Chef Noree Pla’s chili paste is the foundation of her signature crab curry dish at Luv2Eat Thai Bistro, and she has entrusted it only to her fiancé, Chef Fern and younger sister Princess Pauleen.
Standing in the kitchen with Chef Noree Pla, I watch as she makes her favorite dish on Luv2Eat’s menu – Phuket-style crab curry. The fragrant smell of spices and fresh herbs fill the kitchen as she pours the curry broth into the pot, tossing generous amounts of crab clusters into the pot as she cooks. The backbone of this dish, unknown to many of her customers, is her secret chili paste.
The Thai chili paste is a secret recipe Chef Pla developed, and it’s guarded by her, her fiance, Chef Fern two chefs and Chef Pla’s younger sister, Princess Pauleen.
Chef Pla’s voice was full of pride when she talked about her chili paste. She beamed with an infectious and warm smile when she told me about how her parents taught her the recipe and the love for authentic Southern Thai cooking.
“My dad and my mom [taught] me [how to] make all these sauces. [They] can make a lot of food,” she said.
Chef Pla makes the chili paste in a large pot that comes up to her waist when she’s standing next to it, churning and mixing the paste until it is the perfect consistency.
Although American customers don’t always differentiate between regional Thai foods, each area has its own styles and flavors.
Southern Thai food, specifically Phuket cuisine, is distinct from its northern counterpart because it features more seafood dishes and has bolder and spicier flavors. The chefs told me turmeric and shrimp paste, or kapi, are two regular ingredients that also make the regional cuisine unique, and part of what sets their restaurant apart from others in LA.
“This is the one to make the food real and authentic southern style,” she said her parents told her. She also uses ingredients imported from Phuket to make her food as true to her roots as possible.
Luv2Eat has been a staple in the LA Thai food scene since its opening in 2014 and earned a Michelin Guide rating in 2019.
Chef Pla said kapi isn’t often used in Thai food in the U.S. because it can smell stronger than other ingredients. She said she remembered the first month after Luv2Eat opened, a customer complained about the smell after coming into the restaurant and never tried the food. But Chef Pla said she’s going to keep using the paste anyway to honor her parents.
If you want to try southern Thai food, Chef Pla’s signature Phuket-style crab curry is one of the most popular items on the menu. It is another secret recipe her mom taught her.
In the kitchen, she holds up the final product, her smile was beaming through my camera. This is her favorite dish on the menu – and it shows. A labor of love, it is a homage to her mother and homeland.
hong ta | Food + culture writer 