Asia House, El Segundo
Sometimes I think it’s unfortunate that there were so many tests in grade school that required students to name countries and their capitals. It’s useful to know these things, of course, but it leads people to think that capitals are all that are important, both politically and culturally. Often, they’re not. As an example, Sacramento and Washington DC both have much in terms of museums, statues, and grand buildings, but when it comes to creative theater or dining; I prefer LA, San Francisco, or New York.
Thailand’s capital is a cultural center, but it isn’t the whole story; people who live in the far north and south speak different dialects and eat distinctively different foods. Until recently, the powerful curries favored by southern Thais and the spicy, sour dishes of the northeast were both difficult to find in LA. The most comprehensive selection I’ve found in the South Bay is at Asia House in El Segundo.
The northeast region known as Issan is the driest, hottest place in Thailand, and the food there has strong influences from neighboring Laos and Cambodia. This includes the use of pungent, sour flavors, liberal doses of chilies, and the habit of serving sticky rice as an accompaniment to other foods. On a recent visit we tried some items from the Issan section of the menu, ordering grilled sausages, papaya salad, and what is sometimes referred to as Thai beef jerky. From the Bangkok-style menu, we also chose catfish with chili sauce, hot and sour seafood soup, crab fried rice, and an unusual dish called “A-Roy-D.” (We had six hungry people, so this isn’t over-ordering as much as it might seem.)
The soup arrived first – a hot but not overpowering broth that blended citrus, chilies, ginger, and lemongrass into an intensely fragrant experience. Thai hot and sour soup is very different from the popular Chinese hot and sour – though both use garlic, vinegar, and chilies in chicken stock, Thais use lime juice and Southeast Asian spices like kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, and exuberant amounts of coriander to make a strongly herbal and refreshing dish. Asia House’s version is medium spicy as ordered – you can ask them to jazz it up or tone it down, but it suited my palate just fine as it came.
The grilled Issan sausages came next, and the table was split over their merits. Issan sausages have an unusual sour flavor thanks to the blending of lime juice and fish sauce into the pork, pepper, garlic, and rice that make the sausage stuffing. I find them enjoyable and interesting, but the combination of flavors was a bit too strange for some palates.
The papaya salad also used spicy and sour flavors, but it was a hit with everyone. The contrast between the mildly sweet fruit and the spicy, peppery and tart lime dressing was exquisite. The papaya was paired with tomato, lettuce, and a carrot garnish to create a flavor profile unlike anything in European cuisine, powerful and contrasting flavors in perfect balance. If you like Thai food and want to go beyond Bangkok flavors, this is a great place to start.
This is not to say anything against Bangkok flavors, since the items that came next showcased that seafood–rich cuisine. The catfish with chili sauce was battered and fried, then topped with a red curry sauce that had plenty of spice but didn’t overwhelm the fish. If that sauce did overload your taste buds, you could turn to the crab fried rice, which had plenty of shellfish and fresh vegetable flavor and only a hint of pepper, or the A-Roy-D. I had never seen the latter dish on any other Thai menu and couldn’t find it in a Thai cookbook, so I called a Thai speaker and asked him where it came from and what was in it. My friend laughed – A-Roy-D means “This is tasty” in Thai, and is apparently a word for the chef’s special. In this case it’s a dish of pork and egg in a mild brown sauce over rice, and it is indeed a tasty respite from the more piquant dishes.
The most interesting spicy dish that we tried was the final Issan dish, the so-called Thai Beef Jerky. This is beef that has been marinated and dry-sautéed to concentrate the flavor, then deep-fried, and it has some of the pleasant chewiness of good homemade jerky, but much more flavor. If you’ve ever enjoyed jerky but haven’t tried this, you have a treat in store.
As usual we had so many savory items that we don’t have room for dessert, which isn’t a Thai tradition anyway. I can have desserts anywhere, but Northern Thai cuisine is enough of a rarity that I savor it whenever I can. A few other places have started serving it, like Siam I Am in Redondo, but for now the largest selection is at Asia House, and they do it very well.
Asia House is at 150 South Sepulveda in El Segundo, just north of the golf course. Open daily except Sunday for lunch and dinner. Wine and beer served, wheelchair access good, parking lot. Phone 310-640-9772.