28 Days Later Sub Thai

[Orestes Hardy]

"Can we have grilled chicken skewers for dinner?" my husband asked. Sure. Wanting to try a new recipe, I looked in Bangkok, a splendid cookbook by Leela Punyaratabandhu. She had a interesting roast chicken recipe, and because I'd promised to deliver skewers, I simply deboned half a chicken, cut the flesh into strips, and applied half of the seasoning ingredients. The result was terrific, so much so that I repeated the recipe with the other half of the chicken a few days later! (I froze the bones, backs, and scraps for stock or pho.)

Leela's book is an ode to the foods and traditions of her hometown. I love how she picked a favorite rendition of kai op phrik thai dam and created a copycat version. It's what I'd do! In the recipe introduction, she discussed how rotisserie chicken is available in many spots in Bangkok and I was taken by its everyday-ness. Given that casual aspect of the dish, I wondered if I could use readily available supermarket ingredients to make a credible Thai favorite.

If you're unfamiliar with Thai grilled chicken, you may wonder where the nam pla (fish sauce) is. Like with Vietnamese food, fish sauce isn't in every savory Thai dish. Chinese condiments, such as soy sauce and oyster sauce, play a big role in the cuisines of Thailand and Vietnam.

In order to best replicate the flavors of Bangkok, Leela's recipe called for Thai thin soy sauce or Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce. I have those specific Thai condiments but found that regular soy sauce, Bragg liquid seasoning or Maggi are suitable substitutes. As for the oyster sauce, American supermarkets carry several good brands.

These are all very much the same in flavor. What you want to watch for is the sodium level. Make sure they're more or less the same. Adjust a recipe, as needed. The Maggi on the right is made in Vietnam and bit lighter in flavor than the Chinese Maggi.

When skewering meat, try to cover most of the skewer. That approach means you can (1) prevent a bamboo skewer from scorching, and (2) the meat stays succulent. After threading the meat on, give the meat a gently squeeze to make sure it hugs the skewers.

I left the chicken skin on (you can see some in the photo above) but it didn't crisp up the way it would on a whole bird. The slippery skin is a bit hard to wrangle onto the skewer. You'll be find if you use boneless skinless thighs or legs, which are juicy and cook up well. The breast is fine too, but not as juicy as the dark meat. Your choice. (Or head to the library or bookshop and get Bangkok, which is full of great stories and recipes, and make the original recipe and others, too.)

Steam some sticky rice for a traditional accompaniment, or serve the black pepper chicken skewers with regular rice. Add a salad such as green papaya or maybe a more modern salad of Asian pear, beets and fennel spiked with chile and fish sauce! If there are leftovers, make banh mi.

This looks great, can't wait to try it out! I couldn't find the seasoning sauce at my store so I have to go with soy sauce, hopefully it will turn out ok.
I just want to clarify (since I'm not the best cook and I tend to over think things), do we add the garlic mixture to the chicken after it's marinated and we're ready to grill it, or do we add it to the marinade? I think the former rather than the latter but just wanted to make sure. Thank you!

This was soo Freakin Good!
Took the meat up to 2lbs. & doubled the marinade/seasoning. I did add a smidge more salt after mixing.
Packed the meat on 4 metal skewers. Drizzled a little bit of Sesame Oil on the skewered meat, prior to putting on the grill. Thinking grill time was closer to 20 minutes.

The question is: Why are you waiting for the last minute?

You have 15 days before your due date and 7 days afterward. If you can't get it done within those 21 days, then get you 2000 THB fine ready.

Unfortunately, as far as Immigration is concerned. You still have (those) 3 days to do it, if you rather not then the fines are on you. You can't blame it oh holidays or your personal affair. I personally have witnessed one stubborn farang lady triy to bargain on same scenario to no avail. They shooed her away after making her pay, and didn't bother to even print her a fine receipt.

... "If a foreigner staying in the kingdom over 90 days without notifying residence to immigration officer or notifying later than the set period, must notify in person and a fine of 2,000.- THB will be collected. If a foreigner who did not make the notification of staying over 90 days is arrested, he/her will be fined 5,000.- THB with an additional fine not exceeding 200.- THB for each day which passes until the law is complied with."

