Cook it! All Thai’d up

Getting spicy in Hove

I have never been to Thailand, I want to go desperately, but so far no go. That makes it rather odd for me to be talking about the authentic tastes of a cuisine that I have only sampled here – and I suspect that quite a lot of it is faux-siam. I have to say that I have also been rather lucky and had Thai dishes cooked at home by Thai chefs, and as such I am pretty well versed in the finer details of Thai ingredients – which is why I get cross when served dishes that replace pea aubergines with frozen peas, galangal with ginger and miss out that truly fragrant holy basil and offer up only the ubiquitous coriander.

A few years back I went along to Green Mango in Hove and found that they were true to the real deal, using all the above specialist ingredients and many more. I liked it very much, and walking past a few weeks back decide that it was time to return to see if the offering was as good as it had been back then. I was not disappointed.

We were pretty unanimous in our love of the spicing, the sweet, sour, hot and cool combinations

Ms McD joined me for an early dinner and on the way we discussed what we like, and indeed dislike, about Thai food. We were pretty unanimous in our love of the spicing, the sweet, sour, hot and cool
combinations that are so unique, and we were pretty unanimous about lazy thai dishes so often served up, the ubiquitous ‘Thai’ green and red curries that litter pub menus and have very little to do with the real deal. By the time we arrived we were chomping at the bit and hoping to find something new to excite our clearly jaded palates.

Green Mango looks good, smart in part and exuberantly pretty in others. It was very early so pretty quiet, although within an hour it was filling up with customers of all ages. I like that, a place with a universal appeal.

Ms McD was drinking sparkling water, so restrained, but I fancied and had a Thai beer, I like the fragrant light brews that they favour and they are a great match for spicy food.

To start she chose a special of spring rolls filled with crab and spinach. I tried one and it was very impressive and quite clearly freshly made. They were served prettily too in a wine glass not unlike a prawn cocktail and with a display of impressively carved carrots on the side.

I am not supposed to eat crab but I threw caution to the wind and ordered soft shell crab. I love it and I loved this, that musky flavour, soft and creamy interior and crisp exterior ticks all of my boxes – and this was damned good, I was very happy despite blanking out the potential foot pain later.
Ms McD moved on and chose a spicy red curry. This came with the funniest carving in swede of a squirrel.

Having recently had to cook squirrel live on stage it made me laugh, and I am relieved to say that it was not a squirrel dish as squirrel is not an attractive food item. She ate the dish with relish, the vibrant sauce working well with the sticky rice.

I stayed with seafood and chose Chu Chi Goong, giant king prawns cooked in a creamy red curry sauce, with peppers, and topped with lime leaves. When I say huge I mean HUGE! Clench your fist and you will get an idea of the scale of these very tasty beasts. I’ve been served lobsters with less meat on them and this meat was particularly tasty, as was the rich sauce. My plate carried a bird in flight made of carrot! I had a little sticky rice but I was saving space for a plate of pak choi leaves lightly stir-fried with soy sauce. I’m a big fan of greens in any form but I particularly like oriental greens.

There is a delicate balance of watery flesh with bitter notes that are brought to life by being delicately cooked and dressed with a light soy dressing. Ms McD had a little, but I scoffed the lot and smacked my lips after each mouthful.

We really were too full for puds but could not resist when we heard that it was Boho Gelato salt caramel ice-cream – delicious.

Green Mango is excellent, sensibly priced and very welcoming and we both loved our crazy carved vegetables.
Green Mango, 8 Church Road, Hove, BN3 2FL,
01273 327226, thegreenmangohove.com

Follow me: latestandrew