THE AUTHENTIC, INVENTIVE, AND OCCASIONALLY SPICY STYLE OF THAI FARE

By ***April Bartel***
Photography By Turner Photography Studio

Diversity brings many benefits: expansive ideas, complementary strengths, broadened knowledge and so much more. It’s also great on a plate. American burgers and loaded pizzas are awesome, but Frederick’s gifted food scene embraces plenty of world cuisines celebrating our population’s diverse food heritages.

So, what’s for dinner? Today it’s Thai.

Fewer than 400,000 Americans identified themselves as Thai in the 2020 U.S. Census. Nonetheless, Thai food cracks the top three most popular cuisines, based on Google searches, behind Chinese and Mexican food, according to Quality Assurance & Food Safety Magazine. Why the disparate ratio? Some call out “gastro-diplomacy,” noting the Thai government’s promotion of national dishes and food products. Others insist hype fades, but the real, sustained desirability of Thai food delivers on taste. “It’s yummy, healthy and has great variety,” explains Piyanut “Nina” Rowe owner of My Thai on Thomas Johnson Drive.

Rowe acquired My Thai in 2016, 10 years after its establishment. She earned a finance degree in her native Thailand and then came to the United States for graduate school. While studying in Baltimore, she sold food at farmers markets, offering steaming bowls of classic Pad Thai, spring rolls, grilled chicken and savory fried rice. She enjoyed working outside and interacting with customers, watching their delight as they ate. In short order, she decided she loved cooking more than corporate banking.

Now, her place is a family affair. “My mom cooks, too. So, we try to make restaurant guests feel like they are welcomed into our home,” she says.

Recipes come from her personal repertoire. Occasionally, the herbs and veggies are grown in her home garden. “If our family likes something, we might put it on the menu.” Maybe it’s chicken wings or her adaptation of Crispy Chicken Basil.

According to Rowe, flexibility is part of Thai cooking’s beauty. “We understand that everybody has different tastes.” If you can’t eat gluten, opt for vegetarian (Jae). Want to avoid spicy chilies? Just mention it. Every dish is made to order, so it can be customized. “We will try our best for you,” she says.

Even the Peking duck rolls are made on the spot. My Thai layers chewy rice paper wrappers with fresh carrots, cucumber and basil before loading on warm, juicy duck in brown sauce. Choose tofu or shrimp, if you like, and add house-made peanut sauce for dipping. Other favorites are “drunken” noodles, which have no alcohol in them, and pineapple fried rice. The yellow curry is blended with silky coconut milk, potato and carrot, and a choice of protein. The crispy fried fish is served whole, an uncommon presentation here but typical in Thailand. All can be enjoyed alongside My Thai’s hand-pressed passionfruit lemonade or complemented with a dessert of fried bananas over vanilla ice cream with drizzled honey.

My Thai’s location amid many healthcare offices means that customers usually seek nutritious options. The veggie-packed Healthy Bowl soup fits the bill. “Sometimes people order Tom Yum soup when they’re not feeling good because it has so many healthy herbs,” shares Rowe. It’s revitalizing, spiked with a peppy burst of lemongrass, galangal, garlic, chilies and kaffir lime—all classic Thai flavorings.

GOOD FRIENDS

Sumittra Thai Cuisine entices diners to Downtown Frederick. It’s run by Jittisak “Jib” Phakam, managing director of the Sumittra Group. The name’s Sanskrit origin means “good friend.” highlighting the multicultural influences mingled in Southeast Asia. It is also his wife’s name.

Phakam immigrated with his parents and points to his mother, Paijit, as inspiration. Most recipes here are hers, perfected over 30 years as a chef in Bethesda. When the family moved to Frederick, Phakam started his own place with his wife and mother. A great aunt stepped up as an investor and they took over a former bakery near the corner of Market and Patrick streets.

“It is wonderful to see people enjoy my mom’s food.” That includes crispy wontons served with a sweet/sour strawberry sauce or grilled chicken Sa-Tay, Moo Yang, a barbecued pork loin, Black Pepper Beef, or Yum Woon Sen, a warm cellophane noodle salad with shrimp, squid, chicken and vegetables.

Since opening in 2011, the business added numerous restaurants and partners. The associates provide direction and support, creating opportunities and bringing new food concepts to the region, like Lazy Fish sushi upstairs and the nearby Tsunami ramen. In West Virginia, there is a second Sumittra in Charles Town and KOME Thai & Sushi Bistro in Shepherdstown. In September, the group launched a new place in Alexandria, Va., featuring ramen and tapas. Next on the agenda is converting Frederick’s former hookah lounge into a new, upscale pan-Asian eatery. As Phakam insists, “It will definitely have a ‘wow’ factor.”

Sumittra’s success motivated Phakam to bring Thailand’s famous Water Festival, Songkran, to Frederick. “This community is so welcoming and supportive, we want to give something back,” he says. He credits mentor Elizabeth Chung of the Asian American Center of Frederick County and the Downtown Frederick Partnership staff for their collaboration. Intended as a one-time party, the festival is now an annual event.

For Phakam, the event bridges his homeland and adopted hometown. “The most fun for me is seeing people happy.”

Next, he is starting a nonprofit culinary center that will start with teaching the authentic food traditions and techniques of Thailand.

SPICE PALETTE

Thai Meric’s name plays on “turmeric,” another common Thai spice. Partners Pimpisa “Pim” Huynh and her husband, Natapong “Oat” Thongsuk, along with another couple, Kulrus “Oh” and Athip “Aong” Chanthanuraks, opened the Golden Mile eatery in April 2021 at the height of the pandemic. They considered locating in surrounding towns before choosing Frederick for its healthy growth and unique, cozy character.

