Food in Thailand

Food in Thailand "In the water there are fish, in the fields there is rice."
Thus reads a celebrated stone inscription credited to King Ramkhamhaeng of Sukhothai, the first independent Thai kingdom founded in the early 13th century. It testifies to a natural abundance that was to sustain a series of capitals down the length of the fertile Chao Phraya River valley and also, more specifically, to the two mainstays of the Thai diet both then and now.

Rice culture came with the earliest settlers, long before the Thais themselves arrived on the scene, and led to a vast complex of paddy fields watered by an intricate system of canals, rivers and reservoirs. Fish were equally plentiful, not only in the myriad waterways but also in the seas.

To these basic ingredients, readily available to all, were gradually added others, drawn over the centuries from a wide variety of cultures: some nearby, like China and India, some remote like Persia and Portugal. Even such seemingly essential elements as the pungent chili pepper were, in fact, introductions from distant South America. However they came, though, they were subtly modified and refined into a cuisine distinctively Thai, not quite like any other in the world.

The diverse glories of classic Thai cooking long remained unappreciated by the outside world. Alone among the countries of Southeast Asia, Thailand remained independent during the era of colonization; thus, relatively few Westerners sampled its unique blends of hot and sweet, sour and salty—so different from the dishes of India, Malaya and Indonesia, despite their superficial similarity.

Even those who came for lengthy stays were rarely treated to the genuine fare. Restaurants catering to foreigners in larger cities like Bangkok tended until quite recently to be Chinese or European. For the most part, only in private homes could one sample delicate, traditional dishes that resulted from hours of preparation by skilled hands, using methods that had been handed down for generations.

All that, of course, has now changed dramatically. In the past decade or so, Thai food has become an international phenomenon, with countless restaurants now offering it from Sydney to Stockholm. Serious Western chefs find fresh inspiration in its flavors and techniques, and ordinaiy diners are discovering its remarkable diversity. In Thailand itself, regional variations are far more available than before, and there are now elegantly decorated establishments specializing in the refined art of "palace cooking."

Thai food, then, might be said to have entered a new era, one that will certainly bring an even wider appreciation of its many delights.