Thailand
Information
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When arriving
in Thailand ask for free copies of Thaiways magazine and Thaiways
maps from the information counter at airports or hotels.
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One of the great pleasure of being in Thailand is that
there is a great abundance of eating places and the cost of eating is
rather cheap when compared to those in Western countries. As Thailand
is a major agricultural country, grains, vegetables, meat and all kinds
of foodstuff are produced here at very reasonable prices. Besides, aquatic
and marine animals are easily acquired from the sea and many rivers. These
factors together with the gift of cooking of Thai people make Thailand
a paradise for every food lover.
Wherever you are in Thailand, you'll surely find a good number and variety
of eating places -- perhaps much more than you've ever expected. And that's
why many Western visitors said that one of their pleasures while being
in Thailand is EATING! When asked why? They simply said -- Because it
is delicious and cheap!
The unique feature of Thai cuisine is the mixture
of 4 basic tastes -- salty, sweet, sour and pungent. Many dishes can even
be described as pungent and spicy with lots of garlic, chilies, and fresh
herbs. Thai food not only tastes good, but is also healthy due to its low
fat and high fibre and the nutritious properties of its herbal ingredients.
Click
to read the full story of "Thai Food the Harmony of Flavours and Health"
Anyway, Thai food can be basically divided into
four groups according to its region of origin -- central, northern, northeastern
(Isan) and southern.
Thai food in the central
part is a combination of various tastes -- hot, salty, sweet and greasy.
People in the central and southern regions eat steamed rice with side dishes,
such as curries, shrimp paste dip with fresh vegetables, fried dishes and
soups. While many dishes of the central region receive the influence of
Chinese cuisine, the southern ones are influenced by Malay cuisine.
Another difference is that the southern dishes consist mainly of sea fish.
Its taste is sour, salty and very hot since people like to use turmeric
in cooking. Khanom chin (Thai rice vermicelli) is a popular native
food of the South, which is taken with vegetables and a hot and spicy curry.
| On the other hand, the northern and
northeastern people prefer eating steamed glutinous rice to non-glutinous
rice. Most northern
dishes are generally milder than those of the other regions. Sugar,
coconut cream and spices are less used. |
Khantok Dinner |
Its well known style of eating is
Khantok Dinner comprising
sticky rice, curries and nam phrik ong (a sauce of minced pork,
tomatoes and chilies) all of which are placed in a wooden tray around
which all guests sit and eat with hand. |
Som Tam (bottom) & Grilled Chicken (top)
|
The taste of the Northeastern
(Isan) food is stronger, more salty, sour and hot than elsewhere in
the country and some dishes receive the influence of Laos. One unique
characteristic of Isan food is that pla ra (fermented fish)
constitutes a main dish in almost every meal. It is plainly eaten
with glutinous rice or added to other dishes. |
| Som
Tam (green papaya salad), one of the most popular dishes in
Thailand, is also an original northeastern food and is normally eaten
with glutinous rice and grilled chicken. |
Basically, eating Thai food is a communal affair joined
by two or more people sharing different dishes. So the greater the number
of diners, the greater the number of dishes shared. These dishes are eaten
together allowing the diners to enjoy the harmonious tastes of the whole
meal. A typical Thai meal should consist of a soup, a fried dish, a hot
salad (yam), a curry dish or a dip with fried fish and fresh vegetables.
Besides, Thai food is normally served with a variety of condiments and
sauces, e.g. fish sauce with chilies and vinegar with chilies.
If you are trying hot Thai food for the first time, you should take plenty
of You should also avoid eating chilies, especially the small red or green
ones called phrik khi nu, which is a main ingredient in curries,
hot salad and spicy fried dishes. Thai food is eaten with a fork and spoon
and no knife as all ingredients are cut in slices or small chunks.
Top
| The
Top Ten Thai Dishes Loved by Foreigners |
Have you ever tried Thai food? Do you like
it? Thaiways invites you to savour some mouth-watering Thai dishes
which are most popular among foreigners.
In July 1999, the Office of the National Culture Commission announced
the top ten Thai dishes best liked by foreigners. In cooperation
with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Office had conducted a
survey of Thai restaurants all over the world to find out ten favourite
Thai dishes of foreigners. In the survey 1,000 Thai restaurants
around the world were asked to fill in a questionnaire. However,
only 500 restaurants which have Thai chefs and offer the authentic
Thai food were qualified for being taken into consideration.
The results were the top ten Thai dishes which are listed below
in order of their percentages of popularity
1.
