Northeastern shared dishes
Ahan Isan (Thai: อาหารอีสาน; lit. "Isan food") generally features dishes similar to those found in Laos, as Isan people historically have close ties with Lao culture and speak a language that is generally mutually intelligible with the Lao language. The staple food of Isan is glutinous rice and most of the Isaan food is spicy and cooked with local ingredients found on the farms all through northeastern Thailand. Isaan people primarily get their income from farming. Rice, sugar cane, pineapple, potato, and rubber are all farmed in this region.
- Snail Curry - Kaeng Khae Hoi - Kaeng khae hoi or kaeng khao khua hoi requires the same ingredients as kaeng khae except for using snails instead of chicken. Roasted ground rice thickens the liquid.
- Namphrik pla – fish chili sauce - Namphrik pla or fish chili sauce can be a little thick or thin depending on the amount of liquid from the boiling fish one puts in it. Grilled fish can be used instead of boiled fish. Any kinds of fresh chilies can be used from mild to the hottest kinds to suit one's taste. It goes well with water clover, tips of lead tree greens, or crispy eggplant.
- Lap kai - Lap kai requires minced chicken meat and fresh chicken blood mixed with chili paste for lap made from roasted dried chilies and spices. It is usually eaten with a variety of vegetables and herbs that are pungent known as "phak kap lap". Lap dip refers to the uncooked kind. "Lap suk" is the cooked version which is stir fried with a little oil and water.
- Yam tao – paddy crabs in algae with eggplant - Yam tao or tam tao is made from fresh water algae grown in paddy fields in Isaan and 2-3 kinds of sliced eggplant with boiled crabs and ginger leaves as well as fresh bird chilies.
- Tam khai mot daeng – ant eggs and roasted vegetables - Tam khai mot daeng is made the same as other kinds of "tam" dishes with roasted long peppers and two kinds of chopped mint to enhance the flavor. Shrimp paste is not used in this recipe.
- Namphrik nam oi – brown sugar chili sauce - Isan brown cane sugar sauce is good as a dip for such sour tasting fruit as green mangoes, mango plums, or tamarinds.
- Namphrik nam pu – crab and chili Sauce - Namphrik nam pu is rather thick to almost dry. Many kinds of fresh chilies can be used also. Including smoked chilies. Because crabs are abundant in the rice fields of northeast Thailand, this is a common dish.
- Water Beetle and Chili Dip – Namphrik maeng da - This is a rather dry or very thick kind of chili dish. Any kind of chilies (preferably fresh) can be used. Other kinds of edible beetles or wasps or bees can be used instead of the maeng da. Because of the pungent odor of the maeng da, garlic should be left out.[64]
- Yam phak kum dong – pickled phak kum leaf - The greens of phak kum have to be pickled for at least three days the same way as pickling mustard greens (phak kat). This recipe calls for roasted dried chilies.
- No o - pickled bamboo shoots – No o refers to bamboo shoots that have a strong smell by the process of quick pickling (2–3 days). Some recipes pickle the shoots with the peels and take off the peel just before boiling. Boiling should be rather long for a good result.
- Mola Crickets and Chili Dip – Namphrik maeng chon - This kind of chili dish is rather dry and very thick. Use fresh chilies of any kind. Other kinds of edible insects or larvae can be used instead of mola crickets which will be called by the name of the insects used as the main ingredients such as wasp, grasshopper, or bee larvae (namphrik to, namphrik taen and namphrik phueng).
- Kai mot daeng - clean and high in protein nutrients. Red ants eat mango leaves so their bodies taste like a squirt of lime, but their fresh eggs are fatty and sweet.
- Kai yang - marinated, grilled chicken.
- Khao niao - Sticky rice is eaten as a staple food both in the northeast as in the north of Thailand. It is traditionally steamed.
- Lap - a traditional Lao salad containing meat, onions, chillies, roasted rice powder, and garnished with mint.
- Mu ping - marinated, grilled pork on a stick.
