Thai Food

Deaw Jaibun

One of the great pleasures of being in Thailand is that there is a great abundance of eating places and the cost of eating is rather cheap when compared to those in Western countries. As Thailand is a major agricultural country, grains, vegetables, meat and all kinds of foodstuff are produced here at very reasonable prices. Besides, aquatic and marine animals are easily acquired from the sea and many rivers. These factors together with the gift of cooking of Thai people make Thailand a paradise for every food lover.

The main food in Thailand is rice. Everyone has eaten it since they were born. But we can't really eat rice alone so we have to have something to go with it. There are many dishes of food to go with rice. Most of them are hot and spicy and that is what Thai food is famous for.

Thai people are used to eating rice with their meal. Most Thai people can't have sandwiches for their meal. They call sandwiches a snack. Also, most Thai people do not sit down to eat a proper meal because they usually eat when they are hungry, especially kids and teenagers. If you know some Thai person, you might hear them say "gin khao yung" every time you meet them. It means "have you eaten yet?" or more precise "have you eaten rice yet?". If you come to Thailand and stay with a Thai family then be careful you don't put on too much weight! All of the visitors that have come to stay at our school always go home weighing more!

The ideal Thai meal is a harmonious blend of the spicy, the subtle, the sweet and sour, and is meant to be equally satisfying to eye, nose and palate. A typical meal might include a clear soup (perhaps bitter melons stuffed with minced pork), a steamed dish (mussels in curry sauce), a fried dish (fish with ginger), a hot salad (beef slices on a bed of lettuce, onions, chillies, mint and lemon juice) and a variety of sauces into which food is  dipped. This would be followed by sweet desserts and/or fresh fruits such as mangoes, durian, jackfruit, papaya, grapes or melon.

The Top Ten Thai Dishes Loved by Foreigners

In July 1999, the Office of the National Culture Commission announced the top ten Thai dishes best liked by foreigners. In cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Office had conducted a survey of Thai restaurants all over the world to find out ten favorites Thai dishes of foreigners. In the survey 1,000 Thai restaurants around the world were asked to fill in a questionnaire. However, only 500 restaurants which have Thai chefs and offer the authentic Thai food were qualified for being taken into consideration.
The results were the top ten Thai dishes which are listed below in order of their percentages of popularity:

1. Tom Yam Kung (spicy shrimp soup)

2. Kaeng Khiao Wan Kai (green chicken curry)

3. Phat Thai (fried noodles of Thai style)

4. Phat Kaphrao (meat fried with sweet basils)

5. Kaeng Phet Pet Yang (roast duck curry)

6. Tom Kha Kai (chicken in coconut soup)

7. Yam Nua (spicy beef salad)

8. Mu or Kai sa-te (roast pork or chicken coated with turmeric)

9. Kai Phat Met Mamuang Himmaphan (chicken fried with cashew nuts)

10. Phanaeng (meat in coconut cream)

Tom Yam Kung (spicy shrimp soup)

Tom Yam Kung is perhaps the most famous of all Thai soups. It is a hot and sour soup flavored with fish sauce, shallots, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, tamarind and chillies. There are several variants of Tom Yam Kung depending on the soup ingredients. The soup may be clear (without coconut milk) or with coconut milk (called tom yum num khon).

If you ask any foreigners who have ever visited Thailand about their favorite Thai food, their answers, almost without exception, will be Tom Yam Kung. Tom yam kung, or spicy shrimp soup, is the number one of the top ten Thai dishes loved by foreigners, according to a recent investigation. And in fact, it is one of the most favorite dishes for Thai people as well. It is simply because it is so delicious for its unique sour and spicy taste that you will certainly need it more and more if you try it just once.

Thai food generally not only provides a wonderful taste but also includes medicinal properties in its herbal ingredients as well. Tom Yam Kung is one of the best examples. To make you acquainted with this special Thai dish, this article will introduce you to the recipe for the soup and its herbal properties.

Kaeng Khiao Wan Kai (green chicken curry)

Kaeng Khiao Wan Kai is one of the most popular 10 curry dishes of Thailand. Its herbal hot but sweet flavors make it unique among Thai curries, the heat being determined by the amount of green chilies that are used. To make the dish more flavorful, 1/2 cup of fresh green peppercorns can also be added to the curry mixture. Though chicken is the most popular meat for Kaeng Khiao Wan, beef, and pork are also an elegant options.

Kaeng Khiao Wan Kai is so common that you will find it at any to-go curry vendors in Thailand. This curry is eaten with rice or ‘Khanom Chin’ (boiled rice flour noodle form, usually mixed with curry or condiments). You can see this curry's popularity when you go to a temple in Thailand; Thai people frequently bring the classic dishes like this curry to feed the monks and other temple patrons.

