The food in Thailand is amazing. It assaults the senses. It attacks the palate. It attacks the eyes. It whets the appetite. Most of all, it goes down very easily. It is said to be fastest growing cuisine in the world. It is easy to understand why. Thai food can light, zesty, tangy. It can be rich, creamy, spicy. It can be sweet, smooth, delectable. It comes in such an amazing variety of tastes and textures that no one can walk away from a Thai feast, insatiated. Like all cuisines, Thai food suffers from some misconceptions; the biggest of which is that it is all spicy. That tends to put most foreigners off. Just like some people would say, I don’t like Japanese food because I don’t eat raw fish, this perception of Thai food as all spicy is wrong.
There are dishes that are so bland but delicious even babies can eat it like the popular kao tom ( rice soup) which is usually a breakfast dish but you but you can have it anytime you want it. Then there are dishes that are more sweet than spicy like pla nam wan ( sweet and sour fish). Then there are fresh, leafy green vegetables fried in garlic and oyster sauce- just what the doctor ordered, but tastier than any vitamin pills they prescribe.
Rice and noodles being the staple items in the Thai diet, they come dished up in limitless permutations. Rice boiled with fish, chicken, pork or shrimp. Rice fried with salted fish, dried shrimp or crap. Noodles in soup with beef balls ( the most popular item sold on the streets), noodles fried with chicken, noodles in gravy sauce. And let’s not forget, the noodles come in various types- fat, thin, skinny, yellow, white.
Gosh, writing about this has made me so hungry I must pop out for a quick lunch of som tum ( papaya salad) and kuay teow nam ped ( noodles in duck soup). Excuse me….
Having just devoured the som tum has reminded me that not only is Thai food delicious, it is also healthy. If you’re the new age consumer, extra careful about what you put into your mouth, then Thai food is your cup of tea. Its salads ( yum ) are light and tasty- all tossed with generous lacings of lime juice, shallots, garlic and chilies. Its soups can be light and tangy ( tom yum kung ) or rich and creamy ( tom kar gai ). Seafood takes centerpiece in Thai cuisine- the freshest seafood deep fried, grilled or steamed with exotic herbs and spices. My favorite- crabs cooked in coconut curry.
Thai desserts also come in a variety of shapes and sizes from colorful shapes of bean paste to water chestnut in coconut milk to pumpkin custard. Thais have a sweet tooth so desserts can be bought and eaten at anytime of the day. Don’t worry, nobody will bat an eyelid of you pop out at 3pm and buy a handful of crispy coconut cakes.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand knows it has a powerful weapon in food and, as such, is putting Thai food on top of the list in the Amazing Thailand campaign. Says Pradech Phayakvichien, deputy governor, “ We’ve been invaded by so many Western brand names in food, yet our food culture has stayed very strong. Thai food is starting to spread globally.” The TAT is initiating a global Thai food campaign which will see all Thai restaurants around the world promote the cuisine. “ We want to network Thai restaurants around the world, put them on our website, hold Thai food festivals and support them with collateral.
It’s not just the taste, it’s also healthy. All the herbs we use have natural healing properties,” says Pradich. The TAT also hopes to raise awareness about the origins of certain famous recipes. “ For example, did you know that tom yum kung comes from the central plains of Ayutthaya.”
|
