Thai Cuisine
Thai cuisine is a feature of Middle-Eastern Asia that has skyrocketed in popularity throughout the western world. Much of the rise in acclaim and demand of Thai cuisine is contributed to the unique, yet widely accepted taste (and unorthodox ways of cooking), that offer westerners a glimpse into the heart and soul of Thailand.
By having developed a distinct sense of individuality in their food’s experience over the years, Thailand has succeeded in establishing a permanent place for themselves among other popular peers such as Japanese and Indian cuisines, which are also notably known and enjoyed throughout western society.
Thai Food For Dummies: What to Order? Is it Authentic?
With 44 letters in theThai alphabet compared to 26 in the English language (not to mention their 15 vowels to our 5), it is safe to say that there are unfathomable “sounds” and “tones” within the Thai language, some of which are impossible to replicate in the western world.
Same applies to taste.
Much of the food in Thailand is considered extraterrestrial to foreigners, mostly due to the fact that the ingredients and spices used to prepare the food — the important parts that make up every unique dish — can only be found and grown in Thailand.
“My cooking look the same, but tastes like a white man’s version of the original,” said Bea Brady, a native Thai women residing in England, who regularly attempts to recreate dishes from Thailand.
Brady has lived in London for 15 years, and although already accustomed to much of the western ways, she still enjoys cooking Thai food as a way to keep home at heart, as well as an opportunity to expose her three sons to where she came from.
Some of the dishes Brady regularly attempts to cook in her English kitchen are:
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Literally “Stir-fried Thai”, Pad-Thai is a dried soft noodle dish stir-fried with vegetables, eggs, and the meat of your choice (but most commonly cooked with shrimp). This particular dish is among one of the most popular dishes in Thai restaurants, as it provides numerous tastes such as spicy, salty and sweet in one mouth-full. Pad-Thai is a must try for those who want to experience the “no-curry, no-rice” side of Thai food, both a rarity, as the majority of food from Thailand consists of curries and rice.
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A watery soury-spicy soup, Tom-Yum is able to be mixed with any dish from plain rice to fried noodles as well as curries to vegetables. The specific “Tom-Yum” flavour, which is an iconic part of Thai food, is incorporated into clear water by mixing herbs and spices, (as well as meats). The consistency of the soup stays watery, but the taste and smell that emits off of the dish has the ability to amplify anything combined with it. Tom-Yum is best served hot, and enjoyed with a separate plate of plain white rice. Mixed into the dish are chopped mushrooms, shrimp, chicken, and various herbs and spices as such "Prik-ki-noo", considered the hottest chilly found in Thailand.
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3. Som Tum
This Eastern-Thai dish is commonly known to be enjoyed during lunchtime. While
meant to be extremely spicy, some request no spices to be incorporated. This dish consists of shredded papaya, crushed salty crab, chopped bean stalks and tomatoes, and sweetened with a hint of sugar. Maybe the lightest and easiest dish to recreate, Som-Tum is enjoyed by many Thais and is considered one of the most famous must-try dishes.
Baan Rabiang Nam: A Thai Success
Baan Rabiang Nam, meaning “House by the Waterside”, is an authentic Thai Restaurant located in the heart of Bangkok, Thailand’s capital. The dishes served include those from ancient Thailand dating back to the 1200s as well as modern day mainland, eastern (Isarn), western, and southern style dishes (all of which differ specifically in taste according to their origins).
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| Credits: baanrabiangnam.com |
Owned by Jipawat Chamchang, Baan Rabiang Nam opened in December 2002 and has made headlines by the popularity of their well-made, well-serviced food. According to the Thai-Rath newspaper, they are known for serving the most authentic Thai food in the area. Located on the edge of one of the busiest rivers in Eastern Asia, the Chaopraya, Baan Rabiang Nam has become the talk of the town among foreigners visiting ancient ruins and temples that captivate the banks of the ancient river.
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| Credits: Jipawat Chamchang |
The restaurant’s decor is very traditionally Thai, with dark wood furnishings and woven floor mats to feast on, Chamchang has successfully incorporated all aspects that make up the Thai cuisine culture and implemented them into Baan Rabiang Nam.
Chamchang graduated in England at the University of Strathclyde Faculty of Engineering with a masters degree in Power System Engeering. Originally, he had hoped to return to his country to become an engineer, which he pursued for several years, but then decided to start up Baan Rabiang Nam after the path of engineering didn’t make him happy. He now lives in Nonthaburi, a few minutes away from the Chaopraya River landmark in the city of Bangkok, and enjoys running his very successful restaurant, as well as raising his new born son, Jamson.
Customs of Thai Eating: The Spirit World is Connected to Mealtime
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“A lot of these ideas came from the medieval times in Thailand,” said Jay Sanksakulchai, a Thai student at University of the Cumberlands. “They feared the outside world because these people lived in unstable huts and sheds, where belongings and even family members could easily be taken from them by strangers. They kept the children quiet and therefore safe by scaring them out of their minds.”
