Cuisines
(Thai)

Thailand with its exotic, hot and spicy foods, has a very rich culinary culture. Having a unique geographical position, being a multi cultured land and hosting many different religions Thailand’s traditional cuisine is very diversed.

One can easily trace the marks of Laotian, Chinese, Indonesian, Malasian, Indian, and Portuguese flavours in the Thai Kitchen. During and after the 17th century, also inspired by the Dutch, French, and Japanese cuisines, Thailand use hot and spicy much more than the other far easterns do. The first encounter with hot red pepper is therefore by way of Portuguese.

A Kitchen Enriched by Diversity

Thailand is divided into four main regions, South, North, Northeast, and the inlands. Traditional Thai food is diversified according to the geographic differences. In North, food is less hot and less fatty. In the Northeastern Region, spice is used dominantly. ‘Rice’ is less dense in consistency than the regular steamed rice. In the south seafood and fish are more popular. Most commonly consumed seafood are the lobster, crab, baby calamari, oyster, and such.

Existency of various religions such as Budhism, Islam and Christianity in Thailand influences the cuisine in various ways. As an example, slicing the meat in small pieces or ‘julienne dicing’ is seen in the regions where Budhism is practiced.

Traditional Thai Cuisine

Creating a delicate balance between the foods being served is essential. That is why if the first dish presented is spicy, the following must be plain and neutral in flavour. Pad Thai can be considered as a national dish of Thailand. It is prepared with fish broth, palm sugar, lime, sliced peanuts, tamarind paste, eggs, chicken, seafood or tofu and rice noodle fried in wok. Sweet, hot, salty, and sour flavours exist all together in Thai food. Cooking techniques such as deep frying, pan frying and the habbit of using the ‘wok’ are some of the many influences imported from China. In addition to these, considering other culinary techniques such as grilling, braising and baking, one can easily observe how rich the Thai Cuisine is.

In Thailand it’s the fork and the spoon to be used for eating instead of chopsticks. The fork is a utencil only used to place the bits in the spoon, so the food is mainly eaten with the spoon. Chopsticks are used for soups with noodle.

‘Nam pla’ (fish sauce) is the most popular among the other sauces. Dried or fresh spices such as lemongrass, basil, mint, garlic, black pepper, cayenne pepper, turmeric, coriander and ginger are very favorable ingredients.

Thailand is very rich in sources for exotic fruits. Country has a diversified amount of local fruits such as papaya, coconut, tamarind, guava, mango, pineapple, lychee, pitaya (dragon fruit), and ‘durian’.

Rice and Noodle

Thai Cuisine comprises of such foods like, fried or steamed rice and noodles, also sloppy rice, soups, fried pork, beef, and poultry, fish, eggs, fresh veggies and fruits, salads and many kinds and colors of curry dishes.

Rice certainly occupies a special place in Thai Cuisine, same as all around the far east. In every meal of the day, in breakfast, dinner, or even as a desert, rice is indispensable. ‘Jasmine’ a type of rice celebrated for its unique aroma, is the most known. ‘Khao niao’ on the other hand, a fine grained and starchier rice, is very favourite in the North and Northeast parts of the country. Plain rice is generally served as a side dish along with the hot and spicy foods with strong aromas, especially with curry dishes in order to maintain a balance with a dominant flavour.

Naturally noodle is as important as the rice. Noodles cooked along with chicken, beef or sea food are always in demand and accepted as indispensable in the soups. There are several different kinds of noodles obtained through wheat, rice, and mung bean flour. ‘Bami’ noodle, made with wheat flour and eggs is generally sold when fresh. ‘Woon-Sen’ is another kind of noodle which is thin and dried and made with mung bean flour.

Fried rice is originally a chinese dish but takes place in every far eastern country. In Thailand, fried rice seasoned with garlic, red hot pepper, coriander, eggs, and basil are prominent.