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Meet the chef |
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Our Chef |
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Thai History |
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History of Thai Cuisine |
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Did you know that:
- while the Thais were originally influenced by the Indian cuisine, they toned down their curries by replacing many of the spices with milder herbs?
- the Thais have practised fruit carving for centuries, and they love to produce strange and exotic animals out of vegetables, and intricate flowers out of fruits?
- the Thai expression for "good fortune" is "there's rice in the fields and fish in the water"?
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Fans of the classic film The King and I will know that Thailand used to be called Siam. And ancient Siamese cooking grew out of their waterborne lifestyle, with aquatic animals, plants and herbs making up the main ingredients.
With their Buddhist beliefs, harmony has always been the watchword behind much of the Thai's cooking. They achieved this by only using herbs and spices that interact with one another in a subtle way.
Originally, the Thai's preferred to stew, bake or grill their foods. Then the Chinese introduced them to frying, stir-frying and deep-frying.
Fast-forward to the 17th century, and the Portuguese, Dutch, French and Japanese were, by then, also bringing their influences to the table. In fact, chillies were first brought to Siam in the late 1600s by Portuguese missionaries who had first tasted them in South America.
The Thai's, of course, being a harmonious and flexible people, were always very good at adapting foreign influences to their own native cuisine! Dominating spices, too, were toned down and enhanced by more subtle herbs, such as lemon grass and galanga.
That’s why Thai curries are well known for being very hot when the food is initially put in the mouth, but then the burning quickly subsides. Indian curries, on the other hand, which use stronger spices, can burn for longer.
Nowadays, the traditional way to serve a Thai meal is to serve the dishes all at once. This allows diners to enjoy the interaction of all the different tastes.
So why not cook up something wonderful tonight?
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