Nam Phrik Pla Thu

Fish are especially abundant in this region. Some well-known Thai dishes with fish as their main ingredient are kaeng som (spicy sour fish soup), thot man pla (fried fish patties), pla phao (roast fish), chu chi pla (fried fish in chillisauce gravy), ho mok (steamed curried fish), nam phrik pla thu (shrimp paste dip), etc.

When cooking, people in this region like to use spices, such as dried red pepper, onion, garlic, galangal, lemon grass, bergamot, sweet basil, and turmeric. Also widely used is coconout cream, which gives a special flavour to the food. Among the most popular dishes using it are kaeng khiao wan (green chicken curry), tao chiao lon (brown-bean saue dip), tom kha kai (chicken in coconut soup), and tom kathi saibua (stems of lotus in sour coconut soup)

Foi Thong (golden threads)

Thong Yip (golden picks)

Thai food in the certral part is a combination of various tastes -- hot, salty, sweet and greasy. Its main courses are usually quite peppery; and its dessert is quite sweet, such as foi thong (golden threads), thong yip (golden picks), thong yot (golden drop), etc.

In former times, people in the central part regularly sat on the floor when eating. Trays of food would be placed on a mat, carpet or low table according to the status of each family. People used their hands to pick up rice and put it into their mouths (this manner of eating is called in Thai poep khao), instead of using spoons as at present. Only when there was a bowl of curry or other liquid food, was a spoon laid for use jointly by people eating at the same table.

Later, when the Western style of eating was introduced into this country, this eating pattern was changed into the international one as seen nowadays. But some people in the country have preserved the traditional way up to now.