By Jennifer Paterson Folk in Siam do it
HOLY WEEK is upon us. Monday 30 March was an interesting saint's day — that of John Climacus. Climacus is the Latin version of the Greek work for a ladder, and the saint's fame derives from a book he wrote at the end of the 6th century, which he called The Ladder of Perfection, based on the notion of a spiritual ladder to heav- en which would have 30 rungs — one for each year of Christ's earthly life until his baptism. A very happy birthday to Sir Alec Guiness on 2 April and to me on 3 April. On my birthday I shall be away filming the start of our new series. I shall be very old — never mind.
I have just returned from Bangkok, which was very exciting. I was doing Wish You Were Here for the telly, so was looked after right royally from start to finish. The journey to Thailand took forever, but we were beautifully cosseted by exquisite hostesses in their stunning silken garments and I watched four modern films — I haven't seen a film for years so it was rather a treat. We arrived at the airport at 6.25 a.m., which was rather disconcerting as it was bedtime for us. We were then whisked away to the palatial Marriott Royal Garden Hotel where the terrific heat was dissolved by merciful air-conditioning. There was a lovely great swimming-pool surrounded by exotic plants, trees and flowers, and very comfortable lounges. A cocktail bar pro- truded into the pool, so you could sit in the water and imbibe at the same time — such a good idea.
We rested for the first day, then took to the klongs (canals) early the following morning. We travelled in long-tail boats, which look like highly coloured gondolas and go at a hell of a lick. The klong tour was fascinating, all life before you: little shanty houses on stilts where the poor live but look quite merry, I'm glad to say; the flash of a gold-roofed temple or shrine; a wonderful flower market bursting with incredible orchids of every hue — they have orchids everywhere, even in the bath- rooms.
We returned to the hotel by midday to shelter from the sun. Then in the evening we ventured into Chinatown to film the street cooking and sample various delicacies from the charcoal burners. Heaven knows what I was eating, but it all tasted delicious and much more authentic than the rather sani- tised food from the choice restaurants at the hotel. The best they could offer was the hot and cold buffet which did have some inter- esting local dishes.
The next day we filmed a shrine in the middle of Bangkok, where pilgrims brought gifts to Buddha: large baskets of eggs, sweetmeats and even whole cooked pigs' heads. Garlands of flowers were placed on the railings, smoking joss-sticks planted in little sand trenches and scraps of real gold leaf stuck onto the pillars; this was accompanied by devout kneeling and prayers. Suddenly, some ravishing dancing girls with those head-dresses like temple tops appeared on a stage to sing and undu- late in their special fashion, waving their extraordinary fingers like Medusa's locks.
We then transferred to a magnificent old rice barge, converted to luxury status, and sailed up the great river, spending a noisy night aboard being wined and dined on the covered deck with a nice breeze blowing through and little bells attached to the sides tinkling as we went along — perfect bliss. Early the next morning we went off to film Bang Pa festival in the Summer Palace of Ayutthaya's main temples, incredible to behold and wonder at. I rode a charming elephant round the precincts. What a jour- ney it was.
We finally returned to Bangkok for a bit of filming in a tuk tuk (motorised rick- shaw); then it was home to Blighty early on Sunday morning, with never a twinge of any malaise. We found the green curries very good, so you'd better have a Thai recipe to try.
Green beef or chicken curry
For the green paste (you will find these ingredients in an Oriental store): 2 long green chillies, chopped 10 small green chillies, chopped 1 tablespoon chopped lemon grass 3 shallots, chopped 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1-inch piece of galangal, peeled and chopped 3 coriander roots, chopped 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon chopped kaffir lime skin or lime leaves 2 teaspoons shrimp paste 1 teaspoon salt
Blend all the ingredients together until they form a smooth paste, using a pestle and mortar, or what you will. This will produce about 3 tablespoons of green paste.
For the curry: 4 fl oz coconut cream 2 tablespoons oil 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 1 tablespoon green paste 2 tablespoons fish sauce 1 teaspoon sugar 6 oz diced lean beef or chicken 4 fl oz broth or water 2 lime leaves, chopped 3 small green aubergines or 1 equivalent 15 basil leaves
In a small pan, gently heat the coconut cream, do not boil. In a wok or frying-pan, heat the oil until a light haze appears. Add the garlic and fry until golden brown. Add the green paste and stir-fry for a few sec- onds. Add the warm coconut cream and stir until it curdles and thickens. Add the fish sauce and sugar, stir. Add the beef or chicken and stir until the raw look disap- pears. Add broth, stir and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add lime leaves, stir. Add aubergines, cut into chunks, and the basil leaves, stir and cook for one more minute, then turn into a serving dish. Many thanks to Vatcharin Bhumichitr.
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