Our second trip to Kanchanaburi. We went to the Erawan falls - one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.

Erawan waterfalls… from Bobby Earle on Vimeo.

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About 130 km north of Kanchanaburi is Si Sawat district. It is located at Highway 3199 and has many natural attractions. It is well known for its beautiful waterfalls, national parks and the dam. Travelling to some attractions here is sometimes more difficult as elsewhere. Some attractions can only be visited by boat or 4-wheel-drive in the dry season.

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When people hear the words “Thai Curry”, the first thing that comes to their mind is some spicy coconut milk with curry paste. This is not totally true. Thais say “Kaeng” which means “Curry”. However, Kaeng in Thailand does not only mean curry, but it means the cooking process of mixing various kinds of vegetables with liquid like water or coconut milk. It can be spicy or non-spicy or a vegetarian or non-vegetarian dish like soup, stew, curry or even dessert. I will use the word “Kaeng” throughout this article. In Thailand, there are 2 types of Kaeng: Kaeng Jued and Kaeng Ped. Ped literally means spicy and Jued means tasteless. Kaeng Jued usually refers to non-spicy soup dishes.

Kaeng Jued

Kaeng Jued dishes are usually comprise of broth, vegetables and meat. Homemade broth is preferred over bouillon cubes. Broth is made from boiling pork ribs or chicken bones in water for a long period of time. You will often hear Thais say “nam soup” which means broth. To make broth, the bones should have a little bit of meat and fat left on them. On low heat, boil meat in water. Once the boil begins, reduce heat to its lowest point so that the broth just barely simmers. The longer the simmering, the more flavor you will get. One and a half to two hours usually is enough to extract flavors from meats. Before using broth, straining is a must. In Thai cooking, some recipes would add Chinese cellery or white radish during the simmering to add more sweetness to the broth.

The clear broth then will be used in a different kind of Kaeng Jued. A common way to make Kaeng Jued is to 1) bring broth to boil 2) add meat, 3) add vegetables and 4) add flavor. Example Kaeng Jued dishes are:

* Kaeng Jued Fak: chicken/pork broth with winter melon
* Kaeng Jued Mara: chicken/pork broth with bitter melon
* Kaeng Jued Mara Yat Sai: chicken/pork broth with stuffed bitter melon
* Kaeng Jued Pla Muek Yat Sai: chicken/pork broth with stuffed squid
* Kaeng Jued Taeng Gwa: chicken/pork broth with cucumber
* Kaeng Jued Taeng Gwa Yat Sai: chicken/pork broth with stuffed cucumber
* Kaeng Jued Tao Hu: chicken/pork broth with bean curd
* Kaeng Jued Wun Sen: chicken/pork broth with clear noodles
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oconuts are the seeds that grow coconut trees. Given time, a coconut will sprout and take root. The juice and flesh of the coconut provide water and fertilizer to grow the young new tree. Coconut trees are grown throughout Thailand on raised beds with irrigation canals on each side. In some places, trained monkeys even harvest the coconuts. Coconuts provide juice to drink, flesh for eating or for making coconut milk, and play a role in many non-food items as well.

Coconut trees are treated as propitious in Thailand. They are often included in gardens along with other trees that include the word “ma” - for example, ma muang (mango), ma la gor (papaya) and ma prao (coconut) - to bring good luck and basic prosperity. Oil from coconuts is produced by first drying the flesh for several weeks and then pressing it. Sugar is made from sap of the seed pods of the coconut. Sap is boiled and set, and a light brown sugar (palm sugar) results.

Fresh coconut milk is widespread in Thailand. Thais often buy it freshly pressed (the first pressing yields creamy coconut milk, the second is more like water with nutrients). Coconuts are sometimes roasted which concentrates the sugar to make the flavor sweeter. Coconut milk is used in some Thai soups and curry dishes (such as green curry, massaman and panaeng curry) and can be a key ingredient in harmonizing a tasty flavor and consistency.
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This very popular form of fragrant water is made from freshly gathered flowers and contains no alcohol. The flowers used are selected for their sweet and lingering fragrance, some of the more common ingredients being the flowers of damask rose (Rosa damascene Mill.), jasmine, “lam-chiak” (Pandanus tectorius Bl.), “kradang-ngaa-thai” (Cananga odorata Hook.f. & Th.), orange champaka (Michelia champaca Linn.), “chammanaas”(Vallaris glabra Ktze.),bullet wood, “lamduan” (Melodorum fruticosum Lour.) and “chan-ka-pho” (Vatica diospyroides Syming.). Other ingredients used include the leaves of fragrant screw pine, the inner bark of “chaluut” (Alyxia reinwardtii Bl.bar. lucida Markge.), sandalwood, Siam benzoin, jasmine and hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis Linn.)oils.

Thai-style fragrant water is applied liberally onto the face, chest and arms during the hot climate. It is also recommended for use in cases of fainting. A thick made by mixing scented marl with fragrant water is used as an anointment in various ceremonies.
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Of course not. But, for better or worse, Thai cuisine cannot losen its association with that hot and spicy taste of chilies. People tend to overlook the many other herbs and spices that combine to give Thai food its range of delicacy. It is the very delicate interplay of herbs and spices that makes Thai food so well-loved among all peoples of the world.

The single most outstanding charater of Thai culinary may be the harmonious blend of the three S’s of flavor - spicy, salty and sour. This is achieved fundamentally by the three key ingredients.

Chili - Spicy

Despite the paramount importance of chili or “prik” in Thai cooking, it is believed that Thai people only acquired the love for the spicy taste of chili in the 16th century. It is not clear whether the Portuguese or the Spanish merchants were responsible for introducing this chili pepper to the old Siam. In any case, Thai people have since mastered the use of this spice in their cooking blending it with other herbs and flavorings.
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Thai cuisine is one of the best gourmets in the world. It is well known for the diversity of ingredients, outstanding spiciness and ample medicinal properties. Most of Thai food is cooked and refined with more than two types of herbs or spices which are beneficial to health.

