ETHNIC COOKING : Looking for Good Thai

Nancie McDermott once rated American Thai restaurants on whether they could produce “odd, obscure dishes that nobody but an old Peace Corps worker would love.” (McDermott had been a Peace Corps teacher in Surin Province in northeastern Thailand.)

McDermott has mellowed. “Thai restaurants are generally wonderful,” she says, proud that there is one even in her native Greensboro, N.C.

But authentic? Often not, but then authenticity is a nebulous concept. In Thailand, the same dish may be prepared in a different way in each region; there’s little consensus among cooks, and Thais aren’t purists. “They don’t worry about how authentic a dish is in principle,” McDermott says. Their concern: “Is it good?”

McDermott, who now resides in Carlsbad, lived in Thailand for three years and speaks Thai “fluently but not correctly.” In 1989, she returned to re-taste the food, traveling from the northern to the southern tip. The result is “Real Thai” (Chronicle Books: $9.95), an excellent study of regional Thai food.

At one time, McDermott was tempted to crusade for more varied, authentic restaurant menus. “But I realized these are businesses,” she says. “Mr. and Mrs. America aren’t going to sit down and eat such things as green papaya salad, sticky rice and Northeastern barbecue.” Here in Southern California, we’re lucky that there are enough Thais to support restaurants that serve these dishes.

In writing her book, McDermott wanted to be as authoritative as possible. “I would round up as many opinions (of a dish) as I could,” she says, “but I could never say, ‘This was it.’ I ended up having to make my own decisions.”

It was easy to test Thai recipes in Southern California. Here one can turn up such rare ingredients as maengluk basil and sataw beans. ( Maengluck is a lemony-tasting Thai basil. Sataw beans resemble shelled green limas but have a distinctive bitter flavor.)

Sataw , which are available frozen in Thai markets, are linked to southern Thailand, an area of strong, spicy food that is not well known in other parts of the country. Southerners prize hot chiles and sour seasonings, and they color some dishes with turmeric. Muslim and Indian influences mark the cuisine, whereas the North borrows from neighboring Laos and Burma and preserves food traditions of the Shan people, who emigrated from China.

Central Thailand, which includes Bangkok, is the home of elaborate, palace-style dishes. These tend to taste sweet, be less hot and employ lots of coconut milk. Grilled meats, exceptionally hot sauces and sticky rice are typical of Northeastern Thailand. The Gulf Coast, of course, values seafood.

McDermott says that booming tourism has brought in more Western influence, including fast-food restaurants, but local cuisine has not suffered. “The Thais don’t give up Thai food,” she says. “They just add other things.”

This curry, from central Thailand, shows the use of coconut milk and sweet seasoning in that region. McDermott suggests substituting golf-ball-sized Thai eggplants, called makeua poh, for regular eggplant, and adding a handful of the pea-sized green eggplants known as makeua peuang. These eggplants, which are now in season, and horapah basil (red-stemmed Thai basil) are available in most Asian markets and at many growers markets. McDermott, who presented this dish at a dinner at the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, says it is her favorite Thai curry.

GAENG KIOW WAHN GAI (Green Chicken Curry)

1 whole chicken breast 2 chicken thighs 1/2 cup coconut cream (undiluted, thick canned coconut milk) 1/4 cup Green Curry Paste 3 cups coconut milk (see note) 1 1/2 cups diced eggplant (1-inch dice) 2 Tablespoons fish sauce 1 tablespoon palm sugar or brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 12 kaffir lime leaves 1/2 cup horapah basil leaves or other fresh basil leaves 3 fresh red Thai chiles, sliced on diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick ovals, or 9 long, thin sweet red pepper strips

Bone and skin chicken breast and thighs and cut into large, bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

Warm coconut cream in heavy-bottomed medium saucepan over medium heat until it boils gently. Adjust heat to maintain gentle boil and cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Coconut cream will become fragrant as it thickens.) When tiny pools of oil glisten on surface, add Green Curry Paste and stir until blended. Continue cooking 1 to 2 minutes, until mixture has pleasing aroma.

Add chicken pieces and cook 1 to 2 minutes to coat evenly with paste. Continue to cook 2 minutes. Increase heat and add coconut milk, eggplant, fish sauce, sugar and salt. Stir well.

Stir in 6 lime leaves and cook at gentle, active boil 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust seasonings with little more fish sauce, sugar or curry paste. When chicken is done (15 to 20 minutes) and eggplant is just tender, remove from heat and transfer to serving bowl. Scatter basil leaves, chiles and remaining 6 lime leaves on top. Serve hot or warm. Makes 6 servings.

Note : Coconut cream is thick, rich coconut milk, not sweetened coconut cream used as bar mix. For coconut cream, stir contents of can of coconut milk well and use undiluted. For coconut milk, stir contents of can and dilute by half with water.

Each serving contains about:

445 calories; 632 mg sodium; 45 mg cholesterol; 37 grams fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 20 grams protein; 4.64 grams fiber.

Green Curry Paste 1 tablespoon coriander seeds 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 5 black peppercorns 3 stalks lemon grass 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro roots or leaves and stems 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped peeled fresh galangal or ginger root 1 teaspoon minced kaffir lime zest or regular lime zest 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped garlic 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped shallots 1/2 cup fresh green Thai chiles, stemmed and coarsely chopped 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon shrimp paste Place coriander seeds in small skillet and dry-fry over medium heat until slightly darkened and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Shake pan occasionally to prevent burning. Transfer to small bowl to cool.

Roast cumin seeds in same way. Combine roasted spices with peppercorns and grind to fine powder with mortar and pestle or in spice grinder. Set aside.

Discard grassy tops of lemon-grass, leaving stalks about 3 inches long. Cut off any hard root sections to leave clean, smooth, flat base at root end. Remove and discard tough outer leaves. Slice each stalk crosswise very thinly. Finely chop slices and place in large heavy mortar.

Add cilantro roots, galangal and lime zest. Pound until ingredients are broken down, scraping down sides often with spoon. Add garlic and shallots and continue pounding, grinding and scraping until moist, fragrant paste forms. Add chiles and grind, being careful to keep chile paste from splashing. Add ground spices, salt and shrimp paste and grind well. When paste is fairly smooth, transfer to small glass jar, cover tightly and store in refrigerator for up to 1 week. Makes about 1 cup.