HISTORY OF THAILAND DISHES

Thai food originated with the people who emigrated from the southern Chinese provinces into modern day Thailand many centuries ago. Historically there were many Szechwan influences in Thai cuisine, although over the centuries many other influences have affected Thai food. In a more distant past, Buddhist monk brought an Indian touch, and southern Muslim states influenced the cooking in the south of Thailand. Much later, Thai food was influenced by European cuisine after contact with Portuguese missionaries and Dutch traders. During these times there were even some influences from the Japanese. Today Thai food is its own, with a special unique blend of the 5 tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and spicy.

How do Thai Curries differ from other south Asian curries?

Generally, since Thai cuisine uses a lot of coconut milk, Thai curries are much more liquid than those of India for example. Furthermore, with a tradition of mixing ingredients Thai curries use a lot of vegetables, even in meat dishes, so unlike other south Asian curries where the meat curry is separate to the vegetable dishes, in Thailand the meat curry will also contain a good amount of vegetables. The final difference in Thai curries is how spices are used; most Thai cuisine uses spices in a paste form. This use of paste reduces cooking times in comparison to Indian curries – since the spices are precooked. It also offers a more enhanced flavor since the spices have had a time to marinate and mature together.

FAMOUS DISHES

Tom Yum Goong

Tom yum or tom yam is a type of hot and sour Thai soup, usually cooked with shrimp. Tom yum has its origin in Thailand. The words "tom yam" are derived from two Thai words. Tom refers to the boiling process, while yam means 'mixed'.This iconic bowl of steaming goodness is bold, aromatic and comes with a fairly strong spicy kick. Tom yum goong is created with quintessential Thai ingredients like lemongrass, chilli, galangal, kaffier lime leaves, shallots, fresh lime juice and plenty of fish sauce. Fresh prawns and mushrooms are added and coconut cream if you want the creamy version.

Yam Pla Dook Foo

‘Fluffy’ and ‘crispy’ might be the best words to describe this dish. Catfish is fried in teeny tiny pieces (read “blown up”) creating an airy, fluffy and scrumptious fish salad. The secret to this dish is the pairing of the crispy fish with sweet, sour and spicy green mango salad. This dish is best enjoyed as an appetizer with a group of friends or as a beer snack.

Pad see eiw

Pad see ew is a stir-fried noodle dish that is commonly eaten in Thailand.It can be found easily among street food vendors and is also quite popular in Thai restaurants around the world. The origins of the dish can be traced to China from where the noodle stir-frying technique was brought.The dish is prepared in a wok which allows the black soy sauce added at the end of the cooking process to stick to the noodles for an exaggerated caramelizing and charring effect. The dish may look a little burnt, but the charred smoky flavor is the defining feature of the dish.The name of the dish translates to "fried with soy sauce". Variations of the dish can be found in other countries as well. It is very similar to the char kway teow of Malaysia and Singapore and to Cantonese chow fun.It is also similar to rat na (in Thai) or lard na (in Laos). The difference is that Pad see ew is normally stir-fried dry and made with beef, while the aforementioned dishes are served in a thickened sauce and generally have a lighter taste.Pad see ew is made with light soy sauce (''si-io khao'', similar to the regular soy sauce), dark soy sauce (si-io dam, having a more syrupy consistency), garlic, broad rice noodles called kuaitiao sen yai in Thai, Chinese broccoli, egg, and tofu or some form of thinly sliced meat – commonly pork, chicken, beef, shrimp, or mixed seafood. It is generally garnished with ground white pepper.

BELOW IS WHERE YOU CAN GET THIS DISHES IN THAILAND

Bangkok City

It is the only cosmopolitan city in a country of small towns and villages and is Thailand’s cultural and commercial centre.

Chiang City

It is the largest city in northern Thailand and the third largest city in the nation after metropolitan Bangkok