- Nam chim chaeo - is a sticky, sweet and spicy dipping sauce made with dried chilies, fish sauce, palm sugar, and black roasted rice flour. It is often served as a dip with mu yang (grilled pork).
- Nam tok - made with pork (mu) or beef (nuea) and somewhat identical to lap, except that the pork or beef is cut into thin strips rather than minced.
- Phat mi Khorat - a stir fried rice noodle dish commonly served with papaya salad in Thailand. Dried rice noodles of many colors are a specific ingredient for this dish.
- Som tam - grated green papaya salad, pounded with a mortar and pestle, similar to the Lao tam mak hoong. There are three main variations: som tam pu with pickled rice-paddy crab, and som tam Thai with peanuts, dried shrimp and palm sugar and som tam pla ra from the northeastern part of Thailand (Isan), with salted gourami fish, white eggplants, fish sauce and long beans. Som tam is usually eaten with sticky rice but a popular variation is to serve it with khanom chin (rice noodles) instead.
- Suea rong hai - grilled beef brisket.
- Tom saep - Northeastern-style hot and sour soup.
- Yam naem khao thot or naem khluk - a salad made of crumbled rice-and-curry croquettes and sour pork sausage.
Northern shared dishes
Ahan Lanna (Thai: อาหารล้านนา; lit. "Lanna food") shares certain dishes with neighboring Shan State, in Burma, and with northern Laos. As in northeastern Thailand, glutinous rice, not jasmine rice, is eaten as the staple food.
- Aep - Slow-grilled wrapped in banana leaves, this dish is most often made with chopped meat, small fish or edible insects, mixed with beaten eggs and spices.
- Kaeng hang-le - a Burmese-influenced stewed pork curry which uses peanuts, dried chilies, tamarind juice and curry paste in the recipe, but containing no coconut milk.
- Kaeng khae - is a spicy northern Thai curry of herbs, vegetables, the leaves of an acacia tree (cha-om) and meat (chicken, water buffalo, pork or frog). It also does not contain any coconut milk.
- Kaeng khanun - a curry of pork stewed with green jackfruit, which is very popular in the region. Like all northern Thai curries, it does not contain any coconut milk.
- Kaeng pa - better known as "jungle curry" internationally. Traditionally made with wild boar, most often pork or chicken is used nowadays.
- Kaep mu - deep fried crispy pork rinds which often eaten with chili pastes such as nam phrik num but also eaten as a snack on their own.
- Larb Lanna - drier and smokier in taste, northern Thai larb does not contain lime or fish sauce. Instead it's flavoured and seasoned with an elaborate mix of ground dried chillies, dried spices like cumin, cloves, long pepper, star anise, Sichuan pepper, cinnamon, and occasionally blood of the animal used.
- Nam phrik kha - thick relish made with roasted chilies, garlic, galangal, and salt. This northern Thai specialty is often served as a dip for steamed mushrooms or steamed sliced beef shank.
- Nam phrik num - a chili paste of pounded large green chilies, shallots, garlic, coriander leaves, lime juice and fish sauce; eaten with steamed and raw vegetables, and sticky rice.
- Nam phrik ong - resembling a thick Bolognese sauce, it is made with dried chilies, minced pork, fermented soy beans, and tomato; eaten with steamed and raw vegetables, and sticky rice.
- Sai ua - a grilled sausage of ground pork mixed with spices and herbs; it is often served with chopped fresh ginger and chilies at a meal. It is also sold at markets in Chiang Mai as a snack.
- Tam som-o - a salad made from the slightly pounded flesh of a pomelo fruit, which is mixed with garlic, sliced lemongrass, and a thick pungent black paste (nam pu) made from boiling down the juices and meat of rice-paddy crab.
Southern shared dishes
Ahan Phak Tai (Thai: อาหารภาคใต้; lit. "southern region food") shares certain dishes with the cuisine of northern Malaysia. Southern Thais, just like the people of central Thailand to the north, and the people of Malaysia to the south, eat non-glutinous rice as their staple food.
