- 1 year ago
The Food Truck NZ - S03E10 - Thai temptations
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00:00Chef Michael van der Elzen is taking to the streets of New Zealand for a tiki tour of
00:07taste buds.
00:08His goal, to transform some of the world's most popular fat-filled dishes into healthy
00:13gourmet truck food.
00:14It's so exciting.
00:18This time on the food truck, I love Thai food.
00:21Michael renews his love affair with Thai.
00:23This is so fast.
00:25And has an eye on the sweet spot.
00:27Could I make one without sugar?
00:29Yeah, you can make one without sugar.
00:30A little bit sour.
00:31Okay.
00:32It's a bit plain.
00:35I am under the gun.
00:38Can Michael create a healthier, tastier Thai and still deliver the value Kiwis expect?
00:43Find out on the food truck.
00:51It could well be the ultimate crowd-pleasing cuisine.
00:54Thai food is loved the world over, and Kiwis adore its dynamic, spicy flavours as much
00:59as anyone.
01:00In New Zealand, we have as many Thai restaurants as we do Indian, over 250.
01:08I love my Thai food.
01:09It's sweet and sour.
01:10It's hot and spicy, with just a touch of bitter.
01:11You know, it's got something for everyone.
01:12But it's very sweet, and it's very salty, especially the fast food versions that we
01:13love.
01:14So I'm going to take some of that sugar and salt out, but I have to do that without upsetting
01:27the balance of flavours, which is so crucial to Thai food.
01:31Michael must crack the code of Thai cuisine before the next full moon.
01:36Not because he's superstitious, but because he plans to launch his own retooled Thai at
01:40a special food truck full moon beach party in Auckland.
01:45To prepare for this celestial event, Michael is casting his eye, and his taste buds, over
01:50a range of Thai tucker.
01:52It's huge!
01:53But first, he must answer two very important questions.
01:56What meat do you like for that, sir?
01:59Chicken, please.
02:00How spicy do you like for that?
02:02Medium.
02:03First up, classic green curry.
02:04The colour comes from the use of green chilli paste.
02:08Chicken's really tender.
02:09The vegetables have just been cooked.
02:11They're still retaining all their flavour and all their nutrition.
02:14I could just eat this by itself, because you've got the beautiful broth, you've got all the
02:17veggies and the chicken.
02:18You don't need the rice.
02:20Curries are all very well, but there's one Thai dish whose name almost sums up Thai cuisine.
02:27Could I try your pad thai, please?
02:29Pad thai means fried, Thai style, and this quick and easy dish is a staple on the streets
02:34of Bangkok, and possibly Auckland.
02:37What I do love about pad thais is the use of rice noodles.
02:39It's not like the Italian noodle that's quite heavy.
02:42This is quite light.
02:43Light is good, but is this too light?
02:45There we go.
02:46There's only two vegetables in here.
02:49I'm sure we can get more veggies into it.
02:52In Thailand, deep fried insects are popular as a crunchy snack.
02:56In New Zealand, you're more likely to get one of these.
02:59Money bags are supposed to be like little Moorish parcels of flavour, but this one's
03:04just pretty tasteless.
03:05And I have to say, this has to be one of the worst sides of Thai cookery, because not only
03:10do they wrap them in a pastry, but then they go and deep fry them.
03:13Well, if money bags aren't your bag, there's always fish cakes, and they're just so greasy.
03:19Look at that.
03:20And if that ain't bad enough, then you're dipping them into sweet chilli.
03:24I can just taste the amount of sugar and just how bad the sweet chilli sauce is.
03:29I think it's something I've got to make in a food truck.
03:32Michael may know what he wants to change, but he doesn't know how.
03:35So he's off to the Ponsonby Road Food Hall, the crucible of Asian fast food in central
03:40Auckland.
03:41He's got a date with Akala and his wife, Mim.
03:44Together, they run Rook Thai, one of the busiest stalls in this United Nations of food.
03:49Thank you for inviting me to come and learn how to cook Thai food.
03:52I'm very excited.
03:53You're welcome.
03:54I love Thai food.
03:56If Michael's enthusiasm was an ingredient, it would certainly sweeten the meal.
04:00But as it happens, we're using sugar, liberally.
04:03They just put three tablespoons of sugar in a pair of Thai.
04:07First up, Michael is shown around a sweet chilli, basil and bamboo dish called pad
04:12kra pao, or as the locals know it, number four.
04:15Stir-fries are good because they're fast, huh?
04:17Fast, fast.
04:18Fast, fast.
04:19A selection of vegetables, including bok choy, is added to hot oil in the wok.
