DISH OF THE WEEK: Nue Rong Hai Der + Khao Ji at SOMTUM DER

Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City

I recently completed hosting a second round of virtual programs with Turnstile Tours and Thai Select USA on Thai Food in America. It was a very rewarding and hunger-inducing series of programs. You can check them out at the Turnstile Tours website. 

The final episode in the series actually took us to Bangkok (yes, that Bangkok) where we went live to the restaurant Somtum Der and chatted with the CEO and got to see two cooking demos.

I was familiar with Somtum Der because I had enjoyed many a meal at the location in the East Village. The restaurant is named for papaya salads which is iconic from the Isan region of Thailand.

Before putting the series together, however, I did not realize there was a second location in Red Hook. How did I miss that?

Well now that things have calmed down a bit in the city I took the ferry out to Red Hook to satisfy my craving for the spicy, sour, delicious food from Somtum Der.

This location fits the Red Hook neighborhood very well with a small lively dining room and a more spacious, but still intimate outdoor patio.

I really wanted to order the two dishes we saw the chefs prepare on the virtual program: Larb Ped (spicy duck salad) and Ttum Thai Kai Kem (spicy papaya salad with salted egg). But then I started looking through the menu further and I saw too many tempting options.

In the end, I picked another more daring somtum option – the one with field crabs and pla ra (or fermented fish sauce). I asked for it spicy and I got it spicy. It was so good and funky and fishy and I was so hungry that I ate it a little too fast. By the time my next dish came out, I had already had to take a number of deep breaths to ensure my tongue was not actually on fire.

Thankfully for my American palate, the next dish was a bit more tame but just as flavorful.

I had something similar to the Nue Rong Hai Der at the now sadly shuttered Kiin. And I loved it there and I loved it here.

Both grilled dishes were served with irresistible Khao Ji which are skewers of grilled sticky rice cakes. They are warm and sticky and sweet and crisp. As good as they look in the above photo.

And then the main star here are these sticky, sweet and spicy strips of marinated and grilled steak. They were as addicting as a spicy/sweet beef jerky. And the “Nam Jim Jiew” sauce was so good for dipping the rice cakes and the meat in it. I could have dipped just about anything in that sweet and spicy elixir.

So unfortunately I couldn’t actually go to Bangkok to experience Somtum Der, but we are so lucky to have two options right in our very own city. Is a third location asking too much? Price: $15