Birdsall John - Hawker Fare: stories & recipes from a refugee chefs Thai Isan & Lao roots

CONTENTS

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HAWKER FARE. Copyright 2018 by James Syhabout. Foreword 2018 by Roy Choi. Preface 2018 by Anthony Bourdain. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

FIRST EDITION

Photography by Eric Wolfinger

Digital Edition January 2018 ISBN: 978-0-06-265610-0

Print ISBN: 978-0-06-265609-4

TO MY MOTHER,

FOR HER LOVE AND STRENGTH

IN RAISING ME WELL,

AND FOR GIVING IT HER ALL.

TO STACY, MY LOVING WIFE,

FOR HER UNCONDITIONAL

SUPPORT ON THIS ONGOING

JOURNEY TO FIND MYSELF.

TO EMMA AND MAGNUS,

MY TWO LOVELY CHILDREN,

WHO I HOPE WILL READ AND COOK

FROM THIS BOOK SOMEDAY.

EMBRACE IT, CHERISH IT,

CELEBRATE ITLET IT BE YOURS.

LOVE YOU ALWAYS.

I started writing this just after midnight on that crease between the old and the new year, that time between twelve and six a.m. when its not really one thing or another, not last year or fully the new one. Its a special time, a moment when its everything and not what you think it is, all together at the same time. Fertile.

James reminds me of that time between the old and the new.

It was a dark and chilly night in New York City in 2010 when I first met James. We were both attending a dinner held by Dana Cowin and Kate Krader for Food & Wines Best New Chefs at Scott Conants restaurant in Manhattan, right across from the Village Voice building.

It was an awkward time for me, coming straight from the streets, serving tacos, driving far away as I could from my past life as a chef, only to find myself right back in the middle of that world, closer to the sun than I had ever been. Because of that awkwardness, I was searching for someone who looked just as out of place as me, and it was James.

Maybe it was because he was Asian, maybe it was just a vibe, but I was like, This dude right here imma be friends with.

But this is where the complexity of James started to unfold for me. Of all of us, he actually was more in place than out. As a chef hed done the trifecta of The Fat Duck, El Bulli, and Mugaritz, like a climber tackling the three major mountain peaks of the world. But when I said Whattup, he was like a homie I had known my whole life.

We spent the weekend together cooking at huge events, being the center of attention, taking pictures, feeling weird as shit, and cracking jokes the whole time, like we were kicking it on our bikes in a park.

I got to know him over the next couple years and every time I thought I got closer to knowing James, I found out so much more than I thought I knew.

To me he was a Thai kid who grew up in the 510 who was extremely meticulous, and stoic. But then I find out hes a Lao, a keen businessman who cooks really soulful food, and funny as heck.

Hes also the dude that whenever you call him, hes always available. Multiple restaurants, Michelin stars, family man, always changing menus, yet always has time to pick you up in his pickup and just hang.

Thats James.

I write this personal anecdote of my relationship with him because, as you read his book, I only hope you can become friends with him as I have. I hope you find a surprise and a smile and a revelation at every turn of a page, as I have in him as a person.

Because, like the crease between the old and the new year, James is a suspension bridge between form and flow, meticulous and laid back, Thailand and Laos, chef and friend, awkwardness and confidence, technique and soul. Hes not one thing or another, and hes probably going to be someone completely different than you thought after you read this book.

Hes a man of surprises.

And, like not writing the Commis cookbook first but going to find the food of his heritage, the title of this book should be: Surprise!

Ha.

Roy Choi

The Mekong is my favorite river on earth.

For most of its 2,700 miles, its impossible to stand on its banks and not know that youre in Southeast Asia. Something I enjoy knowing very much indeed.

But up until about ten years ago, I had a shameful blank spot on my own map of the Mekong communities. And as someone who travels for a living, a blank spot was more than shameful; it was downright unprofessional.

So I went to Laos.

What I saw there was unsurpassingly beautifuland strikingly painful. I wont and cant do justice here in this short preface to the history of America and Laos, but suffice it to say for now that theres a reason youll see so many rusted bomb shells being put to creative use in the streets of the Laotian capital, Vientiane.

That is, if you ever go to Laos. Despite its recent reputation as an exotic destination well off the beaten path, few Americans will ever go. Few will ever even think about the place.

Which is why Hawker Fare is one of the most important restaurants Ive ever had the pleasure of visiting. And, thanks to James Syhabout, it also serves some of the most delicious papaya salad and fried chicken Ive ever had.

With Hawker Fare, Syhabout has done more than any other person in the world to get the word out about this unfairly, unnecessarily secret country and cuisine, and hes done so with the most perfect invitation ever invented by mankind: spicy, fishy, MSG-y bowls of goodness. And BBQ.

This book will make you a better person. Thats before you even try any of the recipes.

Anthony Bourdain