Phat Thai (fried noodles of Thai style)

Can any other Thai food be more loved worldwide? This Pad Thai recipe is how you actually find it in Bangkok and comes from testing hundreds of different versions from food cart around the city. In Bangkok, where Pad Thai originated, it is street food that you buy from a food cart; the cook has been making and perfecting it for years, cooking the same dish, day after day. Compared to the red, oil coated version you normally find in western restaurants, this one is drier and more tastes fresher and more complex. I've never seen oily, red pad thai in Thailand. The ingredients listed below can be somewhat intimidating but many are optional. If you would like to make authentic Pad Thai, just like in Thailand, use all the ingredients. Pad Thai is another perfect vegetarian dish, just omit shrimp and substitute soy sauce for fish sauce. Add more tofu if you like.

Pad Thai is a timeless classic. While there are many ways that you find it made outside of Thailand, see how it's really made. If you're used to western restaurant versions, you'll be asking, where's the red oil?

Seafood

Thailand is not only a kingdom of fruits but also a kingdom of seafood. Anyone who has experienced Thai seafood will readily agree to its great variety, savoury taste and sweet smell. A secret of seafood deliciousness lies in its freshness. As Thailand has a long coastline and Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket and many other cities are close to the sea, fresh supplies of fishes, crabs, prawns, lobsters, oysters and other shellfishes are always available and all eaters will find them most palatable no matter whether they are gourmets or just ordinary diners.

Seafood dishes normally are offered at most Chinese restaurants. In Bangkok, the areas where there are a lot of seafood restaurants are Yaowarat (Chinatown) and Silom.

Western & Asian Foods

Most coffee shops in tourist hotels serve an approximation of European food, some also Chinese and Japanese. For more authentic dishes, you can try the nationality restaurants, mostly located in the leading hotels and in the busy shopping areas. There you will find the food and desserts in their original tastes.

Western cuisines available in Bangkok and provincial tourist centres are American, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Scandinavian, Swiss and Russian. Asian cuisines include Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Indian, Muslim and Arabic.

Chinese Food

Thailand is an ideal place for enjoying genuine Chinese food that tastes exactly like that of its country of origin. The Chinese culinary art was first brought to Thailand by the Chinese who migrated to this country in large numbers in the late Ayutthaya period over 200 years ago. As a result of the long history of contact between the two peoples, the Thai and the Chinese cultures are now well mixed in many aspects, including the art of cooking.

Chinese food is commonly served in restaurants and hotels in every part of Thailand, especially in Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya and Chiang Mai. Indeed, Thailand is the only place outside China (and Taiwan and Hong Kong) that can provide tourists with such a wide choice of delicious Chinese dishes. Bangkok's Chinatown (Yaowarat Road) is one of the best places for Chinese food, both in expensive restaurants and at cheap but quality food stalls which are specially abundant at night.

Thai Fruits

For those of you who are fond of eating fruits, Thailand will surely be like a paradise for you. If you have a chance to visit a market and buy some fruits, you'll find that fruits in this country are so plentiful, so diversified, so inexpensive and so delicious. Many Thai fruits are available all year round. However, the period when fruits are on sale in great abundance and variety is from May to July.

Here are some kinds of Thai fruit with Thai romanized spellings: banana (kluai), coconut (ma-phrao), papaya (malako), mango (ma-muang), grape (a-ngun), guava (farang), tangerine (som), watermelon (taeng-mo), durian (thurian), jackfruit (khanun), longan (lamyai), lychee (linchi), mangosteen (mangkhut), pineapple (saparot), pomelo (som-o), rambutan (ngo), roseapple (chomphu).

DURIAN or “Turian”

Considered to be the 'King of Thai Fruits', Thais prefer a durian that is just ripe. The flesh should be slightly soft to the touch but without being crunchy. Durian is without a doubt, an acquired taste. For the first taste of durian, Mon Tong or the Golden Pillow Durian with its light creamy texture is the mildest of the durians and is widely available throughout Thailand.

Alternatively some of the other milder options include Durian ice-cream or Khao Nieow Turian - Sticky Rice topped with durian meat cooked in a coconut cream sauce, and Turian Kuan, a preserved durian toffee, or jams. Kahn Yaow or the Long-Stem Durian with firmer yellow flesh and Chanee or Gibbon Durian with its golden yellow flesh have a richer and more distinctive flavour and is much sought after by true durian connoisseurs, although in the city, it is becoming an increasingly rare commodity.

The best durian is judged by the thickness of the flesh and the size of its seed. (The smaller the seed relative to the amount of flesh, the better.) Durian ripens quickly in the hot tropical climate. As the fruit ripens, the flesh takes on a creamy consistency and the intensity of the aroma increases. (Given this lingering and at times overwhelming aroma, durian is banned from hotel rooms, cinemas, aircraft, limousines, coaches and vans.) The best durian are from the orchards of the Eastern provinces of Thailand namely Rayong, Trat, Prachin Buri, Chanthaburi and Surat and Chumphon in southern Thailand.

