We had a small gathering at my Dad’s house yesterday. I came from a big family of 8 children (7 sisters and no brother) and a gathering like this is always fun and festive. I do missed my mom for no longer here with us and I hope that my sisters that couldn’t be here enjoyed seeing the photos as much as we enjoyed the food and fun. Friday was a beautiful day, the sky was deep blue and the weather warm during the day. My dad had his Thai country music playing from the camper.
My second sister made shrimp in a blanket. She wrapped her shrimps with fully cooked bacon and grilled on the grill. Lee and my niece loved it and here is my niece showing off her piece below.
One of my sisters made Kauw Mee, it is a Lao style noodle dish.
I made Tum Mak Houng, a spicy papaya salad. I usually fix it very spicy for myself, but kind of mild yesterday since most don’t have iron stomach like I do.
The fun part was telling ghost stories by the campfire at night. You always hear a different version of the same story, here is one of Phi Kongkoi a ghost story from Laos told by my brother in-law. In his version the Phi Kongkoi would come out at night and eat craps. His feet are backward, so when you chase him he would run backward. I know it sounds so weird, must be for the kids.
Click here to view this video on YouTube
This is not as scary as when I heard it as a kid. According to my mom’s version, a fisherman named Thid Kaew went by the water bank and saw Phi Kongkoi. She had fish in her mouth, blood dripping from her lips. She said ‘Hungry! Hungry!’ Thid Kaew was scared but tried to be brave, he had a flame torch in his hand and told her to open her mouth wide, then wider, and when she did that, he shoved the torch into her mouth. She cried out in pain. I recalled that the image of Phi Kongkoi was very vivid in my mind when my mom told me.
Lee had her share of telling her ghost stories also.
We had a lot of fun, lots of laughing and it’s like camping out in the wilderness.
But not too far from home.
Nye Noonaz 
yum, I had kua mee and tum mak hoong along with turkey too!
Hi lady0fdarkness, sounds like you had a good Thanksgiving. 🙂
I usually mixed my kauw mee with tum mark hoong…. i want some now!!!
seeharhed, the combination of the two dishes are very good. I usually fix myself Tum Mak Houng almost everyday and I don’t think I will ever get tired of it. 🙂
This is a great idea to have an outdoor Thanksgiving in autumn. 🙂
I do remember those Phi Kongkoi stories. I think it was told only to scare us kids. One story was to warn us not chew too loud or eat late in the night. If we did, then Phi Kongkoi will show up. So not true!
Cambree, I guess to also keep kids inside late at night. I think it’s also a part of entertainment for kids way back when there were no TV and only radio to listen to news and musics back in Laos and Thailand. My GI Joe sister used to tell ghost stories at the refugee camp and kids would gather every evening to listen to her stories. That was the good old days. 🙂