Among
the cuisines of Southeast Asia, Thai food is unique. Thai cuisine is
distinct from Chinese and Indian cuisines, both of which influenced Thai
cooking. Thai cooking is completely identifiable in its own right,
incorporating all 5 tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and spicy. Thai
people have taken foreign influences and transformed them into a cuisine
uniquely their own.Thailand was a cross roads of East to West sea
routes causing its culture and cuisine to be infused with Persian and
Arabian elements. Foreign recipes have been integrated with traditional
Thai dishes, resulting in unique flavor that is unmistakably Thai.The
'Tai' people migrated from valley settlements in the mountainous region
of Southwest China (now Yunnan province) between the sixth and
thirteenth centuries, into what is now known as Thailand, Laos, the Shan
States of upper Burma, and northwest Vietnam. Influenced by Chinese
cooking techniques, Thai cuisine flourished with the rich biodiversity
of the Thai peninsula. As a result, Thai dishes today have some
similarities to Szechwan Chinese dishes.
Thai food is internationally famous. Whether chilli-hot or comparatively bland, 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. Characteristics of Thai food depend on who cooks it, for whom it is cooked, for what occasion, and where it is cooked. Dishes can be refined and adjusted to suit all palates.Originally, Thai cooking reflected the characteristics of a waterborne lifestyle. Aquatic animals, plant and herbs were major ingredients. Large chunks of meat were eschewed. Subsequent influences introduced the use of sizeable chunks to Thai cooking. With their Buddhist background, Thais shunned the use of large animals in big chunks. Big cuts of meat were shredded and laced with herbs and spices. Traditional Thai cooking methods were stewing and baking, or grilling. Chinese influences saw the introduction of frying, stir-frying and deep-frying. Culinary influences from the 17th century onwards included Portuguese, Dutch, French and Japanese. Chillies were introduced to Thai cooking during the late 1600s by Portuguese missionaries who had acquired a taste for them while serving in South America. Thais were very adapt at "Siameseising" foreign cooking methods, and substituting ingredients. The ghee used in Indian cooking was replaced by coconut oil, and coconut milk substituted for other dairy products.Overpowering pure spices were toned down and enhanced by fresh herbs such as lemon grass and galanga.
Eventually,
fewer and less spices were used in Thai curries, while the use of fresh
herbs increased. It is generally acknowledged that Thai curries burn
intensely, but briefly, whereas other curries, with strong spices, burn
for longer periods. Instead of serving dishes in courses, a Thai meal is
served all at once, permitting diners to enjoy complementory
combinations of different tasters.A proper Thai meal should consist of a
soup, a curry dish with condiments, a dip with accompanying fish and
vegetables. A spiced salad may replace the curry dish. The soup can also
be spicy, but the curry should be replaced by a non-spiced item. There
must be harmony of tastes and textures within individual dishes and the
entire meal.
Thai food is eaten with a fork and spoon. Even single dish meals such as fried rice with pork, or steamed rice topped with roasted duck, are served in bite-sized slices or chunks obviating the need for a knife. The spoon is used to convey food to the mouth.SpoonIdeally, eating Thai food is a communal affair involving two or more people, principally because the greater the number of diners the greater the number of dishes ordered. Generally speaking, two diners order three dishes in addition to their own individual plates of steamed rice, three diners four dishes, and so on. Diners choose whatever they require from shared dishes and generally add it to their own rice. Soups are enjoyed concurrently with rice. Soups are enjoyed concurrently with other dishes, not independently. Spicy dishes, not independently. Spicy dishes are "balanced" by bland dishes to avoid discomfort. 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.
Rice is the main dietary staple of Thailand. Thais eat two kinds of rice: the standard white kind and glutinous, or sticky, rice. Sticky rice rolled into a ball is the main rice eaten in northeastern Thailand. It is also used in desserts throughout the country. Rice is eaten at almost every meal and also made into flour used in noodles, dumplings, and desserts. Most main dishes use beef, chicken, pork, or seafood, but the Thais also eat vegetarian dishes.Thai food is known for its unique combinations of seasoning. Although it is hot and spicy, Thai cooking is carefully balanced to bring out all the different flavors in a dish. Curries (dishes made with a spicy powder called curry) are a mainstay of Thai cooking. Hot chilies appear in many Thai dishes. Other common flavorings are fish sauce, dried shrimp paste, lemon grass, and the spices coriander, basil, garlic, ginger, cumin, cardamom, and cinnamon. Soup, eaten with most meals, helps balance the hot flavors of many Thai dishes as do steamed rice, mild noodle dishes, and sweet . Coconuts play an important role in the Thai diet. Coconut milk and shredded coconut are used in many dishes, especially desserts. Thais eat a variety of tropical fruits for dessert, including mangoes, papayas, custard apples with scaly green skins, and jackfruit, which is large and prickly and has yellow flesh.Thai food differs somewhat from one region to another. Seafood is popular in the southern coastal areas. The Muslims in that part of the country favor curries. The spiciest food is found in the northeast.
