Home > Encyclopedia of Food & Culture > Thailand

Thailand is situated in the heart of mainland Southeast Asia. Located between latitudes 5° and 21° north and longitudes 97° to 106° east, it borders the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) and Myanmar (formerly Burma) to the north, Cambodia to the east, Myanmar to the west, and Malaysia to the south. Tropical temperature and rainfall patterns predominate throughout much of the country and influence its culinary traditions. Thailand, once called Siam, is distinguished from most other Southeast Asian countries by the fact that it has not ever been ruled by a European power. The monarch is a member of the Chakri dynasty, which has led the kingdom since 1782. Much of the Thai cuisine evolved in the central region during the Sukhothai period (1238–1350 B.C.E.). The rise of Ayutthaya in the fourteenth century brought an increase in trade, and outside influences became more pronounced. China, India, Indonesia, and Cambodia exerted strong influences, as did some European countries. After the fifteenth century domesticates from the Americas, such as the chili pepper and the tomato, were introduced. The complex of seasonings and dishes regarded as Thai cuisine was probably well established by the 1800s.

Staples, Specialties, and Etiquette

Rice and fish were first used as metaphors for prosperity and security in the inscription from King Ramkhamhaeng (1283 C.E.): "In the water there are fish, in the paddies there is rice" (nai nam mee pla—nai na mee khao). Rice, fish, and local fruits and vegetables form the centerpiece of Thai cuisine. Considerable evidence suggests that the domestication of wild rice occurred in the Yangtze Valley in China and later spread to Thailand and other areas in Southeast Asia. Rice is more than just a culinary staple. Rice agriculture is the primary farming activity nationwide, an integral way of life often portrayed in songs, poems, novels, and films. Rice is so central in the Thai diet that the most common term for "to eat" is "kin khâo," literally "eat rice," and a common greeting is "Kin khâo láew réu yang?" literally "Have you eaten rice yet?" Regional distinctions exist in the type of rice consumed. Sticky or glutinous rice (khâaw niaw) is consumed widely in the north and the northeast, and plain white rice (khâaw jâo), especially jasmine rice, is popular in the central and southern regions (see "Thai Regional Cuisine" below). Glutinous or sticky rice is a variety (Oryza sativa) that requires a shorter growing season and contains a large amount of amylopectin starch. The high proportion of amylopectin causes the kernels to disintegrate when boiled. Consequently glutinous rice is usually soaked and then steamed in a container above the water.

Eating in Thailand is usually done in a social context rather than alone. In Thai the word for "meal" is "meu," and meals usually consist of rice accompanied by various side dishes that are not eaten in any specific order. Frequently meals include a soup, a curry (kaeng), a salad, a steamed or fried dish, and at least one dipping sauce, such as fish sauce nam pla or one of the various forms of the hotter nam prik. Dessert usually consists of fruits, although various sweets called kanome, which are sometimes eaten as snacks, can also be served at a meal. Specific foods are seldom limited to certain times of the day, and distinctive breakfast, lunch, or dinner dishes do not exist. Some Thai food is eaten with the fingers, especially in certain regions of the country or specific foods such as sticky rice. The use of a fork and spoon predominates in urban areas, where the fork is used to push food onto the spoon rather than to bring food to the mouth. Knives are not commonly used because food is usually cut into small pieces before it is cooked.

Traditionally some distinction is made between food eaten by royalty (ahaan chow wang) and village food (aahan chow bâan). The primary difference lies not so much in the ingredients as in the use of serving dishes, in the variety and number of side dishes, and in the presentation style as food is transformed by carving, shaping, or decorating to change its appearance. In addition to an artistic presentation, palace food has often required many hours of preparation. Traditional palace food is served in Bangkok at restaurants specializing in this type of cuisine. Some royal desserts such as foi thong (golden threads), a dessert made from egg yolks and sugar, and luk choob, small mung bean paste sweets, similar to marzipan, shaped into small replicas of various fruits, colored with vegetable dyes, and glazed in the gelatin-like agaragar. These sweets also can be obtained in many large grocery stores and from some street vendors.

