The Tantalizing Taste of Thai Cuisine

Today Thai food is undoubtedly one of the world’s most popular cuisines, which in itself brings many people here to discover the origins and complexities of the home of such wonderful fare. It is notable that Thailand is the only South East Asian nation never to have been colonized, but it is indeed also surprising that Thailand’s cuisine represents quite the opposite parallels, with influences from all its neighbours and from visiting traders over the centuries. So let’s take a look at the history, the chemistry, and the culture that is Thai cuisine, and help you to discover what makes up the magic behind that unique taste that is Thai.

Historically Speaking

Historians originally thought that the Thai civilization originated from southern China as the people migrated south to establish a federation of city-states known as Lanna, with Chiang Mai as its center. However, it is now known that even they were preceded by a technologically superior culture dating back some 10,000 years that inhabited the Khorat Plateau (near Ban Chang) in the Eastern or Isarn provinces, and who had even discovered/invented Bronze Age capabilities some 1,000 years before the Mesopotamians. Recently, genetic anthropologists working with human genome technology have now identified that Thailand was indeed the gateway that the first nomadic humans travelled through from Africa, through India and then dispersing on to China, through the Indonesian peninsula, Australia, and even for those that eventually travelled through to Europe and the Americas.

Thailand was truly a central point in South East Asia, and the Indians, Burmese, Chinese, Khmer and Malay all have had some influence in the evolution of Thai cuisine. However, Thailand was also a richly diverse land, with the lush jungles and wildlife in the northern hills, the vast & fertile central alluvial plains, the mighty Meekong River in the east, and the abundant coastal environs of the south. This meant that even in the early days, there was an abundance of food for all, and so this allowed the Thai people the luxury of being discriminating about what and how they ate, and also how they prepared their meals. The Thai people perhaps learned earlier than many civilizations the art of discerning gastronomy.

The Chemistry

The Royal Thai households immediately took to the use of chillies into their food preparation, and in some ways had correctly perceived the medicinal values of this hot little spice. We now know that Capsaicin is the magic ingredient in the fruit of the chilli plant that gives it its “bite” or spiciness. However, scientists have discovered that this is also a natural antibiotic and has been found to possess antibacterial and antifungal properties as well as powerful pain killing and anti-arthritic properties.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School found that Capsaicin carries out its magic by binding to a receptor – a protein that sits on the surface of a neuron or nerve cell. Ironically, it seems to be the very pain produced by the alkaloid which helps to produce the pain killing effect. Capsaicin stimulates certain nerve endings to manufacture the chemical which transmits the sensation of pain through the nervous system, until the cells are depleted, temporarily blocking the pain signals to the brain. It is also this process that produces the morphine-like effect of the chilli, stimulating the release of endorphins in the brain and thus a feeling of happiness and well being. Repeated exposure to Capsaicin depletes the receptors, enabling you to eat hotter chillies for the same feeling or effect, which is why Westerners can seldom eat the dishes as “hot” as can Thai people.

Nutritionally, chillies are high in vitamin A and a source of vitamins B1, B2, niacin, sodium, phosphorous, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium and zinc, and by weight, capsicum peppers contain between 6 to 9 times the amount of vitamin C than a tomato. This is significant, as both vitamins A and C are powerful antioxidants, believed to protect against various forms of cancer and cardiovascular disease. Other research has found that the chilli can also help combat heart attack and stroke, as it appears to extend blood coagulation time, preventing harmful blood clots, and that it may also help to cut triglycerides and decrease bad cholesterol levels, when used in conjunction with a diet low in saturated fats.

A Culture of Cooking

However, it is that magic symphony of taste sensations that initially draw people to the Thai cuisine, as not every dish is bombarded with endorphin generating chillies and spices.

