TV host Charongsak shares his discoveries and the importance of food in the cultures of villagers living in forest communities
- Published: 25/03/2010 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: Outlook
After watching celebrities and superstars act as food gurus in luxurious restaurants on television for years, like most viewers, Charongsak Rongdet doubts if these people are psychics who can tell what the food tastes like just by looking at it.
Host/producer Charongsak Rongdet rediscovers ‘e-poom’ or tadpole in a river in Pa-pae village in Tha Wang Pha, Nan. PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHARONGSAK RONGDET
''How can they tell if they haven't even lifted the spoon from the dish yet,'' Charongsak points out.
The 29-year-old TV host and producer recently spoke about lifestyles and jobs related to food as a prelude to Pak-Tong Lae Khong-kin (Mouth, Stomach and Food), a three-day seminar about cuisine, cooking and eating culture that begins today at the Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre.
His observations not only drew laughter from the audience, but they also described a common scene found in many typical food shows that feature pretty faces, haute couture dishes and chic venue decorations.
Most of the suggested ingredients or recommended restaurants are high-end or are available only in the city. ''How could a villager afford lobster that costs 3,000 baht a kilo
[gramme]?'' he says.
Food culture, design and creativity are not only limited to pretentious, decorative venues in the big city, but everywhere else as well.
For five months, Charongsak has been turning things around in Pattakarn Baan Thung (Indigenous Restaurant), to talk about something beyond what's being consumed. He explores the world of indigenous produce and discovers how they are so important to a village; as well as local dishes, made and eaten around the country.
‘E-poom’ or tadpole, an indigenous ingredient, is usually found only in clean water sources.
Divided into two parts, Charongsak first travels into a community, near and far, to rediscover the indigenous ingredients to be used, either locally grown vegetables or domesticated animals. Then the rediscovered ingredients become a part of the dishes presented in the show: one in the traditional way by the villagers; and the other adapted and presented in a contemporary way _ as often seen in luxurious restaurants _ by the TV crew.
Hidden behind the colourful dishes and contemporary presentations, as well as unprepared script, is the food for thought for both outsiders and insiders. In one series, he replaces tomatoes in a Northern dish called namprik ong with locally grown strawberries, and adds foreign ingredients into local dishes such as larb kob (minced frog in Northern-style spicy salad). The presentation allows outsiders to see the local ways and norms of the villagers; and the insiders can learn to preserve nature as well as their community and to connect with the contemporary world.
''I'm not just telling the audience how an indigenous dish tastes, I also feature the way of life, culture and wisdom of the people behind the dish,'' says Charongsak. He's always surprised by what he learns when out on location.
The rediscovered ingredients are turned into traditional and adapted meals by the villagers and TV crew. But all are presented in a contemporary style.
For example, he discovered that certain villagers have learned from their experiences how to lure a kapom or tree lizard with just a whistle to get a nod _ literally _ before catching it with a piece of rope with a noose. And from experience they know that the lizard would automatically nod when it hears a whistle.
In a recent series the audience follows Charongsak into a community forest that is looked after by the community committee in Phaisali, Nakhon Sawan to rediscover pak e-noon or Adenia heterophylla (Blume) Koord, which is not only a source of nutrition but also a main source of earning money.
After paying the entrance fee _ which later goes to forest preservation _ anyone without equipment such as a knife or matches can enjoy all-you-can-pick pak e-noon to cook at home or sell the freshly picked produce to middlemen waiting at the exit. No equipment is allowed to enter the forest for fear the whole trunk of the fragile pak e-noon plants would be cut.
''The villagers would raise their eyebrows to the idea of environmental preservation,'' explains Charongsak. ''But they immediately understand when you say to them that they will have enough pak e-noon to eat for a very long time if they take good care of the community forest.''
Following a local into the forest, Charongsak scoops his hand into the villager's worn out sack only to find rather unusual objects such as a mirror and a hairbrush. The villager who works solo explains that the mirror is used when dust gets in his eyes and the brush is to comb the ants out when they fall into his hair. The young host also learns from the same villager that he's never lost his shoes wherever he leaves them unattended: He's wearing one blue sandal on his left foot and a green one on the right.
Charongsak helps the villagers to find e-poom for their evening meal.
''It sounds trivial but these little things show how people who don't have many choices in life never give up on their fate,'' says Charongsak.
While the urbanites have to cope with time limitations, the villagers must deal with budgets. Urbanites are offered a variety of foods from different cultures and regions, depending on the budget. ''But they tend to forget about more local vegetables that were once consumed during their parents time,'' says Charongsak. With budget limitations, the villagers enjoy picking up produce for free in their supermarket built by nature _ the forest.
Villagers in Phaisali and nearby communities earn as much as 400,000 baht a year from selling produce between the season from December to March. ''Without asking for a loan, a villager can easily write-off a 10,000-baht debt only if he or she is diligent enough to pick up pak e-noon every day,'' explains Charongsak. ''Anyone can make money from it.''
Not only drawing local knowledge from the villagers for the rest of the world to learn, Charongsak brings new ideas to the villagers while cooking with them for the second part of the show as well. Instead of following the local way of eating strawberries with sugar and salt, a guest chef from Chiang Mai prepares strawberry sauce on roasted pork for the villagers to enjoy while the TV crew uses strawberries to substitute madan (garcinia) for the sour flavour found in tom som pla-tu (fish in sweet and sour clear soup).
Such an adaptation, says Charongsak, makes the villagers realise the changes outside their village. And despite their brilliant old ways of doing things, there's always something that could be done in a different way; strong efforts and trials result in new inventions.
''What if our papaya becomes hamburger filling one day?'' says Charongsak, dreaming of the local produce becoming an ingredient for the world.
''The first people to gain the advantages of such a phenomenon would be the local villagers who grow the papaya.''
Relate Search: Charongsak Rongdet, Pak-Tong Lae Khong-kin, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre
About the author
- Writer: Sirinya Wattanasukchai
- Position: Reporter
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