Category Archives: Food

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Thaithentic Now

Delicious Dishes from Chef Chuck Valla

Chef Chuck Valla
Chef Chuck Valla

Over the weekend, I got the chance to chow down at our second Supper Club event featuring Chef Chuck Valla. The venue at 201 Allen Street with its large open commercial kitchen and intimate dining room is a perfect spot for our hungry diners to interact with the chef and taste his delicious creations.

Rice Sausage
1st Course – Rice Sausage – Grilled Thai style sausage filled with Jasmine rice, minced pork, garlic, and Thai pepper.

For the first course Chef Chuck Valla prepared his signature homemade Rice Sausage. Super rich in flavor, yet light, with a sweeter taste than Kielbasa, you can see the bits of rice embedded inside the casing. It was a delicious appetizer.

 Khao Tung Goong
2nd Course – Khao Tung Goong – Crispy white rice, grilled shrimp with lemongrass Thai herbs infused coconut milk.
Nam Prik Pla Too
3rd Course – Nam Prik Pla Too – Grilled sticky rice, Thai mackerel, roasted long hot chili, garlic, and onion.
Pak Mor Kang Keaw
4th Course – Pak Mor Kang Keaw – Braised beef cooked in fresh rice paper, homemade green curry sauce, fried quail egg.

A huge highlight was the Pak Mor Kang Keaw served as the fourth course. Beautiful and delicate in its presentation, the rice paper filled with braised beef looks as delicious as it tastes. The rice paper was delicate but with a spoonful of homemade green curry sauce and perfectly cooked quail egg placed on top the dish had a wholesome feel to it. It was a crowd favorite with a few diners requesting seconds!

Khao Ob Talay
5th Course – Khao Ob Talay – Baked rice in Tom Yum broth, mixed seafood, Thai herbs.

The Khao Ob Talay was very filling as I quickly scooped up as much Tom Yum mixture into the rice as I could with the New Zealand mussel. The rice was also presented at the perfect temperature. It was moist but had a harden edge for a scrumptious bite.

6th Course - Rice Pudding - Purple rice pudding with Lychee, warm coconut milk infused Pandan leaf.
6th Course – Rice Pudding – Purple rice pudding with Lychee, warm coconut milk
infused Pandan leaf.

The tasting menu was finished off with a purple lychee rice pudding for dessert and the sweetness hit all the right spots. Chef Chuck’s friendly presence and warm welcome only added to atmosphere. With my taste buds hitting all the right notes, I can’t wait for our next Supper Club!

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Thaithentic Now

Interview with Chef Chuck Valla

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Chef Chuck Valla

Meet our next Thaithentic Supper Club chef, Chef Chuck Valla. This special event aims to provide an experience celebrating both the taste of authentic Thai food and the knowledge behind real Thai ingredients. Chef has picked rice as the main ingredient for his menu and he is planning on cooking it six ways to demonstrate its versatility. He has picked two staples, Thai jasmine rice and sticky rice for the occasion.

Why did you pick rice?

I’m very excited about representing rice because in Thailand we eat it from breakfast to dinner. Most people think that rice is just a side dish, but to me it is the star.

What is the biggest mistake restaurants make when cooking Thai food?

The biggest mistake that Thai restaurants make is that they try to please non-Thais and try to make people love Thai food by serving something they are familiar with. For example, they make pad thai sweet, but in Thailand we don’t eat it sweet.

What are the mistakes that home cooks make when cooking Thai food?

People cooking at home usually make the mistake of using what they have in their pantry. It isn’t a mistake to be creative with what you have, but the ingredients are very important to making an authentic Thai dish.

How important is rice in Thai cuisine?

It is the most important ingredient in Thai food. We don’t eat curry without rice, but people do it here. You won’t have the right taste of the curry if you don’t have the rice too. Rice is the balance. Rice is the most important part of your meal. It’s not a meal without rice.

What are some struggles in cooking Thai food in America?

The different cookware I have to use can be difficult. I am a personal chef and there are so many times when I have to use a weird cookware. One time I made curry in a baking tray, but I see this as a good challenge for me.

Is finding ingredients for a Thai meal difficult in America?

I am lucky because I live in New York City and we have almost everything here. There are some ingredients like Thai chili that I have to substitute with Chinese or Mexican chilies, which does make a difference in the dish.