- Kaeng matsaman - also known in English as Massaman curry, it is an Indian style curry, usually made by Thai-Muslims, of stewed beef and containing roasted dried spices, such as coriander seed, that are rarely found in other Thai curries. In 2011 CNNGo ranked massaman as number one in an article titled World's 50 most delicious foods.
- Kaeng som (Southern Thai name) or kaeng lueang (central Thai name) - a sour curry with fish, vegetables or fruit
- Kaeng tai pla - a thick sour vegetable curry made with turmeric and shrimp paste, often containing roasted fish or fish innards, bamboo shoots, and eggplant.
- Khao mok - Thai-style biryani, a specialty of southern Thailand's Muslim community.
- Khao yam - a rice salad from southern Thailand.
- Khua kling - a very dry spicy curry made with minced or diced meat with sometimes yard long beans added to it; often served with fresh green phrik khi nu (thai chilies) and copious amounts of finely shredded bai makrut (kaffir lime leaves).
- Sate - grilled meat, usually pork or chicken, served with cucumber salad and peanut sauce (actually of Indonesian origin, but now a popular street food in Thailand).
Bai Leang Pad Kai - Bai Leang is native to southern of Thailand and Indonesia. It is widely used in Thai and Indonesian cuisine. Bai Liang tastes sweet and a bit greasy, it is not rank and bitter like other species. Commonly eaten as a vegetable with chili sauce and used to make a variety of dishes such as stir-fry with red curry. The popular dish is to be stir-fried with eggs called Bai Leang Pad Kai which is offered to all ages. The kids who do not like to eat vegetables can eat it because Bai Leang is not bitter when fried with eggs, so this dish can lead kids to eat more vegetables.
Bai Leang or Gnetum gnemon (scientific name ) is green leaf vegetable. Normally, vegetables are beneficial to our body because they contain fibers, variety of vitamins and minerals. Especially, Bai Leang which also has antioxidants which can be converted to Vitamin A and help to maintain eye health. Eggs in this dish also benefit to our body because there is a lot of protein mixed with vitamins and high density lipoprotein (HDL) from oil that is used for cooking. Moreover, Oil can dissolve vitamins in Bai Leang in order to make it easy to be absorbed and used. Bai Leang Pad Kai is a useful dish and is recommended for children or elderly to consume. The only warning is to be careful with oil that is used for cooking. It should be good quality oil and not used excessively.
Desserts and sweets
Khong wan
(Thai: ของหวาน; rtgs: khong wan) lit. "sweet things"). Although most Thai meals finish with fresh fruit, sometimes sweet snacks, often eaten between meals, will also be served as a dessert.
- Bua loi – mashed taro root and pumpkin are mixed with rice flour into small balls, boiled and then served in coconut milk.
- Chaokuai - grass jelly is often served with only shaved ice and brown sugar.
- Kanom khrok - coconut-rice pancakes, one of the ancient Thai desserts
- Khao tom mat - a traditional Thai dessert prepared from sticky rice, coconut milk, and banana.
- Khanom chan – multi-layers of pandanus-flavoured sticky rice flour mixed with coconut milk. It is the one of the nine auspicious Thai desserts.
- Khanom mo kaeng - a sweet baked pudding containing coconut milk, eggs, palm sugar, and flour, sprinkled with sweet fried onions.
- Khanom tan – palm flavoured mini cake topped with shredded coconut.
- Khanom thuai talai - steamed sweet coconut jelly and cream.
- Khao lam - cake made from steamed rice mixed with beans or peas, grated coconut, and coconut milk.
- Khao niao mamuang - sticky rice cooked in sweetened thick coconut milk, served with slices of ripe mango.
- Kluai buat chi – bananas in coconut milk.
- Lot chong nam kathi – pandan flavoured rice flour noodles in coconut milk, similar to the Indonesian cendol.
- Roti saimai - Thai-style cotton candy wrapped in roti.
