When we lived in Thailand, my family’s favorite holiday was
always Loy Krathong. It was even better than Songkran, the
week-long water fight at the height of the hot season that’s as fun
as it gets until your skin breaks out and you come down with a
bronchial condition from being soaked to the bone for three
straight days with less-than-clean water.
When we lived in Thailand, my family’s favorite holiday was always Loy Krathong. It was even better than Songkran, the week-long water fight at the height of the hot season that’s as fun as it gets until your skin breaks out and you come down with a bronchial condition from being soaked to the bone for three straight days with less-than-clean water.
Loy Krathong is for the older, more reflective folks. Unlike Songkran, which started as a gentle water-anointing ritual but has become an all-out water war with pressure hoses and gangs of water-pistol wielding youth in pick-up trucks, Loy Krathong remains pretty much the same as it has been for hundreds of years.
With its opulently decorated, candle lit “krathongs” or boats, Loy Krathong is a festival that would make Martha Stewart green with envy … although the art of crafting a beautiful krathong from natural materials is passed down from generation to generation in Thailand, rather than via the DIY Channel. The base of a krathong is made from a thin section of banana stalk or some other buoyant material. That base is then covered in all manner of flowers and leaves, and festooned with joss sticks (incense) and candles. The end result is a floating tropical flower arrangement that is lit and released on one of Thailand’s myriad rivers, canals and waterways on the Loy Krathong full-moon festival in mid-November.
The festival marks the end of the rainy season, but, as befits a culture as rich and dynamic as Thailand’s, there are several explanations for the meaning of Loy Krathong. It’s generally understood that krathong are made to carry away a person’s ill fortune, but some say they also are an “apology” to Khongkha, the River Goddess. Others believe the ritual is meant to worship the Buddha’s footprint on the bank of the Narmada River, while others say that it pays homage to Phra Uppakhut, one of the Buddha’s disciples. In many ways, it doesn’t matter why you’ve got a boat to float on Loy Krathong, what’s important is that you float it.
There are as many legends and myths purporting to explain the origins of Loy Krathong. In Northern Thailand, where it is likely the festival began, people speak of a great artist who lived in the royal court of the Kingdom of Sukothai some 700 years ago as the originator of the festival. Her name was Naang Noparmart, and it is told that she expanded upon a local festival that involved floating lanterns on the water by building the first lotus-shaped krathong. When the king came to judge the best lanterns, he awarded Naang Noparmart the first prize. He further decreed that once a year, on the night of the full moon, a Buddhist holiday should be celebrated by floating lotus-shaped banana leaf boats.
Loy Krathong is traditionally performed on the full moon night of the 12th lunar month, which usually falls on some day in November. This year, in the Bay Area, the Thai community will be celebrating the holiday at Golden Gate Park’s Hall of Flowers on Sunday, Nov. 7, from 10am to 5pm.
John Klahan of the Thai Cultural Council of Northern California, the group putting on the event, says the TCCNC has been putting on Loy Krathong and Songkran festivals in the Bay Area for 10 years. “We expect 200 to 300 people this Sunday,” he says.
“It’s a very important season for Thai people,” he says, adding that while the Golden Gate Park event does not fall precisely on the full moon, when Loy Krathong will be celebrated in Thailand, some compromises have to made when the official date doesn’t fall on a weekend.
Krathongs will be available to buy at the event, which will also feature numerous activities and, of course, that delicious Thai food we all know and love.
In honor of Loy Krathong, then, here are some simple Thai recipes those who can’t make it up to Golden Gate Park can prepare this Sunday … to celebrate the ritual in gastronomical solidarity, if not in person.
Beef Satay (nuea satay)
1/3 cup coconut milk
2 T. fresh cilantro/coriander leaves
3 T. sugar
1 T. yellow curry powder
1/3 cup fish sauce
1 T. oil
8 oz. sirloin or flank steak, cut in long narrow strips 1 in. wide and 3 in. long
Step 1 In a large bowl mix together all the ingredients for the marinade. Dip each piece of meat in the sauce and set aside. Cover and leave in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
Step 2 Weave each strip of meat onto an 8-in. skewer lengthwise.
Step 3 Broil/grill for five minutes on each side or pan-fry. To pan-fry, brush a large non-stick pan with coconut milk or leftover marinade and pan-fry meat for 2-3 minutes on each side. Brush the meat with the sauce as it is turned.
Step 4 Serve with peanut sauce (nam jim satay).
Peanut Sauce
(nam jim satay)
1 3/4 cups coconut milk
2 T. red curry paste
1/4 cup fish sauce (nam pla)
3 T. sugar
1 cup ground roasted peanuts
Step 1 Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring constantly.
Step 2 Serve as dipping sauce for beef satay.
Green Papaya Salad (som tam)
1 medium-sized dark green papaya
4 garlic cloves
6 green Thai chilies
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
1/2 cup chopped green beans, in 1-in pieces
2 T. anchovy sauce
1/2 tsp. sauce
1/4 cup lime juice or tamarind juice
Step 1 Peel the papaya and rinse with running water to remove the acid. Remove the seeds and shred the papaya with a grater. Set aside.
Step 2 Place the garlic cloves and the chilies in a mortar and mash with a pestle until crushed into chunks. Place the papaya and the remaining ingredients in the mortar and gently combine all ingredients by mixing with the pestle and a spoon. Serve cold.
Satay and salad serve four.
What:
Loy Krathong Festival 2004
Where:
Hall of Flowers, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
When:
Sunday, Nov. 7, 10am-5pm
How much:
Adults: $5, Children: $3, Under-5: free
What else:
Thai Papaya Salad and Pad Thai competitions at 1pm featuring the best of Bay Area Thai restaurants; Miss Loy Krathong and Miss Junior Loy Krathong beauty pageants; Thai traditional dancing and music show; Thai kick boxing (muay thai)
More info:
Call Catherine at (415) 902-8360 or E-mail ca*******@*********va.com
