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| PEOPLE |
"In Thai culture, neighbors take
care of neighbors."
Somchart Apasukcharoen, a first-generation Thai, has studied
and worked overseas. He recently left a job in the United States
to take care of his mother in Thailand. He believed that she
would be happier remaining in Thailand where neighbors are friends
and she would always have a community of people around her.
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Name:
Somchart
Born: late 1950s
Home: Bangkok, Thailand |
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SUSTAINING
THE COMMUNITY
Other things which bring people together. |
FOOD
There is no major occasion or gathering
which is not complete without food. It is traditionally served
on a large mat on the ground, on platters which friends and
family help themselves from with their hands.
Northern
Thai food has Chinese, Laotian, and Burmese roots. Some
typical meals are:
khao soy, egg noodles with chicken, coconut cream
and crispy garlic
gaeng hang lay, spicy curry with pork and tamarind
(from Burma)
nam prik noom, chili-lime sauce (from Laos)
som tam, spicy green papaya salad
gay yang, barbecued chicken with pepper sauce and
garlic
haw mok, ground fish curry custard steamed in a
banana leaf
tam muang, a blend of crushed unripe mangoes with
sugar, powdered chilies and fish sauce
khanom buang, a crispy crepe stuffed with dried shrimp
and bean sprouts (from Laos) |
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Southern
ingredients and dishes include:
seafood
(lobster, prawns, etc.)
coconuts (used as juice, milk for soups and curries,
oil for frying and grated as a condiment)
rice (the lush, southern climate allows for two rice
harvests)
tom yam, seafood soup with lemongrass and chilies
fish curries (from Malaysia)
peanut satay (from Indonesia)
gaeng mussaman, curry with cardamom, cloves,
cinnamon and chicken or beef (from India)
khanom chin, minced beef stewed in red sauce,
served with rice noodles (popular breakfast dish)
khao mok gai, roast chicken on saffron rice with
crispy fried ginger (Muslim dish)
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| Recipes
in the middle of Thailand came from the Royal Palace.
It was here that decorating food with fruit and vegetables
made to look like flowers came from. (Thanks
to Somchart Apasukcharoen from Thai Spice Restaurant in
Pranakron, Bangkok for recipe)
Green
Curry
Ingredients
1 tbsp. peanut oil
150 grams mixed vegetables, 150 grams eggplant
3 tbsp. green curry paste (see recipe, right)
2 1/2 cups coconut milk
2 kaffir lime leaves
1 1/2 tbsp. fish sauce
1 1/2 tsp. palm sugar
1/4 cup sweet basil leaves
2-3 red chillies cut into strips
Directions
Cut vegetables into bite-sized pieces.
Add 2 cups warm water to coconut and squeeze out 1 cup
coconut cream and 1 1/2 cups coconut milk.
Fry the curry paste in oil until fragrant and reduce
heat. Add coconut cream, little by little.
Add vegetables and torn kaffir lime leaves. Cook for
a minute. Pour curry into a pot, add coconut milk and
sugar. Add fish sauce to taste, heat. When mixture is
boiling, add eggplant, sweet basil and chillies and
remove from heat.
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Nam Phrik Kaeng Khiao Wan
(Green Curry Paste)
15 green hot chillies
3 tbsp. chopped shallots
1tbsp. garlic
1 tbsp. chopped galanga (from ginger family)
1tsp. chopped lemon grass
1/2 tsp. chopped kaffir lime rind
1 tsp. chopped coriander root
5 peppercorns
1 tbsp. coriander seeds
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. shrimp paste
Directions
In a wok, fry the coriander and cumin seeds over low heat
for 5 minutes.
Grind into a powder.
Add remaining ingredients into a blender except shrimp
paste. Blend. Add coriander/cumin powder and shrimp paste.
Blend to a fine-textured paste.
(Can be stored in a glass jar in the fridge for 3-4 months) |
RELIGION
Religion brings communities together,
and the Thai people are predominantly Buddhist. Monks are consulted
for the naming of a child and are asked to chant from the sacred
texts at marriage and funeral ceremonies. I have sat next to
people in buses and taxis that wai (hands in prayer)
as they pass a temple.
Most young men in Thailand spend some time in monkhood to prepare
for adult life. This usually takes place after the age of 20,
and before marriage or beginning a career. Ordination takes
place in the summer, and to prepare, the young man will shave
his head and wear white clothing. Usually, monks will chant
at his home, and then friends and relatives will visit and share
in the celebration. The next day, he is carried around the monastery
three times before going to the ordination hall. Before an image
of Buddha, he is examined and, upon passing, accepted to begin
his monkhood. During his ordainment, he lives at the monastery,
wears saffron robes and receives strict teachings from the senior
monks. When he feels he is ready to begin his life as an adult,
he may leave the monastery.
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