- Ruam mit – mixed ingredients, such as chestnuts covered in flour, jackfruit, lotus root, tapioca, and lot chong, in coconut milk.
- Sangkhaya - coconut custard variant.
- Sarim – multi-colored mung bean flour noodles in sweetened coconut milk served with crushed ice.
- Sangkhaya fak thong - egg and coconut custard served with pumpkin, similar to the coconut jam of Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
- Tako - jasmine scented coconut pudding set in cups of pandanus leaf.
- Thong yip- "pinched gold egg yolks", one of the nine auspicious Thai desserts.
- Mamuang kuan - sweets made from preserved mango, often sold as flat wafers, or as a roll.
- Thong yot - sweet round egg ball one of the nine auspicious Thai desserts.
Ice cream
Ice cream was introduced to Thailand during the reign of King Rama V when the first ice cream machine was imported to Thailand. Ice cream in the second half of the 19th century was made of coconut water blended with ice. At first, ice couldn't be produced in Thailand. That led to importing ice from Singapore. Ice cream was then an upper-class treat, but over time ice cream became more widely available and the product was improved by replacing coconut water with coconut milk.
There were two types of ice cream in Thailand. First, ice cream in the palace was made of coconut juice with roasted tamarind on top. Second, ice cream for the public was coconut ice cream with the scent of the Nommaeo flower with a slight sweet taste. The ice cream "tube" was born during the reign of Rama VII. Its ingredients were contained inside a zinc tube which was shaken until it solidified, then skewered stick to serve as a handle. It was sold by mobile vendors using dry ice and salt to keep the ice cream cold. Eventually, ice cream was manufactured and sold in small cups.
According to the Bangkok Post, aitim tat (Thai: ไอติมตัด; "cut ice cream"), was very popular 30 years ago (1986). It came in rectangular bars of various flavors, sliced into pieces by the vendor, who then inserted two wooden sticks into the pieces to use as holders. Aitim tat was made from milk, coconut milk, flour, sugar, and artificial flavour. The price was one or two baht, depending on the size.
The Pop Company in the 1970s set up the first ice-cream manufacturing plant in Thailand. The company used a duck logo, resulting it the nickname aitim tra pet (Thai: ไอติมตราเป็ด; "duck brand ice cream"). It was sold in front of Chaloemchai Theater. Its most popular offering was called "banana split", with three flavors of ice cream, chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry.
Beverages
Khrueang duem
- Cha yen - Thai iced tea.
- Krating Daeng - an energy drink and the origin of Red Bull.
- Nam maphrao - the juice of a young coconut, often served inside the coconut.
- Nam matum - a refreshing and healthy drink made from the fruit of the Bael tree.
- Oliang - a sweet Thai black iced coffee.
- Satho - a traditional rice wine from the Isan region.
- Nam bai bua bok - A refreshing and healthy drink is made from the green leaf of the Centella asiatica.
Other alcoholic beverages from Thailand include Mekhong whisky and Sang Som. Several brands of beer are brewed in Thailand, the two biggest brands are Singha and Chang.
Insects
Certain insects are also eaten in Thailand, especially in Isan and in the north. Many markets in Thailand feature stalls which sell deep-fried grasshoppers, crickets (ching rit), bee larvae, silkworm (non mai), ant eggs (khai mot) and termites. The culinary creativity even extends to naming: one tasty larva, which is also known under the name "bamboo worm" (non mai phai, Omphisa fuscidentalis), is colloquially called "express train" (rot duan) due to its appearance.
Most of the insects taste fairly bland when deep-fried, somewhat like popcorn and prawns. But when deep-fried together with kaffir lime leaves, chilies and garlic, the insects become an excellent snack to go with a drink. In contrast to the bland taste of most of these insects, the maeng da or maelong da na (Lethocerus indicus) has been described as having a very penetrating taste, similar to that of a very ripe gorgonzola cheese. This giant water bug is famously used in a chili dip called nam phrik maeng da. Some insects, such as tadpoles, ant eggs and silk worms, are also eaten boiled in a soup in Isan, or used in egg dishes in northern Thailand.