04:23Put some soy sauce.
04:25Dark soy sauce.
04:26Dark soy sauce, yeah.
04:27Fish sauce.
04:28Fish sauce.
04:29Soy sauce.
04:30Half a spoon.
04:31Soy sauce.
04:33Too sweet.
04:34This meal is so quick, measuring out the ingredients takes almost as long as the frying.
04:39So fast, huh?
04:40Yeah.
04:41Total cooking time is less than three minutes.
04:42Right?
04:43Isn't that beautiful?
04:44Yeah.
04:45You want hot basil with prawn.
04:46But it is possible to go faster.
04:49This time, it's panang curry.
04:51Again, we start with a generous portion of vegetables.
04:54Sounds healthy, but is it strictly authentic?
04:56Is there always lots of vegetables in Thai cookery?
04:59Normally, the real panang in Thailand, we don't use much vegetables.
05:02Okay.
05:03But in New Zealand, we do have a lot of veggies because a lot of customers, they like healthy
05:07food.
05:08So you've taken a Thai curry, brought it back to New Zealand, and added loads of veggies
05:12in it because that's what the Kiwi people want.
05:14Yes.
05:15Isn't that great?
05:16Not only is it healthy, it's tasty and quick.
05:18It tastes beautiful and it was so fast.
05:21That was what, one minute?
05:22Two minutes.
05:23Two minutes?
05:24Yeah.
05:25But this curry has a dirty little secret.
05:26But I find that quite sweet with the sugar in there.
05:29Why do you add the sugar into Thai cookery in general?
05:31To make it more flavour.
05:33Okay.
05:34Rather than just creamy taste.
05:36You can make one without sugar.
05:38So, neither of our dishes took longer than three minutes.
05:41But can Michael go that fast?
05:43Okay, that's in.
05:44It's hot in here, huh?
05:45Oh, yeah.
05:46Oh, look at that.
05:47Now we're cooking.
05:48Oh, I've got to try and keep them in there.
05:51Dark soy.
05:52Enough?
05:53Too much?
05:54Can't really put it back in.
05:56This is so fast.
05:58Fish sauce?
05:59Chili?
06:00Anything you like.
06:01Enough, yeah.
06:04Okay, ready?
06:05Taste.
06:07Holy moly.
06:08I hope this person likes chili.
06:10Normally in two minutes, you're too slow.
06:12Yeah.
06:13That looks pretty average, doesn't it?
06:16Looks average.
06:17Tastes.
06:18Mmm.
06:19Good, huh?
06:20Yeah.
06:21Better than average.
06:22Number four.
06:23Number four, people.
06:24Unbelievable.
06:26I really had no idea that Thai food had that much sugar in it.
06:29I've got to work that sugar out.
06:31I know that Thai cookery needs that sweet, sour, salt, spice, but that sweet is not three
06:36tablespoons of sugar.
06:37It can't be.
06:38There has to be an alternative to that.
06:39That's what I've got to start off.
06:40Sugar.
06:41Chef Michael van der Elzen is taking on Thai.
06:52I love Thai food.
06:56In fact, he's so excited about Thai, he's planning a Thai-style beach party at Auckland's
07:02Mission Bay to launch his food truck, Thai.
07:04But first, his menu needs a dry run, so Michael's come to the ETK gym in Auckland to see how
07:11many rounds his dishes can last with hungry Thai kickboxers.
07:15So I want to start off by making a shredded Thai beef salad, and one of the biggest components
07:20for that is a red curry paste.
07:22You can buy from supermarkets, but I do find that they are loaded with heaps of salt, heaps
07:27of Thai fish sauce.
07:28So I want to try and make one fresh without adding any salt whatsoever.
07:32For most chefs, the idea of not including salt is like not including food.
07:37But Michael loves to make things difficult for himself.
07:39So first up, I've roasted some coriander seeds just to release their natural oils and aromas.
07:44I'm going to crush them up.
07:46Fresh garlic, shallots, lemongrass, and the coriander seeds are combined with kaffir lime
07:51leaves for aroma.
07:53This is pure Thai.
07:54This is what Thai's all about.
07:56Galangal stands in for ginger.
07:58It's slightly sweeter than the normal ginger, and it doesn't dominate the flavour.
08:02Next up, the all-important chilli, you've got to have that spice.
08:05Lime juice, sweet, sour, salt spice, which is the essence of all Thai food.
08:10This is our sour.
08:12Then finally, for our salty component, I'm going to use some naturally sea-salty shrimps.
08:21So there's our paste there.