1. No high pitches voices or singing while eating.
Thais believe greatly in the spirit world, and much of this belief governs how they live their lives. A high pitched voice or a singing voice, especially at night, is believed to be a calling for a female spirit in dire need of comfort and a home. This particular spirit is known as “Mae-Nark Phra Kanong” locally, and is believed to have died in child birth. The Thais now both utterly fear and respect her due to her position in the spirit world, and discourage the high pitched voice often times made by infants or small children. This is why singing or loud shouting noises will seldom be heard in a Thai household at night, as they believe the spirit of “Mae-Nak” will permanently make a place for herself in their home as she enjoys those sounds. Psychologically, it may not be the best lesson taught to children while growing up, to fear spirits, but it is a large part of the Thai culture that cannot be ignored.
2. No stacking of plates.
Thais believe that when one is still eating, stacking another plate on to an empty one and continuing to eat is considered dirty and rude. Again, the spirit world is connected to this particular table manner, as they believe that stacking a plate encourages bad sprits to play tricks on your dinner. Instead of eating the contents of what you see on your plate, you are instead eating trash and garbage that you cannot see. The act of stacking a plate is yet another calling to evil spirits waiting on the other side to cross over to the human world, and particular acts enable them to do so. Stacking of dirty plates while eating one top of them is considered another on of Thailand’s strange table manner myths.
The question of cleanliness comes to mind when speaking of “road-side” meals, and many foreigners who visit the Land of Smiles question the hygiene of some of these stalls. Punsiri claims that they have “been at this for centuries’ and therefore it is one of the main ways Thais feast. Stall owners can be seen covering up their food from pollution with cloth and plastic, as well as constantly wiping their stations clean with alcohol and various other cleaning products. Each stall’s hygiene is constantly addressed by the stall keepers and cooks throughout the day, therefore very little pollution actually comes in contact with the food itself. The food is prepared beforehand, but cooked on the spot when ordered, eliminating further contamination.
The Damnoen Saduak Floating Market
The Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, located 20 minutes south of Bangkok's city centre, is a 32 kilometre long canal that is packed with boats and venders. Considered one of the best places to find authentic Thai food, this river market has been around since the early 1800s and acted as a hub in which locals come to barter their goods.When it was first created, this particular floating market was considered a centre for those who wanted to trade or sell livestock, produce, and handcrafted goods.
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| Credits: onestep4ward.com |
Today, The Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, opens from 7:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., and is better known to many as one of the largest tourist attractions in Thailand. This particular location brings in over hundreds of thousands of people per day, and sees countless food being sold. Other attractions like snake shows have been incorporated as entertainment over the past several years for foreigners, although the original Floating Market itself used to sell illegal animals like monkeys and tigers.
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“Thailand used to be all water,” said Mana Tanajantaporn, a freshman and Thai student at the University of the Cumberlands. “These markets acted as passage ways or stop-overs to large rivers throughout the country. They were very popular, similar to a main street for cities in America.”
A typical day at the Damnoen Floating Market sees a tourist paying a $10 fee to hop on a boat, in which they will spend a good part of an hour floating down the canal alongside a rower who is instructed to stop whenever the tourist wishes. Other boats will float past, hoping to sell them food or souvenirs. Exchanges will be made, bargaining is done, and then the tourist will be on their way. The experience is something no one should miss when visiting the busy streets of Bangkok.
Road Side Dining
Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, is well-known for its road-side dining. Noisy traffic, pollution, and various beggars who walk past asking for money are considered the norm, factors that must be tolerated in this style of feasting, but when speaking of the quality and taste of food, road-side dining in Bangkok consists of some of the finest, well-tasting food in the country.
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Although not the ideal place for a relaxing lunch, Bangkok’s various road side feasting spots allows people to get a real taste of the city. Dining on some of the best food to be found, as well as soaking up the atmosphere of the vibrant yet clustered city is the best way for a tourist to get down to the roots of Bangkok City.
“When I go home for the summer, I always go to my street’s road stalls and order a meal,” said Praewthida Punsiri, a Thai student at the University of Kentucky. “No matter how it looks, the food is always the best. That’s all that matters when you’re hungry.”
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As well, roadside dining is economical. Without the fancy decor and table service that all restaurants come with (and expect you to pay for), road-side dining saves people money yet allows them to still feast on good food. All Thais, no matter the rank, turn to this method of dining and it has yet again become a huge part of the Thai feasting culture.
Some of the most well-known roadside dining spots in Bangkok city are Khaosarn Road and Sukhumvit Soi 38.
Some of the most well-known roadside dining spots in Bangkok city are Khaosarn Road and Sukhumvit Soi 38.
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