Floating flavours: Uttaradit spiced up with ancient dish, raft parade

The northern Thai province of Uttaradit will host a festival featuring the traditional dish Oua Bak Phed Sai Pla (green pepper stuffed with fish), a recipe passed down for over 300 years, alongside a spectacular raft procession to celebrate local produce and waterways in Tron district.

The annual festival, organised by the Uttaradit Provincial Cultural Office in collaboration with local administrative bodies and communities, will take place from December 3 to 6. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the event, which honours the late King Rama IX and the ruling King Rama X.

The festival aims to promote tourism and highlight local culinary identities rooted in the riverside communities of the Nan River. Visitors can enjoy the grand spectacle of illuminated rafts, community stalls, and cultural exhibits showcasing One Tambon One Product (OTOP) items.

A key highlight is scheduled for the evening of December 5, when seven beautifully decorated rafts, adorned with multi-coloured LED lights representing the royal duties of King Rama IX and King Rama X, will gracefully float along the Nan River.

Each raft, standing 8 metres high, will journey from Wat Wang Daeng Pier to Wat Hat Song Kwae Pier, covering a distance of 12 kilometres over four hours. The dazzling procession is a visual feast, tracing the river’s path with vibrant illumination.

The public and tourists can admire and photograph the impressive rafts at Wat Hat Song Kwae Pier on December 5 and 6. The event also features the Cultural Street and Fish & Egg Festival, where a variety of local dishes made from chicken eggs and fish from the Nan River will be available.

Tron district is renowned as the largest producer of chicken eggs and cage-raised fish in northern Thailand, with farmers adhering to GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) standards. The district produces 2.4 million eggs annually, generating a revenue of 2.92 billion baht, and sells 24 tonnes of fish per day, contributing 745 million baht to the local economy each year.

Innovative dishes, both savoury and sweet, are crafted from these ingredients to encourage the public to consume nutritious eggs and fish. Visitors can try unique and delicious creations such as Volcano Steamed Eggs, Yum Yai Khai Tom (a salad with boiled eggs, boiled pork skin, minced pork, pomelo, and toasted coconut for fragrance), steamed eggs, fermented fish omelettes, fish cakes, and fish larb.

A particularly intriguing dish, demonstrated by Uttaradit’s governor, is Oua Bak Phed Sai Pla, a traditional dish from the Lao Wiang community in Hat Song Kwae, Tron district. “Oua” means stuffed, and “Bak Phed” refers to large green chillies.

The dish involves stuffing chillies with a blend of herbs, including fingerroot and lemon basil, mixed with chicken eggs and fish along with a unique fermented fish paste from the community. The stuffed chillies are fried until golden and can be enjoyed with hot rice or sticky rice, offering a fragrant, herbal aroma and a distinctive taste, reported KhaoSod.