08:24This is going to go really well over top of my beef.
08:27For his beef, Michael's using a topside cut.
08:30I think it's perfect for shredding because what you have here is big, long grains of meat.
08:36Michael prepares the beef by searing it.
08:38The paste is smeared over the warm meat before being packaged for the oven.
08:42That contains all that flavour, it just can't escape.
08:45It can only go into the meat.
08:47While his beef is cooking, Michael prepares a nam jim dressing for the meat.
08:51It's commonly used throughout Thailand.
08:53It goes with pretty much anything.
08:55So first off, we start with our coriander roots, garlic cloves, one chilli, a little
09:00bit of galangal, fresh lime.
09:02Fish sauce is added for salt, and coconut sugar is added for sweet.
09:06Coconut sugar has a low GI, making it much healthier than refined sugar.
09:10It also has a beautiful caramel flavour, which will work really well with my nam jim.
09:15The greens in Mike's salad are a roll call of Southeast Asian herbs.
09:19Thai mint, Thai basil and coriander, along with beans and cucumber.
09:24The dressing goes on, and roasted rice is added for extra crunch.
09:27Give that a little mix around.
09:31Great. Lovely. Super healthy. Really flavoursome.
09:35For his next dish, Michael is taking on a Thai classic, rated as the fifth most popular
09:40dish in the world, according to CNN.
09:43I've got to make a pad thai, but I don't want to make just any old pad thai.
09:46My pad thai is going to be vegetarian.
09:48Michael's vegetable base comprises white cabbage, bok choy and the usual bean sprouts.
09:54But the real hero today is this thing.
09:57This is just an unripened papaya, so it's actually really firm.
10:01The great thing is, once I cook this, it's going to have a very similar texture to rice noodles.
10:06Noodles made from fruit. It's amazing what they can do nowadays.
10:10Not a huge amount of flavour, just because that sweetness hasn't been allowed to develop.
10:15But the real flavour will be coming from this.
10:18It looks like a chocolate slice, but this is the product of a tree.
10:22The flavour of pad thai comes from the pod that hangs from the tamarind tree.
10:26So what you do from this point here is you soak it in a little bit of warm water,
10:30and you drain out the pods.
10:32And what you're left with is a very tart liquid.
10:36To the tamarind paste, Michael adds fresh garlic and vegetable stock
10:40with a dash of fish sauce and tamari for colour.
10:43So unlike the amount of sugar that I saw going into the pad thai in the food court,
10:47I'm just going to add one tablespoon of the coconut sugar.
10:50It all goes into the pan for a flash fry, along with tofu and a splash of lime.
10:56And to finish that, fresh coriander.
10:58And that's it. Done.
11:01The first of our hungry boxers have come out of the ring.
11:04But will they respect or fear Mike's pad thai?
11:08You get a Thai taste in there, but the tamarind overtook that.
11:15What is the noodles?
11:17It's green papaya.
11:19Did it work?
11:20A little bit sour.
11:22Too sour?
11:23A little bit, because it then reminds me of that green papaya salad you can get in Thailand.
11:28It's a bit plain, because papaya is quite plain.
11:31So it's not quite a pad thai?
11:33It's more of a papaya salad, which is another dish.
11:37Oh dear.
11:38Seems like Michael has inadvertently created a salad instead of pad thai.
11:42The dish that you actually have, the name would be som tam instead of pad thai.
11:48Let's hope Michael doesn't have the reverse problem with his actual salad.
11:52The meat's lovely.
11:53Nice and soft and tender.
11:54Great.
11:55I like the texture.
11:56Really good.
11:58It's nice and healthy.
11:59Lots of veggies as well.
12:00And the meat is not oily.
12:01It's nice and tender.
12:03Great.
12:04I think that should have been salad was a knockout.
12:07But the pad thai, too sour.
12:09The green papaya didn't work.
12:11Maybe I actually need to put some rice noodles in.
12:13So I think I'll introduce them back in.
12:15And then another dish.
12:17As per normal, I am under the gun.
12:19After sleeping on it, Michael arrives at the garage the next morning with some appetizing ideas.
12:25I realized last night that I need to go on to game day with an appetizer.
12:29So what I want to do is take on one of the deep fried giants.
12:32I want to do my take on a Thai fish cake.
12:35Cake?
12:36Deep fried?
12:37Stop now.
12:38But I want to make them healthy.
12:40As you were.
12:41Michael's cake mix begins with white fish and prawn along with his homemade curry paste.
12:47A splash of Thai fish sauce and guilt-free coconut sugar follow.
12:51Now I want to add our egg white.
