In European-style restaurants Thai origin beef is always at a fraction of the cost of imported meat, and rumour has it that this is not solely because of the shipping costs and import tariffs. Doom-mongers point at the mangy critters lining the sides of the polluted highways browsing on lead flavour blackened vegetation, and suggest that cheapskate red meat lovers in Thailand will be lucky to make it past 50. Who knows, but I'm grateful to Carol of the Chiang Mai Photographic Group for providing another delightful picture to remind us that much of Thailand's cattle is healthy and no doubt good to eat... although now I've seen the star of this photo, I'm rather reluctant to imagine her ending up on a plate!
Click on this photo for a close-up of cow and friend, clearly in a beneficial symbiotic relationship... "just a couple of inches further down please, there's a tick that's been annoying me for days now..."Stick to proper Thai food in Thai restaurants or from street vendors, and you're pretty safe. You might not always know what you are eating... 'a-se-tek' is a form of kebab, not necessarily from a cow or other mainstream meat source as far as I can make out, but I'm not dead yet. (I had noticed a distinct drop in the number of rats around Chiang Mai streets though, shortly before coming over to France)...
If you want something familiar, from species you are in the habit of chewing on from the shelves of Tesco, here are a couple of easy-to-remember suggestions...
Cow Pat Moo - pork fried rice
Cow Pat Guy - chicken fried rice
Any more amusing suggestions from Thai-based expats??
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