This is the second in a monthly series that explores cultural cuisine leading up to Tucson Meet Yourself, Oct. 8-10, celebrating 37 years of community folk art, traditions and cultural identity.
Tucson Meet Yourself helped introduce Ajahn Sarayut Arnanta to the Old Pueblo when he arrived from Thailand a decade ago to serve as a spiritual leader to the Dhammaratanaram Temple.
It also introduced him to cooking.
"In Thailand, monks do not cook," he said, explaining that congregations traditionally prepare food for the monks.
At the time, the temple was smaller and Arnanta cooked a little for himself. But Tucson Meet Yourself is a mammoth effort that requires everyone to pitch in.
In recent years the group has made pad thai - one of Thailand's best-known dishes with rice noodles stir-fried with chiles, eggs, garlic and crushed peanuts - along with chicken satay and spring rolls.
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This year they also plan to enter Som Tum, or green papaya salad, into the festival's new competition to find the world's hottest sauces and dishes.
Thai cuisine is known for its fire, and Arnanta said that this traditional dish would be too incendiary for most Americans if prepared at full strength.
The dish is a fave throughout Thailand, with regional varieties.
The Dhammaratanaram Temple's recipe calls for pickled crab, which complements the heat of the chile along with the sweetness of the sugar and the fragrance of the garlic and lime. The balance of spicy and savory are hallmarks of Thai cuisine.
"The Thai participation in Tucson Meet Yourself brings such a richness to our event," said Mia Hansen, Tucson Meet Yourself's executive director. "Thai foods are always a hit."
Hansen said the group is an important part of the festival.
"It is the delightful contrast of saffron-robed Thai monks sharing their customs along with the rest of our diverse communities that contributes to the joyful cultural potluck of our festival."
If you go
Dhamma Thai Temple and Wat Buddhametta: Tucson Buddhist Meditation Center
• Where: 1133 S. Swan Road.
• More info: Go to www.tucsonbuddhistcenter.org for more about the center and a full schedule of events or call 745-4624.
Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad)
Ingredients
• 3 cups shredded fresh green papayas (use a Pro-Slice Thai Peeler)
• Dash of salt
• 4-8 Thai red chiles (stems removed), more or less depending on how hot you want it
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• A handful of fresh long green beans, cut into inch-long pieces
• 3 thinly sliced medium Roma tomatoes (or a few more if you use cherry tomatoes)
• 2 tablespoons dried shrimp
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 3 tablespoons palm sugar or regular sugar (more if you like)
• 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice (or juice from two limes or lemons)
• 2-4 tablespoons peanuts (optional)
• Also optional: 3 tablespoons juice of pickled mud fish, and 1-2 small pickled crabs OR Ba Khia (baby crabs with sugar, salt, garlic, chile and water) to taste.
• 5 string beans for garnish
What to Do
Peel papaya, rinse the white milk off, pat dry and then shred the whole papaya. Sprinkle with a bit of salt then rinse off and drain. Keep two cups of papaya out and put the rest in a sealed container for later use. Slice tomatoes thinly. Using a clay mortar and pestle, coarsely pound the fresh chiles and garlic. Add the green beans and sliced tomatoes and pound lightly. Add the dried shrimp, fish sauce, sugar and lime juice - in spoonfuls, tasting as you go. If you want to add peanuts, add now and pound lightly. If you want to include the Ba Khia or the mud fish, add now. Add the shredded papaya and pound together.
Serve on a dish with fresh cabbage, celery and long green beans on the side, and more peanuts if wanted.
Recipe courtesy of Ajahn Sarayut Arnanta
Meditation center in heart of town
Ajahn Sarayut Arnanta is the founding abbot of the Wat Buddhametta: Tucson Buddhist Meditation Center and the co-president of Dhammaratanaram Temple, commonly known as the Dhamma Thai Center.
Both recently moved into a expansive adobe structure that sits on 3.5 nearly pristine acres along Swan Road just north of 22nd Street.
The 43-year-old spiritual leader sees the property as the ideal place to make Buddhism more accessible to Tucsonans and to better serve the Thai and other Southeast Asian communities.
"We are in the heart of Tucson," he said.
The center is open to the public Tuesdays through Sundays, with silent meditation offered at 8 a.m.
There is also a Buddhist study club and chanting classes, and Arnanta hopes to soon offer tai chi and yoga among other activities.
Arnanta said he sees increasing interest from people who do not consider themselves Buddhists, but who are drawn to spiritual practice.
Arnanta has held group meditations aimed at teaching Vipassana, or Mindfulness Meditation, since June 2006. The group started with monthly meetings at various library branches.
The new Swan Road property, which once housed the Fleur de Lis Institute landscaping school, was acquired in December.
The center operates on donations, which go to support the temple.