What sets Thai food apart from other Southeast Asia cuisines is the combination of sweet, sour, bitter salty and spicy tastes into unique dishes that separate Thai food from the food found in neighboring Asian countries. In addition, Thai food is found to have several different variations, depending upon the area or region of Thailand. These regions include the north, northeast, south and central. To understand the evolution of Thai food it is critical to understand the history of Thailand, as well as how Thai food has been influenced in the different regions by neighboring countries. In addition, with the emergence of Thailand as a regional economic and tourism power, the food will continue to be influenced. As a Thai food lover, all we can hope is that real Thai food will never begin loose its unique sweet, sour, bitter, salty and spicy taste in an effort to appeal to the masses.The area that is now Thailand, Laos, Burma or Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam was originally settled by the ancient Chinese approximately 1,400 hundred years ago. With the migration of Chinese people into Southeast Asia, came traditional Chinese cooking techniques. Throughout the centuries, the cooking techniques continued to evolve and further regional influences began to impact the cooking mainly as a result of foreign trade, which brought in Muslim and Indian influences into the food found in Thailand, particularly the introduction of curries into the food. I have not noticed any Vietnamese influence on Thai food even though the two countries are close geographically. There is a heavy French influence on Vietnamese food however, since Vietnam or Indochina was once a French colony.
Thai food is eaten with a fork and spoon. Even single dish meals such as fried rice with pork, or steamed rice topped with roasted duck, are served in bite-sized slices or chunks obviating the need for a knife. The spoon is used to convey food to the mouth.SpoonIdeally, eating Thai food is a communal affair involving two or more people, principally because the greater the number of diners the greater the number of dishes ordered. Generally speaking, two diners order three dishes in addition to their own individual plates of steamed rice, three diners four dishes, and so on. Diners choose whatever they require from shared dishes and generally add it to their own rice. Soups are enjoyed concurrently with rice. Soups are enjoyed concurrently with other dishes, not independently. Spicy dishes, not independently. Spicy dishes are "balanced" by bland dishes to avoid discomfort. 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.
Rice is the main dietary staple of Thailand. Thais eat two kinds of rice: the standard white kind and glutinous, or sticky, rice. Sticky rice rolled into a ball is the main rice eaten in northeastern Thailand. It is also used in desserts throughout the country. Rice is eaten at almost every meal and also made into flour used in noodles, dumplings, and desserts. Most main dishes use beef, chicken, pork, or seafood, but the Thais also eat vegetarian dishes.Thai food is known for its unique combinations of seasoning. Although it is hot and spicy, Thai cooking is carefully balanced to bring out all the different flavors in a dish. Curries (dishes made with a spicy powder called curry) are a mainstay of Thai cooking. Hot chilies appear in many Thai dishes. Other common flavorings are fish sauce, dried shrimp paste, lemon grass, and the spices coriander, basil, garlic, ginger, cumin, cardamom, and cinnamon. Soup, eaten with most meals, helps balance the hot flavors of many Thai dishes as do steamed rice, mild noodle dishes, and sweet . Coconuts play an important role in the Thai diet. Coconut milk and shredded coconut are used in many dishes, especially desserts. Thais eat a variety of tropical fruits for dessert, including mangoes, papayas, custard apples with scaly green skins, and jackfruit, which is large and prickly and has yellow flesh.Thai food differs somewhat from one region to another. Seafood is popular in the southern coastal areas. The Muslims in that part of the country favor curries. The spiciest food is found in the northeast.
What sets Thai food apart from other Southeast Asia cuisines is the combination of sweet, sour, bitter salty and spicy tastes into unique dishes that separate Thai food from the food found in neighboring Asian countries. In addition, Thai food is found to have several different variations, depending upon the area or region of Thailand. These regions include the north, northeast, south and central. To understand the evolution of Thai food it is critical to understand the history of Thailand, as well as how Thai food has been influenced in the different regions by neighboring countries. In addition, with the emergence of Thailand as a regional economic and tourism power, the food will continue to be influenced. As a Thai food lover, all we can hope is that real Thai food will never begin loose its unique sweet, sour, bitter, salty and spicy taste in an effort to appeal to the masses.The area that is now Thailand, Laos, Burma or Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam was originally settled by the ancient Chinese approximately 1,400 hundred years ago. With the migration of Chinese people into Southeast Asia, came traditional Chinese cooking techniques. Throughout the centuries, the cooking techniques continued to evolve and further regional influences began to impact the cooking mainly as a result of foreign trade, which brought in Muslim and Indian influences into the food found in Thailand, particularly the introduction of curries into the food. I have not noticed any Vietnamese influence on Thai food even though the two countries are close geographically. There is a heavy French influence on Vietnamese food however, since Vietnam or Indochina was once a French colony.
The impact of foreign trade through the Silk Road and various sea spice routes on Thai food cannot be underestimated. The Silk Road and the various sea trade routes ultimately linked Asia with Europe and vice versa. Interestingly it is thought that the introduction of chilies into Thai food was the result of Europeans. Ultimately many European nations, including the British and French had a major economic and military presence in Asia as a direct result of the spice trade and this presence was in effect until recently. Many countries in Asia were colonies of other European countries. The English presence in Hong Kong is an example. On a side note is interesting top hear a Chinese person with a British accent in Hong Kong.
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