Thailand is known as the food basket of Asia, since rice is grown abundantly in all parts of the country. Rice therefore makes up the Thai people's daily diet, complemented by dishes called kap khao, "rice add-ons," so to speak. At the same time, "rice" in the Thai concept means more than rice grains, as people often refer to taking a meal when they greet others with the question, "kin khao rue yang? - Have you eaten rice yet?" With the answer "kin laeo - Yes, I have," the respondent likewise refers to a meal he or she has taken, with or without rice. Rice supplements or dishes cooked by the Thais in the old days - as is the case even now - depend largely on the geophysical conditions of their surroundings. Lowland residents in the basin areas get an ample supply of freshwater fish, while those living along the Gulf and the Andaman coasts find abundant food from the sea. Fish is the main source of protein for the people, and it is mentioned together with rice in a frequently quoted exclamation of pride and satisfaction from an ancient stone inscription, which describes this land of abundance in a simple yet memorable way: "In the water there are fish, in the field there is rice." Essential ingredients found in Thai kitchens thus comprise nam phrik (shrimp paste dip), grilled fish, and fresh vegetables, which are sometimes grown around the house. Following the annual downpours, when rivers and canals are swollen, fish can be caught everywhere with simple tools. Excess catches are preserved as dried, salted, and fermented fish. Livestock such as poultry, pig, and cattle are kept, serving as food on major occasions when feasts are given for guests such as merit-making, ordination, or wedding ceremonies. Thai people of former days would have rice three times a day, white as well as glutinous rice. Dishes that come with rice plates are prepared or cooked from food items found in the surroundings, especially fish, vegetables, and fruit. First and foremost is spicy dip, nam phrik, in countless variations. The most basic and popular is the shrimp paste dip, pounded with garlic and chilies, and seasoned with fish sauce, lime, and palm sugar. It is a blend of hot, salty, and sour tastes, and to add more substance, dried shrimps or fish are mixed in. Fresh and grilled small eggplants and even minced lime rind are also used for the purpose. There exist endless ways to explore and come up with new versions of nam phrik, by substituting one or more ingredients with new ones or making new additions. Examples of non-traditional include boiled crab egg nam phrik, salted egg nam phrik, and horseshoe crab nam phrik. Variation can also be made by replacing lime with other sour fruits such as young mango, fresh and preserved tamarind, young tamarind leaves, and garcinia, or madan in Thai. Lon is another dip that can replace nam phrik on the dining table. It combines sour, salty, and sweet flavors, but is milder than nam phrik. Both dips are meant for vegetables. Thai people also take them with other ingredients, namely salted fish, grilled fish, fried fish, boiled eggs, salted crab, fried salted minced beef, fried fish (especially gourami), and sweet shredded pork, to mention only a few. Local plants and herbs serve as vegetables in varied forms. Popular ones are the young leaves of neem trees and cashew trees, cumin leaves, vegetable hummingbird buds, water morning glory, yard-long beans, and other herbaceous plants, rich in fiber. They are consumed fresh or preserved, steamed and topped with condensed coconut milk, boiled, and fried in oil, with or without egg and flour. Thai people know what to look for in nature at different times of the year, keeping themselves in good health with the known nutritional and medicinal qualities of those plants and herbs. The Thai Kitchen in the Past and the Present Wooden Thai houses are traditionally raised high above the ground, emphasizing the free flow of air, taking in cooling breezes from all directions, yet providing shelter from heat and rain. The space under the house can serve as a living room, a store-room, and a workshop. Inside the house, not many furnishings are found. For cooking, a separate unit is built as the kitchen, located away from the living quarters, with complete ventilation as the main feature. This is meant to keep the house free of the penetrating smell of spices and seasoning materials, such as shrimp paste, fish sauce, fermented and salted fish, and also grime and soot, the general characteristics of the cooking place. A traditional Thai kitchen unit is therefore as open as possible. The walls are usually built of bamboo loosely woven or wood planks widely spaced, especially where the stove is placed. In some places, openings are made for windows, or folding wall panels are put up. In other places, the roof can be partly opened out during cooking time, to let out smoke and soot. Today's Thai kitchen has been adapted to suit the changing times and lifestyles. International concepts of kitchen construction and decoration are increasingly being adopted, with the emphasis on convenience. Modern equipment and electrical appliances are put to good use. However, those who are fascinated by authentic Thai food cooked in a traditional way hold fast to the belief that dishes cooked in original settings are better in taste and better at representing Thai culinary art. Such original settings exist in villages in rural Thailand. The Royal Palace - The Origin of Typical Thai Dishes Today Because of the strategic location, making it an essential link in international trade, especially the traditional maritime trade in the past, Thailand, or Siam as it was once called, maintained active and diverse relations with various countries, near and far, covering diplomacy, religion, and even war. Such ties led to the acceptance of other food cultures, which the people then blended with their own. Thai culinary art was transformed. From simple dishes based on food items available in the immediate surroundings emerged sophisticated recipes that resulted from adaptation. Leading the way was the royal palace, where the art of living was perfected