EATING IN THAILANDREGIONAL VARIATIONSyou could probably pinpoint the province you’re in by simply looking at
thenám príkk on off er.
Fruits
Being a tropical country, Thailand excels in the fruit department.
Má·môo·ang (mangoes) alone come in a dozen varieties that are eaten
at diff erent stages of ripeness. Other common fruit include sàp·þà·rót
(pineapple), má·lá·gor (papaya) and đaang mohh (watermelon), all of
which are sold from ubiquitous vendor carts and accompanied by a dip-
ping mix of salt, sugar and ground chilli.
Sweets
English-language Thai menus often have a section called ‘Desserts’, but
the concept takes two slightly diff erent forms in Thailand.Kŏrng wăhn,
which translates as ‘sweet things’, are small, rich sweets that often boast
a slightly salty fl avour. Prime ingredients forkŏrng wăhnn include grated
coconut, coconut milk, rice fl our (from white rice or sticky rice), cooked
sticky rice, tapioca, mung-bean starch, boiled taro and various fruits.
Egg yolks are a popular ingredient for many kŏrng wăhnn – including the
ubiquitous fŏy torngg (literally ‘golden threads’) – probably infl uenced by
Portuguese desserts and pastries introduced during the early Ayuthaya
era (see the boxed text, p 743 ).
Thai sweets similar to the European concept of pastries are called
kà·nŏm. Probably the most popular type of kà·nŏm in Thailand are the
bite-sized items wrapped in banana leaves, especially kôw đôm gà·tíí and
kôw đôm mát. Both consist of sticky rice grains steamed withgà·tí (co-
conut milk) inside a banana-leaf wrapper to form a solid, almost taff y-
like, mass.
Although foreigners don’t seem to immediately take to most Thai
sweets, two dishes few visitors have trouble with are rođi, the back-
packer staple ‘banana pancakes’ slathered with sugar and condensed
milk, and ai·đim gà·tí, Thai-style coconut ice cream. At more traditional
shops, the ice cream is garnished with toppings such as kidney beans
or sticky rice, and is a brilliant snack on a sweltering Thai afternoon.
Regional Variations
One particularly unique aspect of Thai food is its regional diversity. Des-
pite having evolved in a relatively small area, Thai cuisine is anything but
a single entity, and takes a slightly diff erent form every time it crosses a
provincial border.
Central Thai food is the most ubiquitous and refi ned Thai cuisine, and
has been greatly infl uenced by both royal court cuisine and foreign cook-
ing styles, from Chinese to Malay/Muslim. Sweet and rich fl avours rule
THE CULT OF SÔM·ĐAMGreen papaya salad, known in Thai as sôm·đam, probably has its origins in Laos, but is
today one of the most popular dishes in Thailand. It is made by taking strips of green
unripe papaya and bruising them in a clay or wood mortar along with garlic, palm sugar,
green beans, tomatoes, lime juice, fi sh sauce and a typically shock-inducing amount of
fresh chillies. Sôm·đam low, the ‘original’ version of the dish, employs heartier chunks of
papaya, sliced eggplants, salted fi eld crabs, and a thick unpasteurised fi sh sauce known
as þlah ráh. Far more common in Bangkok is đam tai, which includes dried shrimp and
peanuts, and is seasoned with bottled fi sh sauce. In other riff s on the dish, the papaya
can be replaced with green mango, cucumber or long beans. Almost always made by
women, sôm·đam is also primarily enjoyed by women, often as a snack rather than an
entire meal – the intense spiciness provides a satisfying mental ‘full’.Keep up with the
ever-changing
food scene in
Bangkok by
following the
dining section of
CNNGo’s Bang-
kok pages (www.
cnngo.com/
bangkok/eat) and
BK’s restaurant
section (http://
bk.asia-city.com/
restaurants).