Street food, food courts, and market food
The quality and choice of street food in Thailand is world-renowned. Bangkok is often mentioned as one of the best street food cities in the world, and even called the street food capital of the world. The website VirtualTourist says:"Few places in the world, if any, are as synonymous with street food as Thailand. For the variety of locations and abundance of options, we selected Bangkok, Thailand, as our number one spot for street food. Bangkok is notable for both its variety of offerings and the city's abundance of street hawkers."
There is scarcely a Thai dish that is not sold by a street vendor or at a market somewhere in Thailand. Some specialize in only one or two dishes, others offer a complete menu that rival that of restaurants. Some sell only pre-cooked foods, others make food to order. The foods that are made to order, tend to be dishes that can be quickly prepared: quick stir fries with rice, such as kaphrao mu (spicy basil-fried minced pork)[76] or phat khana (stir fried gailan), and quick curries such as pladuk phat phet (catfish fried with red curry paste).
Noodles are a popular street food item as they are mainly eaten as a single dish. Chinese-style noodle soups, fried noodles, and fermented Thai rice noodles (khanom chin), served with a choice of different Thai curries, are popular. Nearly everywhere in Thailand you will see som tam (green papaya salad) and sticky rice sold at stalls and roadside shops. This is popularly eaten together with grilled chicken; but if the shop doesn't sell any themselves, someone else nearby will. In most cities and towns there will be stalls selling sweet roti, a thin, flat fried dough envelop, with fillings such as banana, egg, and chocolate. The roti is similar to the Malay roti canai and Singaporean roti prata, and the stalls are often operated by Thai Muslims. Sweets snacks, collectively called khanom, such as tako (coconut cream jelly), khanom man (coconut cassava cake), and khanom wun (flavored jellies), can be seen displayed on large trays in glass covered push-carts. Other sweets, such as khanom bueang and khanom khrok (somewhat similar to Dutch poffertjes), are made to order.
In the evenings, mobile street stalls, often only a scooter with a side car, drive by and temporarily set up shop outside bars in Thailand, selling kap klaem ("drinking food"). Popular kap klaem dishes sold by mobile vendors are grilled items such as sun-dried squid, meats on skewers, or grilled sour sausages, and deep-fried snacks such as fried insects or fried sausages. Peeled and sliced fruits are also sold from street carts, laid out on a bed of crushed ice to preserve their freshness. Salapao, steamed buns filled with meat or sweet beans and the Thai version of the Chinese steamed baozi, are also commonly sold by mobile vendors.
Food markets in Thailand, large open air halls with permanent stalls, tend to operate as a collection of street stalls, each vendor with their own set of tables and providing (limited) service, although some resemble the regular food courts at shopping malls and large supermarkets, with service counters and the communal use of tables. Food courts and food markets offer many of the same foods as street stalls, both pre-cooked as well as made to order. Night food markets, in the form of a collection of street stalls and mobile vendors, spring up in parking lots, along busy streets, and at temple fairs and local festivals in the evenings, when the temperatures are more agreeable and people have finished work.
The dishes sold at wet markets in Thailand tend to be offered pre-cooked. Many people go there, and also to street vendors, to buy food for at work, or to take back home. It is a common sight to see Thais carrying whole communal meals consisting of several dishes, cooked rice, sweets, and fruit, all neatly packaged in plastic bags and foam food containers, to be shared with colleagues at work or at home with friends and family. Due to the fact that many dishes are similar to those that people would cook at home, it is a good place to find regional, and seasonal, foods.
Vegetarianism in Thailand
Although the Vegetarian Festival is celebrated each year by a portion of Thailand's population, and many restaurants in Thailand will offer vegetarian food during this festival period, pure vegetarian food is usually difficult to find in normal restaurants and eateries in Thailand. All traditionally made Thai curries, for instance, contain shrimp paste, and fish sauce is used as salt in many Thai dishes. At shops and restaurants that specifically cater for vegetarians, substitutes for these ingredients are used. Meat dishes are also commonly part of the alms offered to Buddhist monks in Thailand as vegetarianism is not considered obligatory in Theravada Buddhism; but having an animal killed specifically to feed Buddhist monks is prohibited.
