Factor influencing Thai cuisine
PD184 THAI CUISINE
Conclusion of the last five weeks
The principle underlying the structure of Thai
cuisine
1.0 Buddhism
2.0 Monarchy
3.0 Geography
4.0 Faith and beliefs
5.0 Social Values
1.0 Buddhism
 Taking lives is the most serious sin of all.
 Bad Karma
 The bigger animal the greater sin.
 ‘Present’
Thomson suggests that belief in present is the
fundamental motivation behind the skilled Thai
craftsmanship; especially in cuisine
1.0 Buddhism
 Religion : Buddhism
Making merit to monks: daily obligation
Food must be the best, the first and cooked with the
best intention.
Monks are the intermediaries in sending food to their
ancestor ( Sukpisit, 2000)
10 things that can not give to monks
 Human flesh
 Dog meat
 Elephant meat
 Horse meat
 Snake meat
 Lion & Beameat
 Tiger: leopard, Sumartra, yellow tiger
 Plus no raw meat, fish, No blood, No alcohol
Paradox of Buddhism
 One of the principles of Buddhism teaching is
‘Not to desire’
However to give merit or to cook at religious
ceremony is based on the best ingredients, the most
flavour food and the most beautiful looking dish.
2.0Monarchy
 Dominate the governing style of the country
 Khmer and Indian influence; status
 Court cuisine must match the status of the ruler.
 Taste as well as sight is valued; Craving
 Lady of the court tries to impress the
kings; plenty of time in their hands.
 Court cuisine underlies the
complexity of Thai cuisine.
Monarchy
 Court is the hub of exchanges; food stuffs and
cooking techniques.
 Learn from foreign chef
hired by the king
 Accompany the kings to
other places and incorporate
different ingredients
3.0 Geographical location
 Trading route in Asia
 Foreign plant, spices, foodways came into Siam
with trader
 Turn whatever came in to suit Siamese likeness
 Indian & Chinese
Geographical area
 Weather pattern of regional area
 Availability of natural resources
 Interior geographical characteristic Vs Coast line in
the southern part of Thailand
Geographical area
 Tropical zone
 Heat spoil food
 Fermented came in handy
 The use of spices
 Dried and fermented food stuffs
4.0 Faith and belives
 Spirits inhabits everywhere
 God inhabits in foodstuffs teaches Thai not to waste.
 Do you what kind of food stuffs has faith and beliefs
attached to them?
Faith and belief
 Rice godness Phra mea pho sok
 Water godness Pra mea kong ka
 Banana tree spirit Phi tanee
 The habit of not wasting food but creating new
dishes from left over is another foundation of Thai
cuisine. Ie. Khao tuu, Nahm phrik long rue
5.0 Social values
 High value placed on forienger ( King Rama V, VI)
 The fear of colonialism
 Less impact on the cuisine but more on consuming
habits
Social values
 Also, reflecting in wine dinning behaviour
 Expensive produces ie, oyster, foie gras etc.
 Check out Sunday brunch
The development of Thai cuisine
 The attempt to modernize Thailand (Rama V,VI)
 The end of absolute monarchy
 Governmental policies
 The declination of power of Buddhism
 Technology, economy & social changes
The attempt of Modernization of Thailand
 In Rama V and VI
 The fear from colonised, Siam force to adopted
western idea of civilisation
 Cutlery
 Court lady learnt how to cooked western food ( to
suit Siamese palate)
 Western ingredients like butter, ham, milk is widely
adopted in cooking
The end of absolute mornachy
 Rama the VI abandon the practice of polygamy.
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Number of royal family member decline
The abdicate of Rama VII
Disperse of court cuisine
Simplified to suit peasant lifestyle
Government gain more power in affecting Thai
foodways.
Political and Governmental moment
 1932 Prime minister General Pibul attempted to
form a national identity. Telling people how they
should eat, act, dress and live
 After the world war II, there was a rice shortage, the
government all encourage thai to eat noodle and Pad
Thai
Governmental moment
 Prime Minister Taksin market Thai cuisine as
national product.
