Original Siamese
food
Thai food is a blend of centuries old Asian and western influences.
Originally, Siamese food reflected the waterborne lifestyle of
the people: people lived in houses built along canals or waterways,
or on boats. The food consisted of water plants and animals. Cooking
methods were traditionally stewing, baking or grilling.
Stir frying, quickly cooks the vegetables, meat & fish in this Thai dish
photo © [2007] Jupiterimages Corporation
Influences on Thai food
Chinese influences introduced stir frying and deep frying to these
cooking methods. From the 17th century onwards, Portuguese, Dutch,
French and Japanese explorers visited Thailand, or Siam as it
was then, and other made an influence on cooking. Chillies were
introduced to Thai cooking by Portuguese missionaries in the late
17th century. The missionaries had taken a liking to them while
working in South America.
Developing Thai
food of today
The Thais adapted what they learned to their own fresh ingredients. They used coconut oil and coconut milk, lemongrass and galangal in place of the stronger fats and herbs of the introduced foods. In this way, they gradually changed these introduced foods and cooking methods to become their own particular style.
Thai table manners
Thai food is eaten with a spoon and fork. The fork must never
go into the mouth, but is used to break up food and push it onto
the spoon. The spoon takes food to the mouth.
Eating a Thai
meal
Generally, each diner has their own bowl of steamed rice, and
the other dishes are shared. Two diners will have three dishes,
three diners will have four, and so on. The dishes will generally
balanced between spicy and bland. Soups are part of the meal,
not served separately.
A typical Thai
meal
A typical balanced
meal might consist of a soup, a steamed dish, a fried dish, a
hot salad and a variety of dipping sauces. This would be followed
by a very sweet dessert, and/or fresh fruits such as mango, durian,
jackfruit, papaya or melon.
A Thai dessert Khanom
Tom Khao, or 'snowball'
Examples of Thai
foods
|
|
These can be starters, accompaniments to a meal or snacks. They include spring rolls, satay, rice cakes with toppings. |
|
|
Cold vegetables , sometimes with chicken, with hot and spicy dressing that is also a bit sweet, sour and salty. |
|
|
Some dips are also used on salads. Some are part of a main meal and have meat and vegetables to dip into the sauce. A popular dip is made from chillies, garlic, dried shrimps, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and shrimp paste. |
|
|
Traditional Thai soups have more flavours and textures than any other. A popular soup is Tom Yum, or 'hot and sour' soup. It can be made with either prawns or chicken or beef. |
|
|
The major ingredients in a Thai curry are fresh, unlike the ground dried spices of other curries. A basic Thai curry paste is chillies, shallots and shrimp paste. Added to that can be other ingredients such as garlic, galangal (a member of the ginger family), coriander, lemongrass or kaffir lime leaves. |
|
|
Other dishes might include rice or noodles, such as Pad Thai (fried noodles with chicken and vegetables) or Khao Pad (fried rice - khao means 'rice') |
|
|
Thai desserts are very sweet because they follow a strongly spiced meal. They include fried banana, water chestnuts with coconut milk, 'snowballs of rice flour and coconut. |
Go here to find recipes and pictures of Thai dishes: http://www.thaifood-made-easy.net/
| Herbs and seasonings used in Thai cooking | Buying Food in Thailand |
| Rice | Back to A Trip to Thailand main menu |
updated November 2008 © kidcyber