminding me.

Increasingly, menus will be designed for sharing, tapas-style — it worked for sushi and dim sum, after all. «People just want to have the freedom to eat as little or as much as they want,» says Marcus Wareing, head chef at Pétrus. «They don’t want to be dictated to by restaurants.» The problem with having so many courses, however, is that you’ll probably be on first-name terms with your waiter before you leave.

Within the first few months of 2006, London will see the opening of upscale Brazilian and Mexican restaurants. Ian Pengelley, head chef at Pengelley’s, says it’s a trend that began in New York: «But South American music, lifestyle and alcoholic drinks are now gaining more and more popularity in London, and I’m sure the food will follow.»

But 2005 was the year we celebrated our Britishness. Roast, a new restaurant in Borough Market, south London, found there was money in patriotic food, following in the footsteps of the likes of St John just over the river in Clerkenwell and Heathcotes in Lancashire. According to Iqbal Wahhab, Roast’s founder, it’s «part of a movement that also brought us Britart and things like Tate Modern». Roast’s menu is a celebration of Britain’s cooking culture, but that means more than oxtail soup and jellied eels. The back of the menu is devoted to the suppliers. «Foodies nowadays all want to know where food comes from,» says Wahhab. «Part of it is driven by negative forces such as the BSE scare or bird flu, but increasingly it is driven by an honest celebration of British produce.»

And what will chefs do in 2006? Not a lot, according to the Michelin-starred Tom Aikens. «I think very, very simple food will be the next thing,» he says. He believes the fashion for simple roasts, grilled meats and fish will continue into 2006. «As you see people wanting a more and more healthy lifestyle, this will follow into the food as well.»

Organics will reach the high street in a major way, as the American natural food company Whole Foods Market turns Barkers of Kensington into an organic and healthfood supermarket. It will also be labelling its own-brand products to indicate GM ingredients, which will become a big issue, because we’re being given GM through the back door: many of our dairy and beef cows are given GM feed, and a lot of our cheese contains GM rennet. No one seems to have learned from BSE — yet another reason organic will continue its inexorable rise.

The trends aren’t all positive, however. Richard Corrigan sees a recession on the horizon, and reckons 2006 will be all about value. Giorgio Locatelli, meanwhile, has no time for forecasts. «The idea of up-and-coming food sounds a bit ridiculous,» he says. «Food is a basic necessity, not a shirt. You can’t try to fit food into a trend.» That’s as may be, but I still predict that in 2006 he’ll discover nuoc mam.

It’s not every day you find yourself walking next to someone
on the street, who’s eating from a ridiculously large tub of rice pudding.
Well, that’s exactly what happened to me the other day, and it served as a
reminder for what a great, and comforting dessert rice pudding really is. 

For whatever reason, it’s usually not near the top when
people list their favorite desserts, but despite that, it’s a proven
crowd-pleaser, and quite easy to make, especially using this simplified,
one-pot method.

Most recipes have you make the pudding in a clean pot,
since, I’m assuming, they’re afraid the starch at the bottom of the pan used to
cook the rice will burn. And, it probably would, unless you deglaze the bottom
with cold milk before turning the heat back on. Not only will this simple step prevent the pudding from
scorching, but also I think we get a little bit of extra toasted rice flavor. I
also prefer an egg yolk to a whole egg, but regardless, be sure to whisk it in
fast and furious, or they might scramble.

If you’re scared, you can temper the egg by mixing in a few
spoons of the hot rice mixture, before blending in, but as I’ve said before, there’s
nothing wrong with a little adrenalin-inducing danger in the kitchen. So, no
matter what you garnish it with, or whether you eat it inside, or crossing
Dolores Street, I really hope you give this a try soon.  Enjoy!  

Makes 4 Portions Rice Puddings:

1/2 cup uncooked white long-grain rice

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup water

1/4 cup white sugar

1 1/3 cups milk

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg yolk

1 tablespoon cold butter

2 tablespoons dried cherries, chopped

Bangkok pedestrians disgruntled about limited space on pavements occupied by street food vendors and tired of stepping around piles of garbage might change their attitude if they meet vendors on crowded Yaowarat Road.