12:53This is going to bind the fish cake together.
12:57Green beans go in for more fiber and goodness along with kaffir leaves for aroma.
13:01A few minutes in the pan is all it takes.
13:05Those are great.
13:06Why do we need to deep fry these?
13:07They taste awesome.
13:09But is there something to make them even more awesome?
13:12What do you have with Thai fish cakes?
13:14Sweet chili.
13:15What do you have with Thai fish cakes?
13:16Sweet chili dipping sauce.
13:18Sure sounds sugary.
13:20So I want to cut right back on that sugar but I've still got to thicken it.
13:24So what I'm going to do is add a little bit of honey and I'm hoping that honey will be my thickener.
13:28Michael is using pomegranate juice for natural sweetness along with red wine vinegar and two types of chili.
13:35But a little bit of sugar will make this medicine go down.
13:38I'm going to use my new friend, coconut sugar.
13:41After boiling and a quick stint in the fridge...
13:44It's thickened up nicely, look at that.
13:46Beautiful.
13:48A garnish of coriander and Thai basil completes the picture.
13:52Those are absolutely awesome.
13:54If there's one thing that goes with cake, even a fish cake, it's tea.
13:58This is a black tea so you want quite a strong tea.
14:01I've got a few cardamom pods, some star anise, some cloves, fresh vanilla, cinnamon.
14:08All this foliage is gathered into a dish cloth to create a giant tea bag.
14:13After ten minutes brewing in simmering water, the tea is made.
14:17But this tea is not meant to be hot.
14:19So cold milk goes in along with Mike's not so secret sweetener.
14:23This is stevia which is an organic sugar substitute.
14:27Stevia is made from American sweet leaf, herbs and shrubs.
14:32Tastes good, it's a cup of tea with a bit of zing.
14:35I'm really happy with the menu.
14:37I think the beef's going to go down really well.
14:39The Pad Thai is fantastic.
14:41The fish cakes are great with the fish sauce.
14:43I think I have the makings of a great beach party.
14:46The only thing is, I've been cooking so much, I forgot to invite anyone.
14:57Chef Michael van der Elzen is on a mission to give Thai food a food truck makeover.
15:02I find that quite sweet with the sugar in there.
15:04You can make one without sugar.
15:06He believes his new and improved Thai could be a winner.
15:10Those are absolutely awesome.
15:13And he's on his way to Auckland's famous Mission Bay to see if that's true.
15:19Like my new threads, very Thai.
15:22Brought it out for my full moon party on the beach with all my friends.
15:28Who haven't arrived yet.
15:30Many cultures celebrate the moon,
15:32but in Thailand, the legendary full moon party is a monthly carnival of boozing backpackers.
15:37And Michael hasn't invited any of those.
15:40At the moment, there's just like grannies and kids.
15:43Michael knows he can rely on the moon to turn up,
15:46but people need organising.
15:48This is George FM 96.6.
15:51Beats working.
15:52Hello, Shane and Tara, how are we?
15:54Very good, thanks.
15:55You're going to tell us about this big full moon thing that's going on.
15:58I've got some umbrellas.
15:59I've got some lights.
16:00And I'm serving Thai food from the food truck.
16:03Wow.
16:04Alright, nice one.
16:05Enjoy the party, the full moon party.
16:06It's in Mission Bay.
16:07The food truck's going to be there.
16:08You're going to be there.
16:09Thanks for joining us, Mike.
16:10OK, take care.
16:11OK, bye now.
16:12Usually great s*** happens when there's a full moon, eh?
16:15Michael's hoping hordes of party goers will now descend.
16:18But unfortunately, the only thing descending at the moment is the rain.
16:22The weather's turned a little bit pear-shaped.
16:25It's just raining at the moment.
16:27As the rain begins to add some monsoonal atmosphere, it clears
16:31and Michael can finally get out to post his menu.
16:34OK, so we've got fish cakes, pomegranate sweet chilli sauce, six bucks.
16:38Red curry shredded beef salad, ten dollars.
16:41And then finally, the wonderful papaya pad Thai with tamarind and cashews, ten dollars.
16:46And then for my Thai iced tea, four dollars.
16:49In Thailand, drinks are often served in plastic bags on the street,
16:53which may or may not make them taste better.
16:56This is the actual bag part, but, you know, hey,
16:58how hard could it be to put a drink in a bag?
17:02The bag won't make any difference if Michael doesn't put the right liquid in it.
17:06Mmm.
17:08That would be delicious if it wasn't the nam jim.
17:12This is the nam jim dressing, not the iced tea.
