Thailand’s PM Ousted Over Cooking Show

The prime minister of Thailand, Samak Sundaravej, has just been ordered to resign from his position after a court found him guilty of accepting payment for his TV appearances. Samak was already a subject of controversy after allegations of corruption, but the actual grounds for his ousting were based on his appearance on a popular cooking show, the delightfully named “Tasting, Grumbling.”

The popular programme featured the prime minister cooking up traditional Thai recipes — pork leg in Coca-Cola is a favourite — before indulging in a ranting monologue on subjects of his choosing. The grumpy right-winger would often visit restaurants or food stalls offering cooking tips. His other preferred haunts were Bangkok’s food markets, where he would cast an eye over the produce.

Samak’s recipe (for public and political shame!), after the jump:

Samak had hosted the show while he was the governor of Bangkok but gave it up when he got the position of PM. The temptations of the kitchen, however, proved too much for him and he appeared again as a guest on the show several times while in office.

A clause in Thailand’s constitution makes it illegal for the PM to receive outside income, so the money Samak received for his work on the show was taken as a violation of his oath. After the initial elation over his defeat, Thailanders are now worrying they may enter a period of instability once he leaves office, and questions remain over which party or candidate will win control. This calls for an Iron Chef: Prime Minister Lightning Round! to decide!

Try it yourself!

One of the TV recipes that screwed Samak over:

Tom Kha Salmon

For the soup:

1 chicken stock cube
1 lb salmon cut into bite-size chunks
1 teaspoon coriander seed
4 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon Thai pepper powder
1 cup sliced fresh galangal
1/4 cup sliced fresh lemongrass
1/4 cup kaffir lime leaves, sliced
1 cup fresh mushroom (more if desired)
2 13oz cans coconut milk
7 tablespoons fish sauce

Method:

Bring 48 fluid ozs of water to the boil and add chicken stock cube. In a mortar and pestle pound the coriander seed, garlic and Thai pepper powder into a paste. Add the paste to the boiling stock. Add salmon, galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and stir. Add mushrooms, followed by coconut milk. Season with fish sauce to taste, bring to a boil, then remove from heat.

Ladle into a serving bowl and season with lime juice to taste, then sprinkle with mild fresh chillies, such as jalapeno, red and yellow bell peppers, or any mild chilli peppers in season.

For the rice the Prime Minister suggested mixing 80 per uncooked jasmine rice with 20 per cent uncooked sticky rice, rinse, and steam together in a rice cooker.

Serve and enjoy.

El primer ministro tailandés puede ser destituido por su programa de cocina [20minutos]
Court rules Thai prime minister must resign over cookery show [Guardian]
Dish that got Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej in hot water [Timesonline]