 Thai cuisine, cuisine of the world
 Training and sending chef aboard
Governmental moment
 Standardisation of recipes
 Use commercial industrialized products from
Thailand

Declination of Buddhism power
 Especially with Urban thai
 Live cycle used to circulate around the temple
 Religious ceremony every fortnight
 The central of life shifted
 Taking advantages of the faith
Buddhism declination
 Eating large animal is become more acceptable
 Live animal is kept in the tank ready to cooked and
served in Chinese restaurants
 Making merit is not as strict
 Food normally purchased due to time limitation
Technology, Economy and Social changes
 Urbanization is structural changes from low density
to high density residence
 Primary producers became consumers
 Move away from indigenous plants & food to
purchasing mass produced food by others.
Social changes
 Time scare & double earning push family to depend
on market ready-to-eat food.
 The passing on the knowledge from generation to the
next
 Gender status is changed
Technology
 Canned coconut cream
 Pre-package curry paste
 Kitchen equipment and utensils
 Chilling technology
 Microwave invention
 Food innovation
 Fresh food to process one
 Festive food available everyday
Salih K. et al,.
 States that ‘ Industrial palate refers to the growing
share of value-added, often mass-produced,
processed food products in the diet of average
conusmer.
In conlcusion,....
 In my opinion, The being of Thai cuisine is reflected
through Thai flag.
The balance of texture and flavour

Ripe Vs Unripe
Spicy Vs Plain
Sour Vs
Sweet
Le Vs Cripsy
Undercooked vs
Cooked
Where is that come from?
 Influences analyzed Utilizing Rozin’s Structure of
cuisine
1. Basic Food stuffs
2. Seasonings and Flavouring Particles
3. Cooking Methods and techniques
Basic Food stuffs
 Rice
 Rice is the main staple of Thai cuisine. Although
consuming rice does not emerge from the influence
of other cuisines, the other products made from rice
such as noodles and/or fermented rice noodles do so.
 Thais rarely process rice grains to make other things
except its flour for sweet desserts.
Rice the staple
 However, Thais consume processed rice
in great amounts today.
 Noodles for example, are a basic staple
 that is processed from rice
 The noodles discussed here are fermented rice
noodles as opposed to the noodles introduced by the
Chinese.
Rice product
 Fermented rice noodles are consumed throughout
Thailand and are believed to have originated in
either Myanmar or Cambodia. There is no actual
evidence to prove its origin; however, Hongwiwat
assumed that it originated in the Mon (Myanmar)
and spread to other places in south east Asia.
The names given to this fermented rice noodles by
south east Asians are interestingly similar
 In Myanmar, they called it Ka-noan Jin; in
Cambodia, Kao nom; and in Thailand Khanomchin.
 It is closely linked with religious and festive food
since it requires many people to prepare, Fermented
rice noodles are consumed in every region but with
different varieties of curry or spicy soups.
(Tawithong Hongwiwat,)
Aquatic Food Sources
 The old Thai cookbook Mae Krau Hua Pa, mentions
about forty different fresh water fish that were
consumed consistently in the Thai diet
 agricultural industry damaged the bio-diversity of
fresh water fish and vegetables in Thailand,
especially in Bangkok.

 One example illustrating this case is Kaeng Tepho
(curry with oily fish and morning glory), whose main
ingredient is Tepho, a very oily fresh water fish. Even
though Tepho has started to disappear from the dish
altogether and has been replaced by pork belly, Thais
still call it Kaeng Tepho. What’s interesting here is
that the substitute for oily fish was not another type
of fish but pork which was a food introduced by the
Chinese.
Plants, Vegetables and Fruits.
 Blanched vegetables are the staple condiment to
accompany chilli relishes.
 Thais used to picked these vegetables from paddy
fields and when these paddy fields disappeared in
Bangkok, the major source of food supply fell onto
the agricultural industry
 .Today local and native vegetables are fading away
from Thai dishes in Bangkok.
Local green
 Wildly grown vegetables have changed to more
accessible vegetables such as baby corn, cucumber
and snow peas. What is most curious is the carrot.
How did the carrot make its way into Thai food?
(Yasmeen, 344.)
Seasonings
 Lemongrass, kaffir lime,
and wild turmeric seem
indigenous to Thailand.
Onion, spring onion, and
shallot are not only used as
seasoning but also as vegetables
Seasoning and individual flavour
ic
Dried spices
Spices
 Spices such as cumin, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg,
and cinnamon are used limitedly in Matsaman curry
paste.
