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She may be getting on in years but Duangta Tongsopit, owner of the Khon Kaen Hotel, is a wonderful cook and a real pro. She doesn't even pause in her monologue as she tosses cowpeas, tomato, wild olive, green chilli and fresh lime into the mortar, pounds them with the pestle, then adds a spoonful of a thick, dark sauce with a sharp, distinctive smell. The spicy salad is done, and I'm drooling like a starved dog.

"Nam pla ra is to Isaan cooking what fish sauce is to central Thailand cuisine," says Duangta. "Hot pot, papaya salad, bamboo curry, spicy minced pork, you name it; I cannot think of any Isaan dish that isn't improved by a drop of fermented fish sauce."

Hunting down iconic Isaan food during a recent trip to northeast¬ern Thailand, I quickly learn that Duangta isn't exaggerating.

"How much pla ra sauce do you want in your papaya salad?" asks the woman at a small restaurant in Khao Suan Kwang district.

"Should I add some more pla ra to your hot pot?" queries the wait¬ress at an eatery in Maha Sarakham.

"You're an idiot!" my friend complains when I burp pla ra after downing bottled beer with a full on Isaan dinner. Shame on me, but how could anyone - let alone a hungry traveller like me - say "no" to Isaan's best cooks and their authentic dishes.

On this culinary journey through Isaan, our focus is roughly bounded by the triangle formed by Khao Suan Kwang, Muang Maha Sarakham and Khon Kaen's Mancha Khiri district, with downtown Khon Kaen marking the hot and spicy centre.

We stop off at Bang Lampu, the fresh food market a short walk from Khon Kaen's Pullman Hotel, and see for ourselves the abundance of catfish caught in Ubonrat Reservoir to supply the "pla ra industry". Next to the fishmongers are stalls groaning under wild berries, mushrooms, olives and bamboo shoots.

Khao Suan Kwang's famed roasted chicken and somtam (papaya salad) are at the top of our food list. There are literally hundreds of family-run restaurants along the Mittraphap Road, many of them bearing the names of their founders, plus roasted chicken shacks as far as the eye can see.

"Many years ago, the chicken farms in Khao Suan Kwang had a problem with over supply - nobody wanted to buy the chickens," says high-profile socialite and food enthusiast, Kanokpan Hetrakul, as we wait for lunch. "So the farmers looked at grilling the bird as a way of drawing customers."

The secret, it's said, is a unique marinade and spicy dipping sauce.

After a good, long dunk in the marinade, which is made of black pepper, garlic, coriander, soy sauce, ginger and other ingredients, the chicken is laid over the hot charcoal for 20 minutes. The result is a goldenskinned, tasty bird.

At Wanna Kaiyang - a family-run restaurant reputed to serve the finest chicken - our table overflows like a Chinese wedding banquet. Unlike the ivory-coloured, succulent and meaty chicken that's popular in Phetchabun's Wichian Buri district, Khao Suan Kwang folk like their birds dry and crispy.

The next day, we drive to Maha Sarakham, stopping over at Baan Phaeng, a village famous for its sedge mats. 

Lunchtime finds us at Jaew Hon Tha Khonyang in Maha Sarakham's Kantharawichai district sharing a pot of sensational jaew hon.

"Red beef or pork?" my waitress asks, as she pours chocolatecoloured soup into the pot bubbling away in the middle of table.

Jaew hon is Isaan's answer to the Japanese hot pot. You order small sets of raw meat, offal and vegetables and you cook it for yourself in the boiling soup, spicing the cooked morsels with dipping sauce.

Our next stop doesn't involve eating but sightseeing - a tour of the beautifully renovated Wat Srathong in the small town of Mancha Khiri - so we are hungry again by the time darkness falls and happy to stop at Green Leaf Restaurant, opposite Khon Kaen Airport, to check out some Isaan fusion food.

Our dinner is orchestrated by pumpkin soup, spicy minced salmon, spaghetti with Isaan sausage and fried rice mixed with jaew bong (chilli paste brimming with pla ra sauce). The food is fine and the restaurant refined, but I personally prefer the street fare that somehow makes tasty Isaan food even tastier.

A culinary journey through central Isaan isn't complete with a Vietnamese accent the plains of Isaan have long attracted Vietnamese migrants - perhaps some moo yor (steamed pork), Vietnamese noodles or spring rolls.

We start the day with breakfast at Aim Ot, a roadside restaurant on Khon Kaen's Klangmuang Road. At this bustling and unpretentious eatery, you can feast on sausage sandwich, khai kra tha (eggs, sunnyside up, served in small hot pan), pork blood soup and coffee for less than Bt90.

For lunch, we're directed to Phur Tha Bor, a snack shack opposite Wat Sinuan, for hearty bowls of Vietnamese noodles, fresh spring rolls and pickled pork sausage.

Buhuhhhh, as they say in Khon Kaen!

CHECK IN ISAAN

Wit+Wisdom, a travel agent, organises "Check in Isaan: Food Route" - a two-night package featuring central Isaan cuisine. Call (02) 652 0777.

WHERE TO EAT

Wanna Kaiyang, 271 Mittraphap Road, Khon Kaen; (043) 449 024

Jaew Hon Tha Khonyang; (043) 749153, is in Baan Tha Khonyang, Maha Sarakhram's Kantharawichai district.

Aim Ot, Klang Muang Road, Muang, Khon Kaen

Phu Tha Bor, corner of Sinuan and Robmuang roads, Khon Kaen; (043) 222 813.

Sab Nua Krua Isaan, Mittraphap Road; (043) 347 704, is opposite Si Nakharin Hospital in Khon Kaen University. Try "mok hed" - a spicy mushroom soup

Pla Pa Noi, Rob Bung Road, Muang Khon Kaen; (043) 224 694, is the finest place to feast on authentic Isaan food. Jaew bong (chilli paste with fermented fish sauce) and pickled vegetable are highly recommended.

Khon Kaen Hotel (www.khonkaenhotel.com), Muang Khon Kaen, serves sensational cowpea salad crispy deep-fried pork. Call (043) 333 222