A twentieth-century development, especially in the urban areas, was the rapid rise in Thai street food. Sometimes considered a culinary form in its own right, street food is characterized by rapid preparation methods and includes a wide variety of categories. Snacks, such as sliced fruits or sweets, are common, as are noodle dishes and main dishes. Usually each vendor concentrates on one of these categories of food. Sidewalk food vendors are regulated by official authorities in each city. This form of culinary activity clearly fills an important niche in the cosmopolitan Thai lifestyle.

The Tastes and Flavors of Thai Food

The consumption of meals is guided by the qualities of taste, smell, and texture. Often these are the same qualities that guide health-promoting behavior. Foods are classified and categorized in a variety of ways. The ingredients selected for cooking frequently have medicinal properties. Penny Van Esterik (1988, p. 753) notes that the taste relationship is so close to concepts of health that the head teacher of the Traditional Medical College identified medicine (ya) as "anything which can be eaten to improve one's health." The basic taste qualities overlap with the medicinal tastes of traditional Thai medicine, which is related to the Indian Ayurvedic system. These taste contrasts guide the combination of ingredients or the combination of dishes with rice. The tastes are primarily derived from local plants, resins, oils, roots, insects, and algae, many of which are gathered wild from forests, ponds, and rice paddies.

Flavoring is a defining characteristic of Thai cuisine that imparts regional or ethnic identification, a sense of familiarity, and a sense of tradition. Most Thais speak of five important tastes as the hallmarks of Thai food, sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and hot-spicy. The ideal meal is often designed to include these tastes, and sometimes several of the tastes are subtly combined in an individual dish. Despite regional differences, much of Thai food is characterized by a combination of naam plaa (predominantly in the central, northern, and southern regions) or plaa daek (in the northeast), lemongrass, ginger, galingale, Thai basil, garlic, and chili peppers. A wide variety of chili peppers is used, different types imparting distinctive tastes, colors, and levels of hotness, such as the small and extremely hot prik ki nu. In addition mint, coriander, lime, and kaffir lime leaves (Citrus hystrix DC.) are also frequently used.

Food in Thai Celebrations, Rituals, and Religion

Food plays an important role in the personal, social, and religious aspects of Thai life. Most Thais are Buddhists, and the daily offering of food to monks, called tham boon tak bàat, is one of the most important Buddhist acts. Every day throughout the country, in urban and rural communities, Thai Buddhist monks receive their daily food during a practice known as bintábàat. Walking through the streets and paths in the early morning, the monks are met by people offering food. Food is also offered at numerous religious shrines and is an important part of most Thai Buddhist ceremonies. Houses, office buildings, hotels, and rice fields have a spirit (phii) house (san pra poom), where daily offerings are placed. The spirit houses, originating from past Brahman influences, may be elaborate and look like small temples or may be modestly constructed of plain wood or concrete. Thais give offerings to feed the spirits occupying the spirit house who protect the place from harm. As in secular life, rice has a central role in Thai spiritual life. The most common type of offering at spirit shrines is a small amount of rice, however, other food, such as fruits or sweets, may also be provided.

Buddhist monks perform many different ceremonies in which food offerings are integral. These include funeral rites, weddings, house consecrations, and inductions of new monks. Sweet offerings predominate at engagement and wedding ceremonies. The names of such sweets often signify a special aspect of the occasion. For example, kanome (sweet) thong (gold) ake (best) signifies bestowing wealth to the couple. The preparation and offering of food for religious ceremonies and rituals bestows merit on the person who provides the food. In preparing and giving ritual food individuals gain merit, and food is integrated into the spiritual and ceremonial fabric of Thai life.

See also Buddhism; China; India; Rice.

Geraldine Moreno-Black