With a shoestring budget, the partners went DIY. They painted walls, installed floors and built the bar. “We went to Home Depot every day,” says Pim Huynh proudly. “This is our home, our baby.” That’s why the name is so fitting. “We grow from our roots and what’s underneath is what matters most.”

She enjoys interacting with customers. It reminds her of a special bond with her grandmother, built through food. She shares, “She’d ask me at night what I would like for breakfast.” In the morning, her grandmother would be in the kitchen, “doing her magic and the house would smell really good.”

Many of the dishes on their menu are family favorites. Its version of Khao Soi, a hearty soup with egg noodles in rich coconut-curry broth, comes from northern Thailand. “My partner was born in the North,” explains Huynh. “She grew up eating this. It’s her hometown food.” There’s also a beef hot pot with braised beef shank, meatballs, Chinese broccoli and fried garlic served with jasmine rice. The dish originated in China but is enjoyed in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and other cuisines. “In a Thai hot pot, the broth is thicker.”

Thai Meric offers two-course lunch specials. Patrons can get Pad See Eew, Pad Thai or spicy Prik Sod with a choice of protein. Starters are a “taste of happiness,” with sweet and crispy curry puffs, spring rolls or clear veggie soup with roasted garlic. Other entrées range from noodles and curries to stir-fried delights. Honey Ginger Duck is one house specialty, paired with fresh ginger, bell peppers, celery, mushrooms, broccoli and carrots. There’s salmon curry or a premium ribeye in spicy tamarind sauce.

The Thai papaya salad is made to order with optional fermented crab, fish sauce and chilies. There is also a kids’ menu and desserts, like mango sticky rice presented as a sunny mango floret over sweet purple rice. Starters are discounted during happy hour and beer and wine are two-for-one. Some favorite indulgences are the Sabai Dee cocktail with basil and Mekhong whiskey or the tropical Icelander with coconut milk and mango.

FRESH FLAIR

One of Frederick’s newest eateries is Thai Table at Westview Promenade. Owner Akachai Siri likes fresh food and keeps the kitchen focused. He says one thing is sure: “With my background, I love noodle dishes.”

Siri comes from a family of entrepreneurs, including a brother who is a partner in Tsunami Ramen and Lazy Fish. Growing up in Thailand, his family owned several specialty noodle shops. His varied experience includes working in fine dining, as a Montgomery County police officer and as an international importer. Traveling throughout Asia over the past decade opened him to a world of flavors.

Aiming for perfection, Siri’s crew turns out plenty of noodle dishes along with flaky curry puffs and sweet dipping sauce, delicate scallion dumplings, Lao-style pho and Singapore noodles. The Panang Curry is smooth and silky, flavored with peanuts and basil. Each curry starts with a fine paste of chilies and spices, giving dishes a distinctive color: red for fire, green for mild herbaceousness and yellow for warming sweetness. Across the board, the number one dish is Pad Thai.

Siri updates the menu bimonthly, incorporating customer requests. He’s only half joking when he considers making “drunken” spaghetti and flashes a sharp grin, “Maybe we add bacon.” One definite new item for fall is Thai barbecue. Guests can reserve an outside table with their own specialized grill then go to town on thinly sliced meats, cubed tofu and vegetables to dip in plentiful sauces.

He says he loves his location for its free, plentiful parking and local clientele. Diners are catching on, too. “We try to give good portions,” says Siri. “It’s nice to have leftovers for breakfast or lunch tomorrow.”

AUTHENTIC FLAVOR

Kevin Kittiwat Chukkrabutr, founder of Kittiwat Thai Kitchen on Presidents Court and Kittiwat Thai Express on Thomas Johnson Drive, started a restaurant in a roundabout way. He laughs, “I didn’t know how to cook but I knew how to taste.”

He opened the first Kittiwat in 2014. He hired a chef and then learned, on the job, each part of the dining service. “I was pretty bold,” he admits. “Now I can work any position.”

He adds, “I wanted to show what Thai people really eat, not Americanized food.” Kittiwat’s profile is balanced flavors—sweet, salty, sour, spicy and creamy. “At the same time, there are 70 million Thai people now. We all like different things. So, this is the way I eat.”

Chukkrabutr keeps the menu approachable and he doesn’t mind getting creative. “We introduced tacos. That is Mexican heritage, but everybody knows what a taco is.” His version pairs Thai dipping sauce and ground pork. “That’s us being fun and exploring.”

He also added “boat noodles,” a recipe developed during the Ayutthaya Empire that began more than 400 years ago. He uses tenderized beef muscle and tendon in broth that bubbles for hours, adding garnishes like chili, soybeans and bean sprouts. Chukkrabutr’s favorite is Ka Prow Kai Sub, a dish of ground chicken in basil sauce served with rice and topped with a fried egg. “That is my go-to. It’s even more authentic with fish sauce and chilies. I could eat it every day.”

The express location has packaged snacks, too, stocking international flavors of Lay’s chips and other treats.

Thai dishes and fusion fare are working their way on more menus, proving its popularity is more than a flash in the pan. Restaurant owners wouldn’t have it any other way. Chukkrabutr insists that growth and variety here mean healthy industry and open minds. “It shows that people are embracing ethnic foods and cultures, not just Thai. We have sushi and Caribbean food. We have Korean fried chicken and bubble tea, which is booming. I’m happy about the variety of foods being brought into Frederick.”

Southeast Asian Sizzle