What makes Thai Rice so special?

Jasmine rice is not broken rice, it has a long grain and has its own aroma—even when it’s raw you can smell it. It doesn’t smell exactly like jasmine but it definitely has a floral note.

Grilled Thai style sausage filled with Jasmine rice, minced pork, garlic, and Thai pepper Grilled Thai style sausage filled with Jasmine rice, minced pork, garlic, and Thai pepper

Chef Chuck is putting a spin on classics like khao tung (deep fried rice snacks) and serving it with grilled shrimp and a dressing of yellow bean, lemongrass and coconut milk.

Other dishes to look forward to include what chef calls a “Thai Jambalaya.” Using similar ingredients as what goes into making tom yum soup, chef will slowly cook jasmine rice, letting it absorb all the flavors.

The main goal for chef is for people to eat the food that Thai people eat, while also looking at Thai food in a different way. “Everything that I am cooking is authentic. This is Thai food by a Thai chef presented in a unique way.” He said.

Chef Chuck Valla crafting the menu for Supper Club
Chef Chuck Valla crafting the menu for Supper Club

 

Cat Lau
By Cat L.

Cat Lau is a food writer and author of blog Fat Cat Eats. She was born and raised in Bangkok and studied Journalism and Anthropology at Boston University. She will be attending cooking school in Paris next year.

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Thaithentic Now

Welcome to Thaithentic

Our parents are Thai chefs and cooks. Growing up, they made sure that we understood and appreciated basic Thai cooking to elevated “Royal” cuisine, and everything in between. We ate our Grandmother’s Thai food, our parent’s interpretation, and tasted street vendor’s version. We have explored New York City’s myriad Thai restaurants; we’ve tasted the food, listened to the stories and hope to help communicate Thailand’s cultural impressions and influences in the clearest way possible.

Finding Thai food in NYC is easy. Learning the names of dishes and ingredients is not. At Thaithentic, our goal is for you to become an informed Thai eater. We work with Thai restaurants to understand the regional differences in their cooking so that we can be your guides, and post interesting, easily digestible articles and videos with the hopes that you try something new. The best way to understand Thai cuisine is to taste it so we strive to work with innovative, expert Thai chefs who showcase real Thai cooking and flavors.

So if you love Thai food and Thai people come and join our culinary adventure through the tasty, sometimes sweet, sometimes sour, salty, spicy Thai food scene. And along the way, learn about our beautiful culture.

Manus Chaorinuea
By Manus C.

Manus Chaorinuea is the founder of Thaithentic. He is an entrepreneur and food connoisseur. As a son of a Thai chef, he spends his time traveling, eating, and learning about different cultures. Being born and raised in New York City, he is an avid NY Rangers fan and plays goalie for an ice hockey team named Sriracha.

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Thaithentic Now

Pop-Up Dining Series @ Starrett-Lehigh

Thaithentic launched a Pop-Up Dining Series at the Starrett-Lehigh Building this past Thursday April 9th to provide tenants and guests with a much needed dinner option. For the next three months, we’ll introduce a new Thaithentic Chef who’ll prepare regional variations of Thai street food. This past Thursday we featured Chef Chuck Atthapolpitak Valla a.k.a Chef Chuck Valla who solely focuses on creating classical Thai cuisine with artful, modern presentations. His private clients in New York City and Long Island have had the opportunity to experience his cooking for the past two years. Thaithentic is excited to bring his delicious cooking to you this month!

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Diners were treated to his a la carte, northern Thai street food offerings of Spring Green Salad with homemade Vegan Sausage and/or Pork Sausage, Braised Beef, Mee Kati (rice noodles in coconut milk with fried shallots) and Khao Niao (sticky rice). The Braised Beef was a big hit, selling out within an hour!

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And thanks to our beverage sponsor, Singha Beer, our diners were able to quench their thirsts – or for some soothe their burning mouths from Chef Chuck Valla’s homemade Nam Prik (spicy chili sauce).

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Be sure to catch our next event at the Starrett-Lehigh on Thursday May 14th between 5-8pm on the 10th floor truck bay. Better yet, join us for an interactive, immersive Thai tasting menu with Chef Chuck Valla this coming Saturday April 18th at 201 Allen (learn more).

