FOODY CORNER…Thai Cuisine

Thai cuisine is famous today in many parts of the world. It is served in restaurants and has acquired a distinctive status in many countries and on many menus. But eating Thai cuisine in Thailand is intriguing as well. In Bangkok the food is as varied as the nationalities who live here. If one enjoys chillies and spice the food is a treat for the foreigner but for those who prefer a more bland diet beware! Guide books warn tourists to keep a portion of white rice always handy on their food plates for relief in case one bites into arestaurants and has acquired a distinctive status in many countries and on many menus. But eating Thai cuisine in Thailand is intriguing as well.

In Bangkok the food is as varied as the nationalities who live here. If one enjoys chillies and spice the food is a treat for the foreigner but for those who prefer a more bland diet beware! Guide books warn tourists to keep a portion of white rice always handy on their food plates for relief in case one bites into a particularly hot or spicy dish. Most dishes are a combination of meat and vegetables and herbs. Chicken and fish are more commonly available known as Gai and pla as versus beef which is called nua.

Bangkok has a large number of pavement eateries which boast a regular clientele. These eateries operate from a cart parked at the side of the pave-ments. Most of these ubiquitous eateries serve a variety of food which has to be eaten sitting on little stools at a rickety table. Pedestrians amble along theBangkok has a large number of pavement eateries which boast a regular clientele. These eateries operate from a cart parked at the side of the pavements. Most of these ubiquitous eateries serve a variety of food which has to be eaten sitting on little stools at a rickety table.

Pedestrians amble along the same pavement but there is no battle for superiority between the two.The early morning Thai food or breakfast is mostly Khao Tom a hearty soup of rice, pork vegetables coriander and spring onions. The softened rice mingles with the spring onions and fish sauce to make a flavourful and satisfying dish. A bowl can be supped up in the morning and can keep a person going till the midday meal.

Kuttiyo is a favourite dish served at these pavement shops. Made of pork soup, fresh coriander, cilantro, bite size portions of pork or chicken pieces this dish is supped delicately from china bowls with chopsticks. My encounter with chopsticks has been good as well as bad. In India I braved noodles with it and it didn’t seem that difficult. But perched on a volatile stool in the middle of a pavement with a somewhat mobile table on which the bowl full of hot liquid is place and armed with chopsticks offered little comfort. It did not help knowing how heavy one is and that a diet to lose weight is imminent if this feat has to be accomplished with any elegance.

So it’s been rather a challenge to eat hot kutiyo or soup on the pavements Bangkok. Dipping into the soup bravely with my chopsticks I encountered pieces of chicken or noodles which seemed to slip back effortlessly into the broth and were difficult to be picked up and eaten. Some times the soup would spill, at times one of the chopsticks would slip down and fall on the table and I would try not to seem discomfited as I battled to keep balance on the stool! It sounds rather comical but it was also daunting for the most fearless .I would try not to seem discomfited as I battled to keep balance on the stool!

Often I had to sheepishly see the mess I had created after attempting the feat with the spilt soup and scattered condiments on the table and alsoappear nonchalant about it!

There is no set time for pavement snacking or eating. Since most Thais prefer eating a small portion of food every four or five hours they can easily eat here at any time of the day or night. Pavement eating is a boon for night owls and those who prefer a quick bite instead of a regular meal. The food is prepared hygienically and there are no stomach issues post meal. So it was often a safe and judicious choice and also light on the pocket.

Eating somtam or salad prepared by a roadside seller appeals to those uninitiated in eating Thai food. Vendors prepare somtam by peeling and grating raw papaya or mango and pounding it in a heavy mortar with long beans and cherry tomatoes using a pestle. Raw green chillies and garlic with skin are added to release heat. Then a pre-prepared mixture of sugar, lime juice and fish sauce are added for the tangy taste. Adding wedges of lime and peanuts adds bulk to the mixture and some sourness. Some vendors add dried shrimp or crab.

A variation comes in the form of fruit somtam where raw pome-lo, crisp apple pieces and firm pieces of guava are combined with a sweet and sour sauce for a winning combination.

Sushama Kasbekar
Author-Educationist
( Excerpt from upcoming book “Noodle in my Soup”)