Source: Washington City Paper Young & Hungry
Khao soi gai at Baan Thai
When chef Aulie Bunyarataphan and her husband opened their first restaurant, T.H.A.I. in Shirlington, in 1995, she introduced fermented Isaan sausage to the menu—and was promptly lectured by Americans on what actual Thai food is.
“I was told this dish is not Thai. Thailand doesn’t have sausage,” Bunyarataphan says of customers’ reactions at the time. “They don’t know, and they’re afraid to try it too, so we took it off.”
Bunyarataphan also learned to shy away from anything too “smelly” or too spicy. “Twenty years ago, those flavors are not acceptable at all ...