| Thai
food is widely known for being hot and spicy since almost all Thai
food is cooked with basic ingredients such as garlic, chilies, lime
juice, lemon grass and fresh coriander leaf and fermented fish sauce (nam
pla) or shrimp paste (kapi) to make it salty
Since rice is the staple food in Thailand, It is usually eaten at every
meal with soups, curries, fried vegetables and nam phrik. Nam
Phrik is a hot sauce prepared in a variety of ways and differs from
region to region : nam phrik pla pon is a ground dried fish and
chili sauce , nam phrik pla raa is a fermented fish and
chili sauce, nam phrik kapi is a shrimp paste and chili sauce, nam
phrik oong is a minced pork, tomato and chili sauce. In general, the
basic ingredients of nam phrik include shrimp paste, garlic, chili,
fermented fish sauce and lemon juice.
Other common seasoning in Thai food include galingale (Khaa), black
pepper, ground peanut tamarind juice, ginger and coconut milk. As a
result, it takes hours to prepare a proper Thai meal in the traditional
way as it involves so much peeling and chopping and pounding so it needs
time to prepare in advance. |
In fact, Thai food varies from region to region, for example, glutinous
or sticky rice is more popular in the North and Northeast than steamed
rice. Moreover, in some rural areas, certain insects are also eaten e.g.
crickets, silk worm larvae, red ant larvae. At the same time, Thai
desserts are often made from sticky rice or coconut milk, flour, egg and
coconut sugar while a variety pf fruit is available all year around.
Meanwhile, the basic characteristic taste of Thai food in different
parts of the country can be described in different ways : in the central
region, food is hot, salt, sweet, and sour. Rice is served with
different types of nam phrik and soups e.g. Tom Yam Kung (prawn
soup with lemon grass). Dishes usually contain a lot of condiments and
spices. In the North, food is mild or hot, salty and sour, but never
sweet. Sticky rice is served with boiled vegetables, nam phrik oong and
soups or curries. The North is also well-known for it sausage called
"naem" which consists of fermented minced pork. It has a sour
flavour and is sold wrapped in cellophane and banana leaf.
Food of the Northeast is hot, salty and sour. Their favorite foods
include papaya salad (som tam), sour chopped meat salad "koi",
sour minced meat salad (larp). People use a lot of condiments but not
many spices. Their meals generally consists of sticky rice and nam phtik
pla raa accompanied by a lot of vegetables including those found growing
wild.
On the other hand, food in the south is renowned for being very hot,
salty and sour-tasting. Curries are popular and made with a lot of
spicies and condiments. Khao yam ( a mixture of rice) raw
vegetables and fermented fish sauce or boo doo is also a common
dish. Generally southern people eat little meat and other varieties of
nam phrik are not so popular, the most common one is nam phrik kapi
Though the major portion of Thai food is described as being spiced and
chili hot, it currently enjoys worldwide popularity especially the
exotic Tom Yam Kung, a uniquely piquant prawn soup that is
renowned for its simplicity, creativity, artistic flair and delicious
taste. Above all, the tastes of Thai cuisines can be amended to suit
individual desire, for example, by reducing the amount of chilies in
certain dishes to lower the 'heat' orincreasing amounts of lime juice to
increase sourness. Visitors who have tried the exotic Thai food will
never forgot to order them again whenever their favourite dishes are
available.
Thai
Fruit
Thai
fruits crops can be classified into two groups. The first is a seasonal
fruit crop which includes mangoes, durians, rambutant, longans, sugar
apple, mangosteens and lichees. The second group is a year-round crop
which included pineapples, bananas, papayas, and jackfruits. So we
have fresh fruit available in the local market everyday of the
year.
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Thai
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