 

Thaithentic
By Thaithentic .

Our team is comprised of marketers, creatives and developers with extensive backgrounds in advertising, event planning and web development. Through our combined experiences and commitment to our culture, we have the knowledge and passion to introduce new audiences to Thai cuisine and traditions. With our strong Thai heritage and deep-rooted connections with New York’s Thai community and Thailand, Thaithentic is the perfect ambassador to show the very best in Thai cuisine, creativity and culture.

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Thaithentic Now

Check out our 2nd Supper Club featuring Chef Chuck Valla


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What is Thaithentic Supper Club?

If you love Thai food you’ll love Thaithentic Supper Club. We bring you an interactive Thai dining experience where you’ll be immersed in Thai cuisine and culinary history. Our Thaithentic Chefs will prepare you a multicourse menu in a communal table setting designed to be intimate so that you’ll have the opportunity to engage with our chefs and experience their Thai cooking styles. Our goal is for you to leave our dinners feeling both satisfied and with a deeper understanding of Thai culinary trends and flavors.


Who are the Thaithentic Chefs?

We partner with private chefs and sous chefs to provide them with a location and a new audience to test out their Thai culinary vision.


Who is the Thaithentic Chef for this Supper Club?

Chef Name: Chef Chuck Valla

Full Name: Chuck Atthapolpitak Valla

Menu Theme: Our featured ingredient is RICE! Rice in Thai cuisine is not just a side dish. It’s sometimes the main event!

Current Gig: Kitchen Surfing

Education: Self-taught

Notable Article: Bangkok Post


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Thaithentic
By Thaithentic .

Our team is comprised of marketers, creatives and developers with extensive backgrounds in advertising, event planning and web development. Through our combined experiences and commitment to our culture, we have the knowledge and passion to introduce new audiences to Thai cuisine and traditions. With our strong Thai heritage and deep-rooted connections with New York’s Thai community and Thailand, Thaithentic is the perfect ambassador to show the very best in Thai cuisine, creativity and culture.

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Thaithentic Now

Our First Supper Club Event with Chef Bing and Cilantro – A RECAP

Take a look at Chef Bing in action and the amazing dishes he created. (Photography By Arnold Marzan, Hustle Inc.)

Thaithentic
By Thaithentic .

Our team is comprised of marketers, creatives and developers with extensive backgrounds in advertising, event planning and web development. Through our combined experiences and commitment to our culture, we have the knowledge and passion to introduce new audiences to Thai cuisine and traditions. With our strong Thai heritage and deep-rooted connections with New York’s Thai community and Thailand, Thaithentic is the perfect ambassador to show the very best in Thai cuisine, creativity and culture.

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Thaithentic Now

You’re invited to Supper Club featuring Chef Bing

What is Thaithentic Supper Club?

If you love Thai food you’ll love Thaithentic Supper Club. We bring you an interactive Thai dining experience where you’ll be immersed in Thai cuisine and culinary history. Our Thaithentic Chefs will prepare you a multicourse menu in a communal table setting designed to be intimate so that you’ll have the opportunity to engage with our chefs and experience their Thai cooking styles. Our goal is for you to leave our dinners feeling both satisfied and with a deeper understanding of Thai culinary trends and flavors.


Who are the Thaithentic Chefs?

We partner with private chefs and sous chefs to provide them with a location and a new audience to test out their Thai culinary vision.


Who is the Thaithentic Chef for this Supper Club?

Chef Name: Chef Bing

Full Name: Navapan Puangpakdee

Menu Theme: Our featured ingredient is the controversial herb CILANTRO! We will be exploring the multi-use of cilantro from acting as a condiment to its uses in marinades.

Current Gig: Private chef (www.chef-bing.com)

Work History: Kin Shop, Empellon Cocina, Marriot Marquis

Education: Institute of Culinary Education


Reserve Now

Thaithentic
By Thaithentic .

Our team is comprised of marketers, creatives and developers with extensive backgrounds in advertising, event planning and web development. Through our combined experiences and commitment to our culture, we have the knowledge and passion to introduce new audiences to Thai cuisine and traditions. With our strong Thai heritage and deep-rooted connections with New York’s Thai community and Thailand, Thaithentic is the perfect ambassador to show the very best in Thai cuisine, creativity and culture.