and emulated among the population, in recipes, eating manner, and the art of food decoration and arrangement. In the Rattanakosin or Bangkok Period, a Thai meal comprised more and more foreign elements - Chinese, Mon, Lao, Burmese, Khmer, Indian, and Japanese - starting in the royal kitchen and spreading widely throughout the Kingdom. The trend was evidenced in the lyrics for boat-rowing songs composed by the second monarch of the Chakri Dynasty, King Rama II, a supreme artist in his own right. He described incomparable dishes and arrangements at the hands of his queen. The poems are in praise of dishes, fruit arrangements, desserts, and significant occasions marked by the royal barge processions. Mentioned in the poems are Indian foods such as Massaman curry, saffron rice, condiments, and fried spiced chicken. It can be said that Thai culinary art reached a new height in the reign of King Rama II of Bangkok, and the dishes were immortalized by the poems composed by the artist king, one of which is quoted below: The Moslem curry she cooked, Heartily spiced and so hot; Whoever tastes it once, Will look for it all his life. (แกงมัสหมั่น) Fish soup with a piece of stomach Floating rich and fragrant, Inviting me to take spoonfuls Of that heavenly dish. (ต้มโคล้งพุงปลา) Pleated dumpling you have dressed, Being fairly reminiscent Of yourself and pleated outfits, With a carefully folded knot. (ขนมจีบ ปั้นสิบ) And pomegranate, just for the thought of it. Pomegranate seeds glitter brightly, Like precious stones on a dish, Some are fully red, And inviting as your little ring. (ผลทับทิม) O my love was like Golden Drop, Fully wrapped in Golden Roll; For two years we kept a secret, Known to just the two of us. (ทองหยอด) How beautiful is Crown Cake Wearing its name like a gold crown; I muse with longing; For the chain worn over your shoulder. (จ่ามงกุฏ) Sprig of purple has a lovely smell, Spreading around like a lotus, I see your breast cloth Resting purple on the flowers. (ช่อม่วง) Golden Rain falls in shiny threads, Like your silk woven out of egg. I remember my beloved, Sewing with such golden Chinese silk. (ฝอยทอง) (Translation by Montri Umavijani)* * Facts of Thai Cultural Life, Foreign News Division, Government Public Relations Department. Along with their embrace of other food cultures in the past, Thai people also translated foreign recipes into Thai. King Chulalongkorn, Rama V, who ruled over a century ago, and was known as a well-traveled and a gourmet monarch, dictated Western recipes for soup, stew, steak, bread, sauces, salad, sandwiches, and pastry from English and French into Thai. He also tried out those recipes himself, with his female courtiers as assistants. A comprehensive Thai cookery book, which is considered the first recipe book to have been published in Thailand, the first in a series of five books, as a gift of knowledge for later generations, was compiled under the pseudonym of "mae khrua hua pa - the master chef," by Lady Plian Phasakorawong, a pioneer of the Thai Red Cross Society in the Fifth Reign. It is one of the most reliable and popular recipe books up to the present time. A century ago, there were no schools for girls. Thai ladies were educated at home, learning embroidery and cookery, and parents with good connections sought to enroll their daughters at one of the royal courts, so that they could be properly educated and trained by female royals, to be well-versed in the Thai language, flower arranging, court manners, embroidery, and cooking. With such credentials, they became good wives and mothers, in charge of their households. And through them, the fine arts and crafts of the palace became widespread. With the administrative change from absolute to constitutional monarchy in the Seventh Reign, female members in royal entourages were granted permission to return to their families. These ladies, young and old, were highly knowledgeable in home-making science of the highest order. With their reintegration into the society, the way of the palace penetrated the ranks of common people, who were fascinated by the finesse and delicate tastes of palace food, in particular. All dishes and food items were both decorative and delectable. In recent times, the term "chao wang - Palace Way" is widely and freely used by restaurateurs and food producers to suggest that their dishes are specially made with great care. Food lovers can therefore find items such as khanom khrok chao wang and khanom buang chao wang anywhere in the country. The words "chao wang" serve as a promise of delicious food. Today, however, palace food is even easier to find than one might think. In the book Khruang Ton Khon Khrua - Khrua Chitralada (Dishes by the Chief Royal Cook - Chitralada Kitchen), an interview given by Khunying Prasansuk Tantivejkul, the Master Chef of the Royal Household, reveals that His Majesty the King prefers simple dishes. For breakfast, he is served boiled rice with dishes such as fried salted Chinese radish with egg, salted egg, omelet, and seasoned dried shrimp, for instance. Dinner comprises dishes such as tom yam (spicy soup), or spicy fried dishes like phat phet, chu chi, phat phrik khing, and phanaeng, dips such as tamarind nam phrik, nam liap nam phrik made from preserved Chinese olive, fried shrimp paste dip ( nam phrik long rua), and of course, shrimp paste dip ( nam phrik kapi), taken with fried gourami or boiled prawns, along with fresh, fried, and preserved vegetables. So sometimes a royal meal comprises only three dishes. Thai food and Thai cuisine from the past to the present are distinctive in their charms and characters. The cuisine is a proud heritage of the Thai people that they believe is second to none, and it has been handed down through generations. Apart from the delicate blend of tastes and the rich nutritional value, the elaborate arrangement of Thai food and the decorations with fruit and vegetable carvings make it all the more inviting. At the same time, Thai food and Thai cooking reflect the wisdom and culture of the Thai nation. Today, Thai food and Thai cuisine stand ready to make Thailand a proud Kitchen of the World.