Thai Food

Thai food is a hybrid, influenced by many

cuisine similar to a creature in Thai
Mythology: the head of an elephant
(strength), the body of a lion (power), and
winds sprouting from 4 legs (ability to fly).
 Influences from other cultures
• Chinese: noodles, techniques of wok
cooking (pad Thai-a snack food similar to
sandwich in US)
• Indian: curries (yellow, green, red)
• Spanish and Portuguese: chilies for Thai
paste
• Greeting: Khin Khao Roue Yung (have
your eaten yet)?
 General eating cultural
• Thai-Thai: freedom in eating anywhere anytime
• Thai eat together with family and friends; eat alone is considered bad luck.
• Most home-cooked meal are combination of new and leftover dishes, because a house
cook always make extra food for unexpected guests or for a second serving and they do
not want waste any food.
• Children are told to eat leftover first or to pets or pigs, never waste rice
• Appetizers, soups, salads, main courses, and deserts are served at the same time and can
be eaten in any order, except deserts.
• A meal consists of several dishes with combination of flavors: sweet, hot, sour, and salty
(2-3 types of meat)
• A typical comb: sharp-flavored salad and plenty of fresh vegetables. A soup, including
curry dishes; a stir-fry of meat and vegetables; a meat dish such as deep-fried fish or fried
chicken; a basic sauce or chili dip with a dies dish of vegetable; dessert is a sweet base of
coconut or a variety of fruits
• Sometimes, one dish meal for convenience: noodle soup, fried rice, or curry and rice with
an accompaniment of vegetable, sauces, or condiments
• Chilies in vinegar (Prik Nam Som) is important for
noodle soup
• Fresh chilies in fish sauce (Nam Pla Prik) for fried rice
• Crushed dried chilies (prik Poan) for extra heat
• Palm sugar for sweet, lime and tamarind for sour,
chilies for hot, fish sauce for salty
• Herbs and spices that grow in tropical climate: 3 kinds
of basils (Thai sweet basil-Anise or licorice flavor for
coconut curries or vegetable, lemon basil-nippy
peppery and lemon flavor for soup and salad, holy
basil-mint-like zesty, and very spicy flavor for stir fry);
cardamon; chili-smaller and hotter; Thai chilies (bird-
eye chilies); Prik Chee Fa (a little milder); Serrano
(mild multi-purpose chili); chives; Turmeric; Yanang
leaves (use in bamboo shoot salad, to count-act the
bitter taste of other veg.)
 Diversity in vegetables and fruits
• Many variety of eggplants: (3 most common
ones are)
• Ma-kheua Pro: golf-ball size, light green. (in
red or green curry or fresh with a chili dip)
• Ma-Kheua Puang: small marbles size in
clusters with bright green color
• Ma-Kheua Yao: long green fruit, stir-fry or
salad
• Many mushrooms
• Straw mushroom; oyster mushroom; shiitake
mushroom; mouse’s-ear mushroom or wood
ear mushroom (crunchy texture)
• 30 varieties of banana; 70 different kinds of
mango (green ones for salad)
Geographical Features
Thai is divided into four distinct regions:
North, Northeast, Central, and South.
Each has its own unique character, climate,
language, personality, and cuisine.
Climate: subtropical with long hours of
sunshine and high humidity. Three
seasons: hot-march to June, Rainy-July to
Oct, Cool-Nov to Feb. Low 20˚C, high
37˚C. The climate is suitable for the
cultivation of a wide range of tropical and
semi-tropical agricultural crops
Land: arable land 34%, permanent crop 6%,
permanent pastures 2%, forests and
woodland 26%, others 32%.
 Northern region

• Mountains, forests, and fertile valleys. Bordered by

Myanmar and Laos, Lower extremities of Himalayan
foothills-forest mountains, and fertile river valleys,
encompasses part of the fabled Golden Triangle.
• Pleasant cool climate; 4 sister rivers (the Ping, the Wung,
the Yom, and the Nan) flow into the Chao Praya river in
Central Thai
• “mellow” people. They seldom had to face economic
hardship; crafts, architecture, language, cuisine, and
conduct are the highlight of Thai civilization
• Cuisine is influenced by Myanmar and Lao (curry dish by
Brumese, sticky rice by Laotian)
• A chili dip or sauce accompanied by fresh or cooked
vegetables; mild minced pork with tomato and spice
mixture to fiery dried chili with spices and shrimp paste;
Longan fruit in rice pudding, syrup, beverages
 Northern region (continue)
Traditional feast called Khuri Toke-
dinner for important guests or
dignitaries
2-foot-tall round table with upward
rim with northern delicacies: a
curry fish, vegetable soup,
chicken salad, pork rinds
sausages, rice puff, fresh
vegetables and Nam Ton
beverage.
Bamboo container with sticky rice,
bowl of water for rinsing hands,
hand-rolled local cigarettes,
northern classical dances and
music.
 Northeastern Region
A high semi-arid plateau used mainly for cattle and
growing crops such as rice and maize. Poorest
region due to drought
Small lunch box: creative eating making use of
most of resources of sticky rice (heavier to
stomach)
Soup: one or two dominant flavors from local herbs
and spices, in clear broth (no coconut milk, too
luxuary), simple dishes, easy to prepare
Papaya salad with fish sauce, lime juice and herbs
Produces most of the preserved products in meats
and vegetables, example: raw salt fermented
fish, dried and salt-cured beef, and bamboo
shoots in brine (prepared for drought or flood)
Local delicacies to survive extreme environment:
deep-fried silkworms, grilled lizards, crickets,
and red ants salad.
Northeast-continue

• Traditional dinner are

similar to the north
• Pork salad, bamboo
shoot soup, sour fish,
salted beef, Tumsom
(papaya salad), BBQ
chicken, Jaew dip,
vegetables, sweetened
puffed rice, sticky rice in
bamboo container,
water for hand rinsing
Central region

• Flat and fertile due to the large Chao

Praya river.
• Main rice growing of Thailand with
complex irrigation network. Year-
round crop growing “Venice of the
east”, large cities with all kinds of
people from different background
• Elaborate, sophisticated and
contemporary food (Royal food with a
touch of sweetness).
• Abundant seafood. Produces best
fish sauce and shrimp paste
• Sweet tangerine and mango
• Food kept on changing to follow trend
and new taste, utilize new ingredient
from outside.
 Southern Region
• Hilly and mountainous,
covered mainly by
rainforests. Stretch Gulf of
Thailand to Indian Ocean. Sticky bean dish with shrimp
Cashew nuts abundant,
coconut, pineapples are
common.
• Great religion diversity
• Cuisine has Malaysia
influence.
• Grilled fish, Prawn skewers,
yellow soup, fish tripe soup
• Some local food are
modified to western palate.