Tastes of Thailand
Thai Food is ancient in origin and was upheld for centuries by the loyal kitchens while being supplemented by many outside influences into its own distinctive cuisine without compromising local culture and rituals. I chose the 10 popular Thai taste lists that you can find from local fresh markets, street side and restaurants.
Tom Yam Kung
The colorful, hot, sour and herbal “Tom Yam Kung” is one of the best known Thai dishes to foreigners. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, it was adapted from a Central Thai dish and promoted to a national one to help tourism. As a result, it is now known and served all over the world.
Grilled Pork with Sticky Rice (Khao Niaow Moo Ping)
This Thai fast food dish is filling, delicious, inexpensive and easily found in restaurants and street corners. It’s popular all over the country. Grilled Pork with Sticky Rice is assumed to have started when, around 1957, carts formerly used for transporting goods were redesigned to suit street food vending.
Pad Kra Pao with Rice (Khao Pad Kra Pao )
This single-plate dish from Central Thailand is a top-five Most Popular menu item, available at street food carts and in canteens all over the country. It’s a simple dish made from ground meat wok-fried with holy basil leaves, garlic and chili, and often topped with a fried egg. It’s a delicious and authentic Thai dish.
Pad Thai
Pad Thai first appeared in the 1930s, during the nationalist period of Field Marshall Pibulsongkram, who was the Thai Prime Minister during World War ll when the country’s economy was down, created the dish as a way to galvanize nationalism. Rice was expensive then, and noodles were cheaper and more easily found. Pad Thai is greatly influenced by Chinese wok-fried noodles, but it was altered into a new, authentic Thai dish by adding ingredients and flavors that suited Thai tastes. Its main ingredient is tamarind sauce, which gives it a sweet and sour taste. Pad Thai was listed at №5 on the list of World’s 50 Most Delicious Foods, according to a reader’s poll compiled by CNN Go in 2011.
Nam Prik
This is a generic term for any kind of dip made with chili as an ingredient. The chronicles of the French diplomat, La Loubere, about the kingdom of Siam told that Thais ate chili dip as the main dish as “the hotness of chili made for appetite”. Today, Thais still love to eat Nam Prik with fresh or parboiled vegetables and steamed rice. There are now some 30 different recipes of Nam Prik. It’s also available to buy in sealed jars and pouches, for anyone who wishes to take some back home with them after traveling to Thailand.
Som Tom
Som Tam, or spicy shredded and pounded green papaya salad, is assumed to have become popular in Thai cuisine around the 1930s, when the government encouraged the growing of papaya. By 1935, a recipe for Som Tam appeared for the first time. Som Tam is a hugely popular dish all over the country and is renowned throughout the world. It comes in more than 50 different forms and flavors, and can be eaten at any time of day.
Massaman Curry ( Kang Massaman )
The Royal Berge sonnet, authored by King Buddha Loetla Nabhalai, gave this dish its name. Culinary experts and historians hypothesized that this curry was first made with a number of spices that came to Ayudhya when Sheikh Ahmed, a Persian merchant (and ancestor of the Bunnag family) became a high official at the Royal Court. Later, Thailand’s first cookbook (composed by Lady Plian Pasakornwong) featured a recipe for Massaman Curry. This made it gain widespread popularity. Today, Massaman Curry has been recognized as one of the most delicious dishes in the world.
Green Curry (Kang Keaw Wan)
Thai people love this curry because of its great taste and wonderful aroma. It’s a healthy dish that contains lots of nutrients. Thais call it Green “Sweet” Curry because though the main ingredient of the curry paste is green paprika, coconut milk gives it a sweet flavor. This curry can be made in a short time and can be eaten together with “Khanom Chin,” fermented rice noodles on rice on a single plate.
Kanom Krok
This is a traditional Thai snack assumed to date back to the Ayutthaya Period (14th Century). Batter is made by mixing together flour, sugar and coconut milk, which is then poured into the pan. When it’s nearly cooked, chopped spring onion is added. Nowadays, other toppings are used, such as egg, sweet corn, coconut meat, and more.
Kanom Buang
Thai crispy pancakes: Kanom Buang is a crepe-like snack that was first mentioned in King Chulalongkorn’s volume about 12 Annual Royal Ceremonies, (one ceremony for each month), in which Kanom Buang was to be prepared for the first lunar month. These delicious crispy pancakes are made from a batter of flour and soy beans, and are covered with a spread made out of eggs and sugar. They come with two fillings; sweet or savory. The sweet filling is made with caramelized coconut, “ Foi Tong ’’ (a sweet, serpentine egg yolk confection), and dried plum. The savory one is made with desiccated coconut fried with dried shrimps, kaffir lime leaves and chopped spring onions.
If you are interested in Thai foods and would like to discover more about traditional Thai tastes by experience, contact and get information from www.thaiwisely.com they can recommend the best Thai cooking classes around in Thailand to you.
— Effie and Polly —