MANGOSTEEN or “Mungkoot”

Considered to be the "Queen of Tropical Fruits", there are five or six small segments of white flesh contained within the hard, dark reddish purple outer shell. When ripe, the outer shell yields to slight pressure and cracks easily to reveal the soft, white flesh with a refreshing sweet and tangy taste.

To avoid crushing the delicate flesh within, it is best to make a continuous clean cut around the circumference by turning the mangosteen clockwise or counter-clockwise through the dark beetroot-coloured pith but without cutting through the flesh.

RAMBUTAN or “Ngoh”

In Thailand, there are two varieties of rambutan, a fruit with a thick and hairy outer skin. "Ngoh Rong Rian" has sweet, succulent flesh that clings to the seed, while the oval-shaped Si Chompoo, the "pink" rambutan, has crisp, white flesh that comes off the seed easily. Rambutan orchards are commonly found in Chanthaburi and the provinces of the South.

Thai Desserts

The unique and exquisite Thai taste and appearance inherited down from our forefathers is most evident in desserts. The sweet taste, delicious coloring and elaborate details in each kind of Thai Dessert require a lot of time, and skills. Real traditional Thai Desserts contains only three main ingredients: flour, sugar and coconut. These three are mixed in different amounts and cooked by various methods such as bolling, frying, streaming, and grilling, to produce nummerous kinds of Desserts. Almost a thousand kinds of Desserts have been invented from only 3 main ingredients displaying great imagination and perseverance. Especially in recent times, there has been more innovations of beautifully crafted desserts resulted from new coloring and decorating techniques. These desserts truly reflect the fruitfulness of our agricultural society.

Like Thai dishes, Thai desserts are also delicious, colorful and multifarious. They are pleasing to the eye as well as the palate. Thai women have a particular liking for them and eat them both after and between meals.

Some favorite sweets among the Thais are:

- thong yip (sweet egg yolk cup)
- thong yot (sweeet egg yolk drop)
- foy thong (sweeet shredded egg yolk)
- met khanun (mung bean flour coated with sweet egg yolk)
- mo kaeng (egg custard with mung bean flour)
- sangkhaya (eggg custard)
- bua loi (glutinous-rice flour balls in coconut cream)
- tako (jelly wiith coconut cream)
- kluai buat chi (banana in coconut cream)
- fakthong buat (pumpkin in coconut cream)
- kluai chueam (banana in syrup and coconut cream)
- lukchup (fruitt-shape desserts made of mung-bean flour with natural coloring)
- thapthim krop (diced water-chestnuts in coconut cream)

There are arrays of Thai sweetmeats for sale at many places ranging from sidewalk stalls, markets and small shops to top department stores. Try to taste some of the above to appreciate the marvelous taste of Thai desserts.

One important inspiration for Thai Desserts is Buddhism and its many ceremonies. Thai believers like to prepare Thai food and desserts for monks and guests attending those ceremonies. Therefore, the names of the desserts have positive meaning to wish everyone good luck and prosperity.

Another popular family of desserts has “Thong” (meaning “Gold”) in all of the names. Thong-yib, Thong-yod and Foy-thong all mean to wish everyone with gold; much money and treasure, to spend forever. Jackfruit seed dessert, Kha Noon, means constant support and help for one's business.

It tragic that many kinds of Thai desserts cannot be seen now. Nevertheless we can still enjoy the many kinds of desserts still available in Thailand. We can be proud of the ingenuity of our forefathers and the exotic taste and unique appearance of these pieces of Thai cooking.

Thai food is internationally famous. Whether chilli-hot or comparatively blands, harmony is the guiding principle behind each dish. Thai cuisine is essentially a marriage of centuries-old Eastern and Western influences harmoniously combined into something uniquely Thai. The characteristics of Thai food depend on who cooks it, for whom it is cooked, for what occasion, and where it is cooked to suit all palates. Originally, Thai cooking reflected the characteristics of a waterborne lifestyle. Aquatic animals, plants and herbs were major ingredients. Large chunks of meat were eschewed. Subsequent influences introduced the use of sizeable chunks to Thai cooking.

"Thai food offers a variety of flavours and tastes. The subtle mixing of herbs and spices and market-fresh ingredients makes dining a special culinary experience." Eating ranks high on the Thai scale of pleasures, and meals are informal affairs. The staple is rice, either ordinary or glutinous, accompanied by a variety of dishes that can be eaten in almost any order, and seasoned to individual taste with several condiments such as fish sauce and chilli peppers. Most often there will be a soup of some kind, a curry, a steamed or fried dish, a salad, and one or more basic sauces. Desserts may consist of fresh fruit or one of the many traditional Thai sweets.