17:15He might be easily confused identifying them,
17:18but Michael has all his ingredients ready.
17:21But outside, there's one crucial ingredient still missing, music.
17:25Thankfully, George FM has literally come to the party,
17:28providing beats to go with the eats.
17:31That works, though.
17:34As night falls, the moon rises.
17:37And while it might be full, Michael's customers are not.
17:40There's a phalanx of hungry party goers ready to eat.
17:44I'll throw in a party and people have actually turned up.
17:47OK, people, the moon has come out just in time.
17:51Welcome to Mike's full moon party.
17:54Woo!
17:56OK, give it to me, people.
17:58Two fish cakes, a pad thai and iced tea.
18:00No problem.
18:02Mike's untested Thai tea bags get their first outing.
18:05My bags are holding up all right.
18:07The brew's good and strong, unlike the bags.
18:10Oh, they're going to my teeth.
18:13That's the bag.
18:15I spoke too soon.
18:17Quite a big hole, that one, wasn't it?
18:19The tea is brilliant.
18:21Everything that's been added to it has made it really very palatable.
18:26It's a non-leaker.
18:30I love the spiciness of the tea.
18:32I'll give Michael 11 out of 10.
18:36I definitely would buy this again, definitely.
18:38It's fantastic.
18:40The party is well under way.
18:42And the life of the party turns out to be New Zealand's favourite Thai dish.
18:46I'll get a pad thai.
18:48One pad thai.
18:50Normally I will buy a pad thai just from the local Thai shop.
18:54But this tastes a lot fresher, healthier, with all the vegetables.
18:57Being a vegetarian pad thai, I was a bit sceptical.
19:00But it's really good.
19:02I don't think you miss the meat at all.
19:04It's palatable. I'm enjoying it.
19:06Kiwis on the beach are almost always happy.
19:08And Michael's unconventional use of papaya isn't hurting.
19:12Having the papaya in it is really good.
19:14You can really taste that coming through.
19:16It's actually quite nice.
19:18But would his papaya pad thai stand up in Thailand with real Thais?
19:31Hey, she does speak English.
19:34I've got five pad thais on order.
19:36And I've only got room for three pads.
19:38It's the pad thais that are actually slowing me down tremendously.
19:42I wish people would order the fish cakes because they're really fast.
19:46I'm not selling enough. I've got heaps of them.
19:48Anyone want to buy some fish cakes?
19:50You want a fish cake?
19:52Fish cake is a great order, my friend.
19:56Fantastic. He's managed to get such a good texture on it.
19:58And the flavour is just phenomenal.
20:00It's the sauce that gets me.
20:02I like the sauce.
20:04Very camouflage.
20:06The sauce that goes with it.
20:08The whole combination is 10 out of 10.
20:12In Thailand, we eat more spicy.
20:15But it's delicious.
20:17The pomegranate is amazing.
20:19Great addition.
20:21And it does the trick.
20:23I'm about three-quarters of the way through the food.
20:25I've just been going solid.
20:27Absolutely solid.
20:29I haven't stopped at all.
20:31It's pretty awesome.
20:33I don't know how the party's going.
20:35The party is going off.
20:37The fat beats have turned the beach into a sandy disco.
20:41For these four people anyway.
20:43Everybody else just wants to eat.
20:47Beef salad.
20:49The beef salad is absolutely fantastic.
20:51It's really well marinated because it's shredded.
20:53And there's little bits of mint.
20:55And almost some kind of fennel-y leaf.
20:57And some beans and stuff.
20:59It's just really varied and fresh.
21:01And really, really tasty.
21:03I usually don't like Thai that much.
21:05But this is great.
21:07I like the flavours.
21:09I like the little bit of chilli in there.
21:11Perfect.
21:13After a late charge, Michael's fish cakes
21:15with homemade sweet chilli sauce
21:17join his Pad Thai and Thai beef salad
21:19as sell-outs.
21:21Or close enough.
21:23There was a big queue that I started with here.
21:25And it's all gone.
21:27I've probably got enough actually to feed Dean the DJ.
21:29I might make up two fish cakes, two iced teas.
21:31Go over and see Dean.
21:33Because I can tell you, I could use a drink right about now.
21:35Here you go sir.
21:37Thank you very much.
21:39Mmm.
21:41Delicious.
21:43I haven't thrown many parties.
21:45But this one was a cracker.
21:47It actually looks like I held the party
21:49inside the truck tonight.
21:51There is so much mess in the back of it.
21:53So tonight, I think was a complete success.
21:55It was perfect.
22:09Music
22:11Music
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