Cool season gives reprieve to buffalo-skin chefs in the Northeast
Cooler temperatures are increasing demand for dried buffalo skin, but with fewer people knowing how to prepare the Isaan delicacy customers have to drive further to find it, according to a vendor in Sakon Nakhon.
Pongsak Pia-arsa, 55, said demand for buffalo skin rises in the cool season when customers “addicted” to the delicacy come from far away to purchase a 40 baht serving.
Preparing buffalo skin is a lengthy process. First, the fat has to be removed and the skin cleaned. Then, it has to be salted and fermented in rice bran. Next, it has to be dried for two days.
Buffalo skin is more popular during the cool season because people like to roast it on a campfire, Pongsak said. Once roasted, they pound the skin with a pestle and then eat it with sticky rice.
The process of preparing buffalo skin is, like many Isaan traditions, being forgotten, Pongsak said, adding that because it is not a very popular dish year-round it can be difficult to find the spices required to prepare it.
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