Wuttipong Kasemongpanit, who is among dozens of vendors in Yaowarat, admitted negative images led to a ban on vendors in many areas, but he still believes street food is a major attraction worth keeping.

«Remove the untidy element and we’ll see the real charm,» he said. And the listed elements that make up the unique Thai atmosphere of street food would be delicious tastes, quick service, and hygienic conditions in areas restricted to give more space to pedestrians.

In Mr Wuttipong’s view, the redefinition of the business which has been long blamed for causing footpath chaos, represents a similar attitude of most sellers on Yaowarat Road who have begun to develop what officials call the «ethics» of selling.

After the ban on street food citywide, there are two spots — Yaowarat and Khao San — that stand out as street food tourist attractions.

The BMA has enforced laws to limit selling space and ordered vendors to clean up the mess left by both sellers and buyers. The BMA has introduced a new approach to help keep vendors in line. This includes having them attend a one-day training session; this will help secure their tenure to sell their goods on Yaowarat Road for a set period. The training which aims to raise street food standards focuses on laws, hygiene and waste management. Two groups, of about 100 participants each, attended the training, organised by the Samphanthawong district office, in March and May. With the awarded certificate and trader ID tag, a participant will be allowed to ply their trade in Yaowarat for three years.

The next training session, later this month, will be increased to two days, with additional classes in English speaking, according to the district office.

It is this type of training that has awakened Yaowarat vendors to the ethics, or what they should and should not do, mostly concerning hygiene standards.

«They’ve got to have these ethics because they present an image of this country,» said Somchai Leiwchawalit, a former district chief who is in a team of trainers introducing the trainees to city laws, ways to deal with waste, and even how to choose uncontaminated raw ingredients for cooking.

Yaowarat Road sits in a Chinese community that boasts famous street eateries that attract hungry stomachs at night. It, together with the tourist hub of Khao San Road, is a place where vendors are allowed by City Hall to ply their their trade but only if they strictly follow the law.

City officials intend to level up the quality of the businesses in these two places after CNN, earlier in March, voted Bangkok the world’s No.1 city for street food. Yaowarat has been chosen as a pilot area for the plan, which is aimed to instill ethics into street vendors. Their latest effort appears to be bearing fruit as Mr Wuttipong gave his view on the businesses.

Mr Wuttipong, 36, has run a dessert shop named «Sweettime» for more than 20 years, selling bua loi nam khing (Black Sesame Dumplings in Ginger Tea) and tao tune (assorted beans in syrup), which are popular among people who want to warm their stomach before going to sleep.

Like his peers, he sees problems that put them in conflict with some pedestrians and city officials. For some sellers, he said all they care about is the sale. They leave the waste for city garbage collectors to remove, pour waste water into sewers and occupy public space with tables and chairs without caring that this will force pedestrians to walk on roads, subsequently leading to traffic snarls.

«So there should be no surprise at a ban on street food trading. The vendors have themselves to blame,» Mr Wuttipong said.

He agreed with the city’s efforts to change this image and, in his view, the training is a good start. He believes the programme will increase street food standards and maintain its world-renowned reputation.

One piece of evidence indicating improved standards is certification granted by the BMA. Trainees who complete all requirements in the training will be given a signboard certifying their food is safe to eat.

It is not easy training. Participants are required to go through a four-hour theory session and a one-hour practical. An exit test, in which they must make at least 70% of total scores, will determine whether they will have to do the test again, according to Pornsuda Phanukarn, an official of the Health Department’s sanitation division.

After the training, Mr Wutthipong, who has been awarded certification to run his business in the area, said many vendors who pass the training cooperate more with officials in complying with the laws, believing it largely resulted from the awareness, or ethics, they have built up.

This training is not the first he’s attended. The dessert seller experienced similar training held earlier by Samphanthawong district officials. But this latest course, he said, appeared to have stricter requirements as officials keep a watch on whether participants comply with laws and put the standards they learn into practice.

Punishments for law breakers range from warnings and fines to suspending and terminating their trading rights, he said.

«I fully cooperate,» he said, adding he thinks one way of reducing selling space is to use more disposable containers to encourage buyers to «eat while walking» rather than sitting at his stall.