While he was growing up in Udon Thani, Sirapob Chaiprathum — who goes by Q — would wake up early with his mother to cook food for the markets. Years later, as Chaiprathum traveled around the United States, he noticed that most Thai restaurants in the United States had very few Isan dishes on menus — at best, he might spot a version of larb, or papaya salad, also known as som tum.
In Portland, there has been some Isan representation in the local culinary scene — perhaps more than the rest of the country — but our offerings are generally limited to a few salads and grilled
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