Cutting an imposing figure at 6’3”, bushman-bearded film location scout Andrew Perry might strike you more as an R.M. Williams model than an impressive Thai cook, but the proof is in the eating as they say. And when you see any cook pulling out ingredients like pigs’ blood, offal and specially imported, extra pungent fermented Thai fish sauce, it becomes apparent pretty quickly that they mean business.
home cooks always bring a wealth of skill and passion, regardless of whether they are cooking the food of their heritage or one they’ve fallen head over heels for, and this son of a third-generation Australian butcher’s love affair with Thailand started with a brief trip in his twenties. This would eventually lead to him living there for more than a decade, much of which was spent in Wieng Dong, a rural village situated in the north near Thailand’s border with Laos.
“I travelled to Thailand for the first time in my twenties. I remember landing in Bangkok, then travelling up to Chiang Mai (where I got a proper dose of heat stroke for the first time) and all the way down south. Immediately I was like ‘This is the best!’. The people, the language, the food…it’s RIDICULOUS!” he laughs.
Andrew Perry (fourth from the right) is one of the home cooks up against Long Chim's team on The Chefs' Line. Source: The Chefs' Line
“I got home and went straight to an Asian grocer, bought all the ingredients I recognised and tried to make Thai food … and it was awful! The worst. After that, I travelled to other places around the world, but I was always jonesing to go back to Thailand.”
I got home and went straight to an Asian grocer, bought all the ingredients I recognised and tried to make Thai food … and it was awful!
After a few years and life changes, Perry got that chance, and he packed up his life into two suitcases and headed back. “Being in Thailand, it’s actually hard to learn how to cook. You are surrounded by amazing food everywhere you go.” His tip for eating well in a new place? “We’d ride around on a motorbike, spot a restaurant that’s full, and observe everyone eating just one dish. You order that dish. If your eyes are open and you’re willing, you’re going to nail it," he advises.
“Discovering that thing we’ve lost in seasonal eating was a revelation for me," he adds. “When you live in the city, you can have anything, anytime. But when I moved out to the village, it’s only seasonal. The frogs are out, you eat them. The bamboo’s coming up, you eat that for the next few months. By far the best was when the wasps were out. My neighbour would pluck the nest and steam it whole. You’d break open the nest and pick the pupae out, dip it in sauce and eat it. Delicious!”
That immersive attitude towards his new home saw him welcomed into the village, despite obviously not being a native Thai. “I just offered to help. If someone needed to build a house, I’d be there with tools. Living in a village means you are part of a community," he muses. “My favourite thing was cooking larb [the spicy salad of minced meat, found all over Thailand]. The first time I saw someone make it, I thought it was disgusting. Up in the north, you’d normally eat most of it raw; fresh pig’s blood, cooked intestines…but when I tasted it, I thought it was the most delicious thing I’d ever eaten. As a village, it takes 20 to make it. It’s four in the morning and some people are out getting the pig’s blood, someone else is getting the buffalo meat, someone else brings a bottle of whisky to keep everyone going… others are chopping the offal. It’s usually a celebration meal and it’s really the best - food as a community.”
He didn't just visit Chiang Mai, he mastered some of its staple dishes. Source: Getty Images
Since being back in Australia from that 10-year stint, Perry started to properly cook, his specialities being , and khao soi Chiang Mai, the famed curry-style soup. And does he ever miss his adopted home? “I’m almost afraid to go back because I don’t think I’ll ever want to return to Australia!” he laughs. Well, at least we know where to go looking for him!
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is back for round 2 and this week it's Thai. You can watch home cook Andrew Perry along with three other home cooks go up against the line from Sydney's Long Chim restaurant 6pm weeknights on SBS + encore screening on Food Network and then catch-up on SBS On Demand. Visit the for recipes, videos, cooking tips and more.
Time for Thai
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