Northern Thai cuisine has its origins in the southern Burmese and Chinese Szechuan styles; however, it has now evolved into something completely unique, as the abundant jungles and fertile foothills of the Northern provinces provided a much more bountiful selection of fare for early communities to experiment with. Northern style cooking uses only natural fruits and berries to add sweetness to its dishes and as is the case in all Traditional Thai cooking, NO MSG or any artificial preservatives or taste enhancers are ever used. Northern Thai cuisine is acknowledged for its large range of game and meats with Lanna Silapin (sausages) being very popular. Wild game, traditional meats and pungent jungle curries, along with perhaps one of its signature dishes, Nam Prik Oang (Pork in a spicy tomato sauce) make this style unique in Thailand. However, you might also be surprised to find that Northern style cuisine also has an abundance of fish dishes, such as Pla Choen and many more.

North Eastern (or Isarn) food is perhaps the spiciest of all Thai cooking styles, and has a mixture of primarily Khmer and Laos heritage. This region however, is the poorest and generally least fertile of the country, and so its trademark cuisine is often mistakenly recognized as being based around insects and grasshoppers or worms. However, one of Thai people’s most famous and most widely eaten dishes comes from here and that is Som Tam, which is made from a combination of shredded papaya, chillies, crabs and fish sauces. Isarn food is also well known for its world famous sticky rice (kao nee-ow). In fact anthropologists believe that rice may have actually originated in north-eastern Thailand and that the civilization from Ban Chang migrated elsewhere in search of more fertile pastures centuries ago. Another Isarn culinary standard is of course Larb, which is a spicy salad of minced beef, pork, chicken, or fish; the meat is usually served raw or barely-cooked. Khanom buang (a crispy crepe stuffed with dried shrimp and bean sprouts) is another which is always popular at parties.

Central Thai cuisine is in some ways a blend of the influences of all the other regions, however in that, it is unique and in many ways is perhaps the most diverse and intricate. One cannot underestimate the influence of the Royal courts on all of Thailand’s cuisine; however, it is most significant here in its home in the fertile alluvial plains. When King Rama IV built the Grand Palace on the Chao Praya which is now known as Bangkok, he engaged around 3,000 women learning the complexities of preparing food and even fruit carving, which is still in evidence today. Some dishes include foi thong (a silky, golden nest made out of egg yolks and sugar), look choop (imitation handmade fruits), and mee grob (crisp rice noodles and shrimp in sweet and sour sauce). These recipes were considered secrets not to be known outside of the royal court, but in recent times the art of Royal Thai cuisine has been revealed for the entire world to enjoy. Perhaps the most famous Thai dish of central origins is Tom Yam Koong (spicy prawn soup with lemongrass) however Phad Thai (fried noodles with shrimp, sprouts and lemongrass) Gaeng Phet Yang (roasted duck curry) and Pad Krapow (fried shrimp or meat with spicy basil leaves) are just some of the many delicious variants of this style of Thai cuisine.

While ninety percent of Thailand’s population is Buddhist, the population of many of the Southern provinces are predominantly Muslim, whose ancestors immigrated into the area from the Indian subcontinent over the past two thousand years. Therefore, most of that region’s foods bear closer similarities to Indian or Malaysian food styles. The rich coconut curries and spicy shrimp pastes are complimented by cashews, pineapples, seafood and crustaceans. Here, one can find bread, in the form of pan-fried roti, which sometimes is stuffed with a curried meat and vegetable mixture, or comes with a curry sauce to dip in. Unlike mainstream Thai curries in which herbs and pungent roots are the primary ingredients, many Southern curries are characterized by the roasted fragrance of dry spices more familiar in Indian cooking. Certainly some of the most famous dishes include the sweet coconut desserts from Prachuab Kirikhan and the Tod Mun Koong (fried shrimp patties on a stick of sugar cane) as well as Tom Kha Talay (seafood in sweet spicy coconut soup) and Hoy Lai Naam Prig Phao (fried clams in roasted chilli paste) along with kanom jeen (white spaghetti-like noodles made with fermented rice paste, spun into small serving-size skins), which is served either with a spicy rich coconut-milk-based ground fish curry called nahm yah, or a sweeter also rich coconut-milk-based chilli sauce with ground peanuts called nahm prik.

For a great dining experience tonight, check out our special Popular Dining Choices or any of the other fine restaurants we have presented in The Pattaya Traveller.