Definitely starts @ 2000, as got the little slip when reporting late by mail, hoping to avoid, but was returned with 2000 baht fine slip, and informed to report in person ASAP. When extending visa, shortly after, the Imm officer, simply set it aside, with smile on her face, and didn't fine me.

...THB will be collected. If a foreigner who did not make the notification of staying over 90 days is arrested, he/her will be fined 5,000.- THB with an additional fine not exceeding 200.- THB for each day which passes until the law is complied with...

The above part of the text shown on the website of the Immigration Bureau is incorrect. Whether the Immigration Bureau did this due to ignorance or deliberately in order to frighten foreigners, I do not know.

But imagine a job where you not only work long, arduous hours, seven days a week but also where the scant wages of your paycheck go back to your employer. Imagine a job where you are not permitted to leave, even if you wanted to. Those were the precisely the kind of conditions Bunta Boonprasit worked in for three years of her life.

Boonprasit, 54, was one of 72 laborers from Thailand who toiled in slave-like captivity inside an El Monte garment sweatshop. Twenty years ago this month, she and the other workers were freed in an early morning, multi-agency raid on the townhouse compound. This event opened the eyes of many Americans to how such severe labor exploitation and human rights violations could thrive in the suburban shadows of the Land of the Free.

Her story began in 1992, when a friend who had worked in the U.S. had informed Boonprasit -who was still living in her native Thailand and worked in a Bangkok garment factory- about an opportunity to sew clothing in the States. Boonprasit was interested, and her friend set up a meeting with the hiring contractor.

Boonprasit and others interested in the venture met in a Bangkok hotel with the recruiters who told her that if they applied for a work visa through the U.S.' formal system, they would probably not be granted one. However, there was "another way" to work in the U.S.

They were instructed to create a false passport using their own photo, with another person's name and information. The workers at the time didn't have any qualms, and assumed it was the way things were done.

With the false passports, the group of laborers were granted tourist visas and were given tickets to be included in a legitimate tour group, which first landed in Hawaii, and visited the popular attractions of The Aloha State, just as any tour group would. Except that the laborers were escorted by a woman from the employment operation that was charged with monitoring their every move.

The moment Boonprasit arrived at LAX on August 3, 1992, they had literally left paradise behind. Her new employers took away their passports and the spending cash for show that they were given to pose as tourists, and were all told that they were to pay off a debt of 120,000 Thai Bhat (roughly $5,000 in 1995) to pay for their trip to the U.S. These expenses would be deducted from their wages.

Without hesitation, they were transported directly to their new "home" and place of employment: a townhouse compound on Santa Anita Avenue in El Monte, ringed with razor wire and monitored by armed guards. They were forced to work 84 hours a week, from early morning to midnight, for about $1.60 an hour, sewing clothes that would later appear in racks at stores like Macy's or Mervyns. When they were not working, they were sleeping on blankets on the floors of their cluttered, overcrowded dorm-style rooms. They were forced to pay their employers for their food, and even to use the laundry machines to wash their own clothes.

"I didn't know anything was wrong until I arrived [in El Monte]," said Boonprasit. "It wasn't a factory, like I thought it would be, it was just a garage in a home. I had worked in garment factories, I knew what to expect in a factory."

All correspondence with their family back home was heavily monitored and censored. Most of all, they were not allowed to leave the compound. If they failed to comply with the rules, they were told that their families back in Thailand would be threatened with harm.

But at least one of the laborers was able to escape, who later found employment in a garment factory, which was undergoing a routine inspection by the California Labor Commission at the time. One of the Thai employees at the factory told a Labor Commissioner about a co-worker of his who had escaped from an illegal sweatshop operation in El Monte.

"I was not surprised when I learned of this operation," said Martorell. "I had always known that there was rampant abuse and exploitation occurring in various Thai-owned factories and workplaces where the workers are also Thai. It would be just a matter of time before the underground ones are discovered."

"There were helicopters shining lights outside at around 1 or 2 a.m.," said Kitcha Phimonsing, 59, who had also been held captive in the sweatshop compound. "At around 5 a.m., a police officer came to the door, we were all afraid. No one dared to open the door. Then they broke the door down. We were all scared and confused."

The laborers were rounded up and brought outside the confines of the compound for the first time as the morning sun rose. Some of them had not been beyond the razor-wire fences in as many as seven years.

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