There is apparently a tipping point in Thai cuisine. Depending upon the dish, even professional kitchens tumble off — using too much heat here, not enough cardamom there.
At least that has been my experience over the years. But when a place finds the point where the different elements find common ground, where bitter, sour, sweet, hot, salty, earthy and that elusive flavor known as umami circle each other like the Sharks and Jets on the verge of perpetual rumble … well, it is simply riveting.
“The flavors are very complex,” acknowledged Charlie McFarling, an owner of Buddha Thai Kitchen in Middletown. “Balance is absolutely the thing. You want to light up the taste buds.”
Buddha Thai Kitchen gets it right, by the way. For proof, one just needs to order a bowl of their panang curry.
Instead of an flashover of fiery heat, panang burns like an ember — slow and low, under the heaven and earth of a sauce laced with coconut milk. Basil and kaffir leaves provide the herbal frame, lemongrass the sour bite and peanut sauce a low, earthy mumble.
There”s more, of course, and the flavors can seem noisy at times. Yet each makes itself heard in the din, no one more influential than any other.
“It”s a real art to get it right,” McFarling said.
He is not the artist, however. In the kitchen, his wife Ting (the couple once owned Ting”s Thai Kitchen in Hidden Valley Lake) brings skills honed thoroughly while growing up in Thailand and during years of restaurant experience to every order.
The kitchen is committed to fresh ingredients. The McFarling”s keep two kaffir plants at their house.
“You have to have them,” McFarling explained.
They purchase other items at Asian markets and from nearby farmers, who often grow chiles and other produce necessary for Thai recipes.
That”s not an easy task, mind you. For starters, there are several types of chile and basil. Thai cuisine has been influenced over the years by China, India, Muslim settlers, traders along the spice route and the ingredients available in the nation”s different regions. Dishes in the south, for instance, can be quite different from those in Isan.
“Curry, stir fry, noodles and rice,” McFarling said with a laugh, trying to condense the cuisine into one sentence.
Yet when he defines Buddha Thai”s cooking, he repeats two concepts over and over: cooking to order and fresh ingredients.
In their panang curry, you see examples of both. The vegetables are crisp and firm, the result of a very quick toss in the pan. They retain their just-off-the-vine snap. Meanwhile the herbs seem to explode with each bite — while at the same time contributing a soft savor to the curry itself.
Oh, there”s more to the menu. Some regulars work their way through the entree list, trying something new on each visit. Even with the panang, it”s possible to sample chicken, shellfish or beef.
Buddha Thai even serves grass fed lamb from Shannon Ridge — a rarity in Thai restaurants. After all, lamb and goat are more popular meats among Thailand”s Muslims. Perhaps the panoptic nature of the cuisine explains its popularity. There are popular Thai restaurants around the lake.
If the panang curry is any indication, the rest of Buddha Thai”s menu must be remarkable.
