Food Childhood

Issue 98 November 2012

Aaisha Ahmed grew up with a mixed background and developed her taste buds from an early age.

Growing up with a very mixed ethnic background meant growing up with a wide variety of different foods. I’m Thai on my mother’s side, and English and Eastern European on my father’s side. Meal times were family time, and the smells, bright colours, and hot and tangy flavours of Thai food could always be found flowing around the home. 

One of my favourite dishes growing up was Tom Yam, which I call my elixir of life. It was a hot and sour clear soup, flavoured with lime leaves and hot chillies, having the strong fragrance of lemongrass and galangal, along with the zesty kick of kaffir lime leaves, topped with fresh coriander. We often ate Tom Yam with jasmine rice or Thai glutinous rice. Another memorable recipe was Som Tam. This was a very spicy salad made from green papaya that my mum would make with a pestle and mortar. I always watched her as she made it, tasting the dish along the way. 

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