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About
Thai Cuisine |
 In
the early days, there were no complicated utensils and equipments
used to cook Thai food. Not to mention large cooking equipments
such as pots, pans woks because they didn't exist in those
days. The only metallic utensil used in cooking was knife.
Therefore, cooking techniques were limited at the initial
stage of Thai cuisine. However, the Thai ancestors were so
creative that even without complicated utensils, they could
make several delicious dishes that still present until today.
The
art of cooking Thai food has been developing over the years
in accordance with the outside influences, especially from
the west. With the advent of modern kitchenware, new ideas
and techniques have been further enhanced. Today, a good Thai
food cook can be more and more creative than in the early
years.
However,
no matter how things have been improved, some major typical
methods of cooking Thai food still remain the same as they
were in the past. The first is grilling. This method derived
from the fact that Thailand is abundant in the supply of natural
wood that can be applied to set the fire and cook food. Thai
people normally grill meats and fresh seafood and eat them
with dips (locally called as 'Nam Phrik') which has sweet-and-sour
flavors so that they become tastier.
Another
popular Thai cooking method is 'Yam' basically a kind of salad.
But Thai-style salad is different from the western because
the Thai dressing contains no fat in its ingredients, unlike
mayonnaise and different types of Ranch that are high in calorie
and fat. In cooking a dish of Thai salad, simply add a portion
of salty seasoning such as fish sauce of salt, lemon juice,
chili, and sometimes, garlic and shallot, and mix them together.
Then, you can make several dishes of Thai salad be they shrimp
salad, pork salad, papaya salad, beef salad and so on depending
on a person's creative ideas. Therefore, some can find a dish
of 'yam' very delightful while its herb and spice ingredients
are good for health as well.
 Boiling
is another typical way of Thai food preparation. Before the
age of modern cookery, Thai people used clay pots to boil
food. They also used clay pots to cook rice and make variety
of soups. The famous 'Tom Yam Goong' also originated from
boiling technique. Curries were also developed in the olden
days as well but the present-day curries are much different
from they were previously because ancient Thais did not use
coconut milk in those spicy soups.
The
art of Thai cooking evolved according to the cultural influences
from other countries, mainly China and Western Europe. Thai
people much welcome a Chinese quick-frying method as the Thais
have created a large choice of stir-frying entries in their
menu. Another influence from the mainland reflects in an extensive
use of noodles in Thai recipes. While the Chinese deep-fry
noodle and create savory sauces to mix, Thais apply it in
many characteristically Thai styles. Thai noodles taste sweet,
sour and sometimes spicy. A distinctive dish is Mee Krob,
or crispy noodle.
During
the reign of King Narai the Great coinciding with the reign
of King Louis XIV of France, Thai food took a great leap forward.
Foreigners and trades arrived in Thailand at our old capital
in Ayutthaya. With them, they brought new ways of cooking
as well as new ingredients. Thais did not use coconut milk
in their food prior to the arrival of these foreign nationals.
Westerners used to milk in their food suggested us to add
coconut milk in our curries. Through experimentations the
use of coconut milk in curries became the norm.
Coconut
milk in those days was mainly used only in desserts and some
dishes. It is an important ingredient as same as palm sugar
and rice flour. With the arrival of the Portuguese, we were
introduced to eggs in our ending meal. Such Portuguese dessert
as golden threads and golden flowers, which are made of egg
yolks and sugar syrup, are well known until these days. Some
still think that these sweets are types of Thai national desserts
but in reality they are Portuguese.
 Chinese
people migrated to Thailand, especially the Fukianese. They
brought with them their eating culture and through generations
develop their owner food which later became a part of Thai
cuisine.
Western
cuisine had the greatest influence on Thai cuisine from the
reigns of King Rama V onwards. Our beloved monarchs were educated
in Europe and brought back with then western culture and western
taste in food. From time to time we see this influence on
the menu of some old style restaurants that serve Thai food
but there are also stews available on their menu. Thais especially
love beef tongue stew and this is definitely a left over influence
from the western cuisine in the last 100 years.
We
Thais are a nation of eaters. When Thais meet, the first word
they greet each other is "where are you going?" and the next
question is "have you already eaten?" We like good food. We
have a very palate and we like to experiment. We are a nation
of bountiful supplies of raw materials, ready to be transformed
into flavor tempting delicacies. Thai food is actually not
difficult to make but one must understand the mixes of ingredients
and the taste combinations.
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