 Only cumin is the ingredient used in other curry
pastes. Cumin is added to give a subtle aroma and
flavour to the dish; in fact most of the time it is
undetectable.
Coriander
 Coriander has an important role in Thai cuisine.
Although coriander leaves are mostly used as a
garnish on finished products, coriander underlies
Thai cuisine. Coriander roots, which provide a
unique aroma and flavour, are essential to many
curry pastes and dips.
Chilli
 Chilli is a prime evidence of the fusion of Thai
cuisine. Before the introduction of the chilli, Thais
depended on the peppercorn as a source of spice in
their cuisine.
 Chilli raised the level of heat and temperature in
Thai cuisine and now it is what Thai cuisine is
renowned for. Every region uses chilli according to
their local tastes. Chilli indeed, creates another
flavourful dimension in Thai cuisine.
Professor Ake-kaphol creates a chart on
the structure of Thai cuisine
 Salt + chili
 Basic Dipping
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Basic Dipping + herb
Chili relish
Chili relish + meat+ vegetable
Salad; yum, pla, Labb
Salad + water, coconut oil.
Curry
Coconut
 Coconut milk is one of the main ingredients found in
Thai dishes including desserts. Sombat Plainoi
mentions that grated coconut meat represents a
major characteristic of Thai desserts.
Coconut
 Curry paste is fried with coconut milk to create the
floating oil. Coconut milk is added to many dishes to
create another dimension. This can be seen in dishes
such as, the wing bean salad or the blanched
vegetables for chilli relish condiments.
Fish Sauce, Shrimp Paste, and Soy
Sauce
Shrimp paste, known as Blachan in Malaya, Nga
pi in Burmese and Kapi in
 Thai is another essential element in Thai curry
paste.
 Thais adopted the word ngapi from Myanmar and
gradually shortened it to Kapi which interestingly
means monkey in Indian
 The shared culture in South East Asia …
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Soy sauce
 Soy sauce evidently shows the influences from the
Chinese and Japanese. Currently, soy sauce is widely
used as a seasoning as well as a colouring agent in
marinated foods. Soy sauce is often added to
intensify the colour of food such as grilled chicken,
deep-fried garlic with pepper pork ribs and spicy
stir-fried broad rice noodles (Phat Khi mao).
 Check out food magazine
Cooking Methods and techniques
 Tom Yam Tam and Kaeng is a Thai phrase reflecting
Thai cooking technique.
 Tom means to boil, yam means to create a spicy
salad, tam is to make or cook while kaeng is to cook
something saucy or soupy.
 These are the major elements of Thai cooking
techniques along with roasting and grilling. Thai
cooking methods are not complex, however what is
complex is the preparation of the food.
Fry
Frying and Deep frying
 The Chinese (and some Christians) farmed and sold
pork in Thailand. This was when Thais first learned
how to use oil in their cuisine.
 Thai cuisine today is mostly prepared deep-fried and
stir-fried. Examples of these are: deep-fried rice
cracker, prawn cracker, fish cake, Pla duk fuu (deep
fired shredded fish flesh), mee krop (crispy rice
noodles).
Stir-fry
 Brennan suggests that stir-frying, adopted from the
Chinese, is one of the main cooking techniques that
shaped Thai cuisine.
 . Stir-fry is present in almost all aspects of Thai
cuisine. The list of Thai food prepared this way is
long. To name a few examples: fried rice; fried
morning glory; water mimosa and other vegetables;
stir-fried holy basil with tofu, meat and seafood;
garlic and pepper or chilli and ginger both with
either meat or seafood.
(Brennan, 21)
Steaming
 Although the technique employed to cook glutinous
rice in the north and northeast of Thailand is similar
to steaming, the utensils, techniques, and purposes
are different.
 The Chinese introduced the traditional steamer at
the same time as the wok. The traditional steamer is
a stainless steel pot with holes as opposed to the
conical shaped bamboo basket steamer used in
Thailand
Steaming
 Steamed rice as mentioned in menus found in Thai
restaurants is not actually steamed. The cooking rice
technique is called ‘Hung’ which simply means to
boil until the rice absorbs all the water.
 Real steaming is cooking using
hot vapours.
 Rice cooker: Mor hung khao
Questionnaire