In most towns and cities, traditional Buddhist vegetarian fare, without any meat or seafood products of any kind and also excluding certain strong tasting vegetables and spices, is sold at specialized vegetarian restaurants which can be recognized by a yellow sign with in Thai script the word che (Thai: เจ) or ahan che (Thai: อาหารเจ) written on it in red. These restaurants serve what can be regarded as vegan food. Many Indian restaurants of the sizable Thai-Indian community will also have vegetarian dishes on offer, due to the fact that vegetarianism is held as an ideal by many followers of the Hindu faith. Indian vegetarian cuisine can incorporate dairy products and honey. Due to the increased demand for vegetarian food from foreign tourists, many hotels, guesthouses and restaurants that cater to them, will now also have vegetarian versions of Thai dishes on their menu. Pescatarians would have very few problems with Thai cuisine due to the abundance of Thai dishes which only contain fish and seafood as their source of animal protein.
Thai royal cuisine
Originally, it referred to the food that was cooked or prepared by people living in the palace. Thai royal cuisine has become very well known from the Rattanakosin Era onwards.
Typically, Thai royal cuisine has basic characteristics that are close to the basic food prepared by general people. However, Thai royal cuisine focuses on the freshness of seasonal products. Other than that, it is crucial that the way in which Thai royal food is cooked, should be complex and delicate.
La Loubère, an envoy from France during the reign of King Narai the Great, recorded that the food at the court was generally similar to villager food. Ways that make Thai Royal cuisine different food was the beautiful presentation. For example, they served fish and chicken with the bones removed, and the vegetables were served in bite-sized portions. In addition, if beef is used, it should be tenderloin only.
There are many types of Thai royal cuisine such as ranchuan curry, nam phrik long rue, matsaman curry, rice in jasmine-flavored iced water or khao chae, spicy salad, fruit, and carved vegetable.
Thai royal cuisine is regarded as one of the cultural symbols that represents the exquisite refinement of the Thai court.
International recognition
Thai cuisine only became well-known worldwide from the 1960s onwards, when Thailand became a destination for international tourism and American troops arrived in large numbers during the Vietnam War period. The number of Thai restaurants went up from four in 1970s London to between two and three hundred in less than 25 years. The earliest attested Thai restaurant in the United States, "Chada Thai", opened their doors in 1959 Denver, Colorado. It was run by the former newspaper publisher Lai-iad (Lily) Chittivej. The oldest Thai restaurant in London, "The Bangkok Restaurant", was opened in 1967 by Mr and Mrs Bunnag, a former Thai diplomat and his wife, in South Kensington.
The global popularity of Thai cuisine is seen as an important factor in promoting tourism to Thailand, and also increase exports of Thailand's agricultural sector. In June 2009, the Tourism Authority of Thailand organised a conference to discuss these matters at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre in Bangkok. TAT Governor Seree Wangpaichitr: "This conference was long overdue. The promotion of Thai cuisine is one of our major niche-market targets. Our figures show that visitors spent 38.8 billion baht on eating and drinking last year, up 16% over 1997."
The Thaksin administration of Thailand (2001-2006) launched the "Kitchen of the World" campaign in 2003 to promote Thai cuisine internationally, with a yearly budget of 500 million baht. It provided loans and training for restaurateurs seeking to establish Thai restaurants overseas; established the "Thai Select" certification program which encouraged the use of ingredients imported from Thailand; and promoted integration between Thai investors, Thai Airways, and the Tourism Authority of Thailand with Thai restaurants overseas.
