Quest for the Best: Pla Tubtim Rad Prik (Fried Fish + Chili-Garlic Sauce)
In this first edition of Quest for the Best, I’m featuring my favorite Thai dish called Pla Tubtim Rad Prik, which is a fried fish with fresh chili sauce.
The first time I had the fish dish was at a street vendor in Chinatown, Bangkok. It was the only stall with a line and mini communal tables ensured you’d meet a new friend. Despite the line, I was never able to find the mysterious seller again. But, in a way that’s the beauty of Bangkok – get it while you can.
We met a fellow American at our communal table. He was a young 20-something who had just graduated from college and was about to start a government job. But he needed to find himself. So he left behind his girlfriend to spend a month traveling through Bangkok. That’s the thing about Thailand, people come here to soul search. To take a break. To shake things up. That’s the beauty of traveling.
But onto the food. Thankfully, I found the dish again when I visited the highly touted authentic Thai restaurant, Soei. A favorite of fellow culinary travel writer, Mark Wiens, I had to give it a try. I break down my entire experience of Soei in another article but this particular dish needed an article of its own.
A breakdown of Pla Tubtim Rad Prik
Flavor
The combination of sweet, spicy and salty make the flavors of this dish explode. Mild chilies and hot Thai chilies are sauteed together with garlic, fish sauce and coconut sugar. This makes for a sweet heat that creeps up unexpectedly. The texture of the fish was masterfully crispy on the outside and moist and tender on the inside. This fish was swimming in the heaping amount of sauce, but no one wants a chintzy amount of sauce that tastes this good.
Quality
Large aquariums of freshly caught live fish dot the entrance to Soei, so their “fresh catch of the day” isn’t a joke. None of the fish is frozen, so you’re getting the freshest fish imaginable. Typically a white fish is used to make Pla Tubtim Rad Prik and in Thailand tilapia and bass are the common fishes for this dish.
Presentation
It’s only a true a Pla Tubtim Rad Prik if a full fried fish is plated whole and smothered in the sweet garlic chili sauce. It’s served alongside fresh vegetables and sticky rice. When this large platter is set at a table, everyone, including the server has a smile. The beautiful colors and fragrant smell of the chilies caramelized in sweet sugar is a feast for the eyes, nose and taste buds.
It might be something I attempt to make myself one day, but I doubt it’d be able to top what the chef serves up at Soei.