The (mostly unconscious) principle Thai food is the balance of five flavors which are spicy, salty, sweet, sour and bitter. The one indispensible ingredient which is generally used in seasoning a majority of Thai cuisine is fish sauce. Thai food is eaten either as a single dish or with rice. Steamed rice is the staple food although sticky rice is more popular in the north and northeast of Thailand.

Thai food is one of many things that you should not miss while you are traveling in this beautiful “Land of Smiles”. Since there are numberless delectable Thai dishes, I am writing this guideline for you to select the most distinctive and authentic ones out of the plethora of Thai signature dishes.

The following list is a top 10 rank of Thai food that you must not miss. The consideration and ranking is based on the popularity, uniqueness and authenticity of the delicacies. Here are the winners.

10. Kai Pad Med Mamuang Himmapan (Stir-Fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts)

Even though Kai Pad Med Mamuang Himmapan does not represent the overview of Thai food but it is a very nice treat to your bland taste buds. Since it is by no means spicy or hot, this slightly sweet and salty chicken fried with crunchy cashew nuts is aptly satiating for children or beginners who are not used to spices.
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Regional Thai Cuisine Thailand can be divided into five main culinary regions, the north, the northeast, the south (including the Gulf of Thailand), the central plains, and of course, Bangkok. Each region has its own cooking style according to available ingredients and local tastes. Try sampling recipes from the various regions to get a feeling for Thai cooking as a whole. If you’re like me, you will find your culinary instincts relate best to some areas more than others. This, in turn, will give you a clue as to where you might like to travel if ever you have a chance to visit Thailand and taste Thai food at its magnificent source. The North (including the city of Chiangmai)

Until the late 1800’s, this region of Thailand existed almost as a separate kingdom, with a fortress composed of rivers, mountains, and trees.

Within this isolation, the northern Thai people developed a distinct dialect as well as their own unique style of cooking. Unlike the south, here there are no coconut trees—hence no coconut milk. Fish is also hard to come by in this landscape of hills, valleys, and farmland. Red meat of all kinds is more common here, along with various vegetable dishes (both raw and cooked). Sticky rice is eaten daily, not necessarily as a dessert (like in other regions), but to accompany these spicy meat dishes. Here you will find an abundance of pork, chicken, and beef curries, seasoned both with traditional Thai seasonings as well as wild herbs that come from the surrounding countryside. Other dishes from northern Thailand include various types of spicy dips used to add flavor to raw vegetables, or used as a “wrap” with lettuce leaves or other local greens.

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Thai Food & Cooking : “Thai food offers a variety of flavours and tastes. The subtle mixing of herbs and spices and market-fresh ingredients makes dining a special culinary experience.”

Eating ranks high on the Thai scale of pleasures, and meals are informal affairs. The staple is rice, either ordinary or glutinous, accompanied by a variety of dishes that can be eaten in almost any order, and seasoned to individual taste with several condiments such as fish sauce and chilli peppers. Most often there will be a soup of some kind, a curry, a steamed or fried dish, a salad, and one or more basic sauces. Desserts may consist of fresh fruit or one of the many traditional Thai sweets.

Much of what is known about Thai cuisine evolved in the Central region. Rice, fish, and vegetables, flavoured with garlic, black pepper, and nam pla (fish sauce), along with an abundance of fresh fruit, comprised the basic diet of Sukhothai. With the rise of Ayutthaya, other elements were added. That now essential ingredient the fiery chilli pepper - was introduced at this time, along with the equally popular coriander, lime and tomato. These may have been brought from their native South America by the Portuguese, who also left a lasting imprint in the form of popular Thai sweets based on egg yolk and sugar. Other influences came from India, Japan, Persia, and especially China.

A century ago, meals were eaten by hand, pressing the rice into the little balls; today a spoon and fork are used for eating rice, while chopsticks are used for Chinese-type noodles.

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When you think of Thai food, you would think of the ‘Hot and Spicy’ taste and probably believe that all Thai food are very hot and spicy. That is a misunderstanding. And you may also think that we eat everything by chopsticks. That is also not true.

More than 50% of Thai food are not hot and spicy at all. And chopsticks will be use when we eat noodle only. We are not Chinese or Japanese who like to eat almost everything by chopsticks.

If you have been to Thailand, you may have a question that why the taste and the texture of Thai food in Thailand are different from Thai food you have eaten in Thai restaurants in your country. One reason I would say is that maybe some ingredients are not available in your country so they need to skip some of them or use something else as a substitute. Another reason is that maybe the owner of that Thai restaurant and their chef or cook are not Thai. It would sound a bit arrogant to say that only Thais know the best how to cook Thai food with authentic Thai taste. But it is very true, isn’t it ? So do other countries food, no one could cook Swiss food better than Swiss people and no one could cook Italian food better than Italien people. Because we grew up with our food, we know what the right taste of each dish should be and what ingredients should or should not be used in that or those dishes. Each Thai dish has their own character.

As a Thai, I am so proud of Thai food that it is now well-known by people around the world as well as Italian, French, Chinese and Japanese food. We are now in Top 5 most popular cuisines of the world.

Thai food is world renowned for being very healthy for its use of many fresh vegetable and herbs. The popularity of Thai food is due to its wonderful medley of different tastes : sweet, sour, salty, hot, spicy, creamy, bitter and mind. The variety of different flavours, textures and colors, and the way that the food is presented make Thai food very exciting and appealing.
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