One survey held in 2003 by the Kellogg School of Management and Sasin Institute showed that Thai cuisine ranked fourth when people were asked to name an ethnic cuisine, after Italian, French, and Chinese cuisine. When asked "what is your favourite cuisine?", Thailand's cuisine came in at sixth place, behind the three aforementioned cuisines, and Indian and Japanese cuisine.
In the list of the "World's 50 most delicious foods", compiled by CNN in 2011, som tam stands at place 46, nam tok mu at 19, tom yam kung at 8, and massaman curry stands on first place as most delicious food in the world. In a reader's poll held a few months later by CNN, mu nam tok came in at 36, Thai fried rice at 24, green curry at 19, massaman curry at 10, and Thai som tam, pad Thai, and tom yam kung at six, five, and four.
In 2012, the British Restaurant Magazine, included "Nahm Bangkok" of chef David Thompson in its yearly list of The World's 50 Best Restaurants.
Awards
Thai chefs of the Thailand Culinary Academy took second place in the Gourmet Team Challenge (Practical) of the FHC China International Culinary Arts Competition 14 in Shanghai, China on 14–16 November 2012. They won the IKA Culinary Olympic 2012 competition held in Erfurt, Germany between 5–10 October 2012, where they received four gold and one silver medal
In 2011, the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef in Northwestern United States, was presented to Andy Ricker of restaurant "Pok Pok" in Portland, Oregon, and for Best Chef in Southwestern United States to Saipin Chutima of restaurant "Lotus of Siam" in Winchester, Nevada.
Culinary tours and cooking courses
Culinary tours of Thailand have gained popularity in recent years. Alongside other forms of tourism in Thailand, food tours have carved a niche for themselves. Many companies offer culinary and cooking tours of Thailand and many tourists visiting Thailand attend cooking courses offered by hotels, guesthouses and cooking schools.
Thai Delicious project
Thailand's National Innovation Agency (NIA), a public organization under the Thai Ministry of Science and Technology, is spearheading a 30 million baht (US$1 million), effort by the government to:
- Develop Thai recipes with "authentic taste" and establish them as standard recipes
- Develop biosensor equipment to analyze and evaluate taste and flavors
- Develop institutional food (ready-to-cook products) based on the standardized recipes to meet the demand for Thai food in foreign countries
- Provide a food certification service as well as training for local and foreign chefs working in Thai restaurants worldwide
The agency has posted 11 "authentic" recipes for tom yum gung (nam sai), tom yum gung (nam khon), pad Thai, Massaman curry, kaeng kiew wan (green curry), kaeng lueng (southern Thai sour curry), Golek chicken sauce, khao soi, sai oui (northern Thai sausage), nam prik noom (green pepper chili paste), and nam prik aong (northern Thai chili paste).These recipes were featured at a gala dinner promoting "Authentic Thai Food for the World", held at the Plaza Athénée Hotel Bangkok on 24 August 2016 at which Thailand's minister of industry was the honored guest. By 2020, Thai Delicious plans to post over 300 Thai food recipes.
To determine authenticity, Thai researchers developed the "e-delicious machine", described as "...an intelligent robot that measures smell and taste in food ingredients through sensor technology in order to measure taste like a food critic."The machine evaluates food by measuring its conductivity at different voltages. Readings from 10 sensors are combined to produce a chemical signature. Because the machine cannot judge taste, the food is compared with a standard derived from a database of popular preferences for each dish. For tom yam, the spicy soup flavored with Kaffir lime leaves and coriander, researchers posted notices at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, requesting 120 tasters. The tasters—students, university staff, and area workers—were paid a few baht for their opinions. They were served 10 differently prepared soups and rated each one. The winning soup was declared the standard, and its chemical characteristics were programmed into the machine. When testing food, the machine returns a numerical score from one to 100. A score lower than 80 is deemed "not up to standard". The machine cost about US$100,000 to develop. Restaurants that follow officially sanctioned recipes can affix a "Thai Delicious" logo to their menus.
The Thai Delicious project has been criticized, the main rationale being that, "Standardisation is the enemy of Thai food."
