The Northeast food

Like the North, the Northeast was also long regarded as remote form Bangkok and its direct influence. The Lao kingdoms on the other side of the Mekong River held greater sway over the region until the French drew up their Indochinese boundaries in the late 19th century, forcing the vast plateau that Thais call Isan more firmly into the embrace of Bangkok.

Even so, the Lao influence remains powerful in that the majority of people in the region are of Lao ethnic grouping, and that the local dialect is Lao. A further strong influence is that the Khmer, from Cambodia, whose kingdom earlier extended into this region; there are many Angkor Wat period moments throughout Isan, and Khmer is the dominant dialect in parts of the lower Northeast.

The rivers that flow through the plateau do not empty into the Gulf of Thailand but veer eastwards into Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, and on to the South China Sea, thus depriving this region of a rich delta country.

Glutinous rice is preferred to the white variety. Roasting and grilling gives a strong savoury flavour to much of the food, as douse the inclusion of herbs and pickled ingredients. Chillies also tend to be used with greater gusto here, to liven up a meal that might otherwise be somewhat impoverished in terms of content.Somtam is an art here. The green papaya is pounded in a mortar with time juice, garlic, fish sauce and a number of other ingredients. A popular style has dried shrimp, cherry tomatoes and roasted peanuts. Another has pickled field crab and very pungent fish sauce named pla ra. Eating somtam can be and eye-watering experience, and the absorbent properties of sticky rice are greatly appreciated.

Kai yang or grilled chicken, is another Isan special, the art lying in the preparation of garlic, coriander root, black pepper and fish sauce that is rubbed over the chicken before it is cooked slowly over hot charcoal. A variety of dips are served with the chicken, and sometimes a heap of garlic shavings. Lap is a kind of salad made by tossing minced meat, poultry or freshwater fish with fresh mint leaves, spring onion, lime juice, grounded dried chilli, and uncooked rice that has been dry-roasted to a brown colour. Neua nam tok is another salad, using lap-like ingredients, with beef that has been charcoal-grilled so that the fat runs out: the Thai name translates as "waterfall beef".An Isan meal will include a spicy soup made from lemongrass, galangal, spring onions, kaffir lime leaves and chilli. There are many variations, with beef tripe and liver, or chicken and tamarind leaves heading up the list of favourites. A hotpot known as chaew hawn is made in individual heated pots, the raw ingredients placed in the boiling broth by the diners.Peculiar to the region is the giant Mekong catfish named pla beuk that can be caught only a certain time of the year, usually in May, when it is stored frozen for the restaurants that specialise in this delicacy.

Reference http://www.sawadee.com/thailand/food/regional.htm