Thai Food by Thaiways: Thai Food Central Region

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!

Because of these factors, grains and vegetables are easily grown and aquatic animals are readily found. Therefore, food eaten by people in the central part mainly consists of shrimp, crab, fish and vegetables in addition to rice and pork, Even dessert can be made from these animals such as khao niao na kung (glutinous rice with shrimp), khao niao na pla haeng (glutinous rice with dried fish).

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 dihes 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.

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