Tom Yam Kung (Spicy
Shrimp Soup) 99%
2. Kaeng
Khiao Wan Kai (Green
Chicken Curry) 85%
Tom Yam Kung |
Kaeng Khiao Wan Kai |
3. Phat
Thai (Fried
Noodles of Thai Style) 70%
4. Phat
Kaphrao (Meat or Seafood Fried with Sweet Basil) 52%
Phat Thai |
Phat Kaphrao |
Kaeng Phet Pet Yang |
Tom Kha Kai |
Yam Nua |
Mu or Kai Sa-te |
Kai Phat Met Mamuang Himmaphan |
Kaeng Phanaeng |
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Top
| Thailand is not only
a kingdom of fruits but also a kingdom of seafood. Anyone who has
experienced Thai seafood will readily agree to its great variety,
savoury taste and sweet smell. |
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A secret of seafood
deliciousness lies in its freshness. As Thailand has a long coastline
and Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket and many other cities are close to the
sea, fresh supplies of fishes, crabs, prawns, lobsters, oysters and
other shellfishes are always available and all eaters will find them
most palatable no matter whether they are gourmets or just ordinary
diners. |
| Seafood dishes normally are offered
at most Chinese restaurants. In Bangkok, the areas where there are
a lot of seafood restaurants are Yaowarat (Chinatown) and Silom. |
Top
Most coffee shops in tourist hotels serve an approximation
of European food, some also Chinese and Japanese. For more authentic dishes,
you can try the nationality restaurants, mostly located in the leading hotels
and in the busy shopping areas. There you will find the food and desserts
in their original tastes.
Western cuisines available in Bangkok and provincial
tourist centres are American, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian,
Scandinavian, Swiss and Russian. Asian cuisines include Chinese, Japanese,
Korean, Vietnamese, Indian, Muslim and Arabic.
Top
Thailand is an ideal place for enjoying genuine
Chinese food that tastes exactly like that of its country of origin. The
Chinese culinary art was first brought to Thailand by the Chinese who migrated
to this country in large numbers in the late Ayutthaya period over 200 years
ago. As a result of the long history of contact between the two peoples,
the Thai and the Chinese cultures are now well mixed in many aspects, including
the art of cooking.
Chinese food is commonly served in restaurants
and hotels in every part of Thailand, especially in Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya
and Chiang Mai. Indeed, Thailand is the only place outside China (and
Taiwan and Hong Kong) that can provide tourists with such a wide choice
of delicious Chinese dishes. Bangkok's Chinatown (Yaowarat Road) is one
of the best places for Chinese food, both in expensive restaurants and
at cheap but quality food stalls which are specially abundant at night.
Top
For those of you who are fond of eating fruits,
Thailand will surely be like a paradise for you. If you have a chance to
visit a market and buy some fruits, you'll find that fruits in this country
are so plentiful, so diversified, so inexpensive and so delicious. Many
Thai fruits are available all year round. However, the period when fruits
are on sale in great abundance and variety is from May to July.
Here are some kinds of Thai fruit with Thai romanized
spellings.
(see Romanization System of
the Thai Language section.)
Banana
(kluai), coconut
(ma-phrao), papaya
(malako), mango (ma-muang), grape (a-ngun), guava (farang), tangerine
(som), watermelon
(taeng-mo),
durian (thurian), jackfruit (khanun), longan (lamyai), lychee
(linchi), mangosteen
(mangkhut), pineapple (saparot), pomelo (som-o), rambutan
(ngo), roseapple (chomphu)
Click to read the full story
of "The Kingdom of a Hundred Fruits"
Top
Like Thai dishes, Thai desserts are also delicious,
colourful and multifarious. They are pleasing to the eye as well as the
palate. Thai women have a particular liking for them and eat them both after
and between meals. Most Thai sweets are made from five simple ingredients
-- coconut cream, coconut flesh, rice flour, palm sugar and eggs.
| 
Thong Yip (middle left),
Thong Yot (top) & Foi Thong (right)
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A variety of Thai desserts
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Kluai Chueam (left)
Kluai Buat Chi (bottom right) |
Luk Chup |
Some favourite sweets
among the Thais are :
- Thong
Yip (sweet egg yolk cup)
- Thong Yot (sweet egg yolk drop)
- Foi
Thong (sweet shredded egg yolk)
- Met Khanun (mung bean flour coated with sweet egg yolk)
- Mo Kaeng (egg custard with mung bean flour)
- Sangkhaya (egg custard)
- Bua Loi
(glutinous-rice flour balls in coconut cream)
- Tako (jelly with coconut cream)
- Kluai Buat Chi (banana in coconut cream)
- Fakthong Buat (pumpkin in coconut cream)
- Kluai Chueam (banana in syrup and coconut cream)
- Luk
Chup (fruit-shape desserts made of mung-bean flour with natural colouring)
- Thapthim Krop (diced water-chestnuts in coconut cream)
There are arrays of Thai sweetmeats for sale at many places ranging from
sidewalk stalls, markets and small shops to top department stores. Try
to taste some of the above to appreciate the marvelous taste of Thai desserts.
Click to read the full story of
"Desserts
and Thai Culture."
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