Thursday, September 24, 2009

More Thai Food - original oil figurative/interior painting by Connie Chadwell


Yum! Vietnamese and Thai food is just about my favorite cuisine! There was a little Vietnamese restaurant in our neighborhood in Washington, D.C. and later, a Thai place, as well. When I first put the sauce (I didn't know then it was called fish sauce) on the first spring roll I ever tasted, I was hooked. I went home and experimented endlessly trying to figure out what the missing ingredient was. Lemon juice? No. Vinegar? No. I marched myself over to the Vietnamese grocery store and they told me it was fish sauce. Mostly fermented anchovies, to be exact. That gave me pause, I can tell you, but not for long. Fish sauce, or nuoc mam, is addictive!

As a sixth-generation Texan, I'm not likely to ever give up cornbread or tortillas, but I'm really glad Central Market in San Antonio carries all the ingredients I need to make Vietnamese and Thai food!

As for the painting I'm posting, I never miss an opportunity to sample the offerings at Asian restaurants wherever we go and this scene is from a drawing I did in a Vietnamese restaurant in San Antonio. Actually, this painting is pretty wet, so maybe I'll post it again when it's dried a little.

Thanks so much for stopping by Hackberry Street Studio!

8 comments:

Elizabeth Seaver said...

Love the story and the painting, Connie!

n warner said...

I love the passion behind this...egg rolls and special sauce! Good light and color and ooh, so delightful a story! I follow my instincts on what I might have a yen for too. HA...!
Thanks!
Nina

Cyndy Carstens said...

I love Thai food, too. Great painting - full of "flavor". Hope you have a great weekend. (And thank you for comments on my "Approaching Storm" piece. Nice to know someone is out there. Take care. Peace. Cyndy

http://www.onpainting.wordpress.com said...

I like Thai food and the painting.

Fish sauce in small amounts really adds flavor. In large amounts smells horrible.

Connie Chadwell said...

Thanks so much Elizabeth - I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Connie Chadwell said...

Hi Nina - yeah, I had fun with this - glad you liked it and great to hear from you!

Connie Chadwell said...

Hi Cyndy - glad to find another Thai food lover - thanks so much for stopping by!

Connie Chadwell said...

Hi Bill and thank you! Yeah, a lot of fish sauce can be overpowering, but a little on the spring rolls is fabulous!