To be shallow, if I may, the one sentence that surprises me in your synopsis is this:
“The sad truth was the high points to look forward to were the vegetarian lunches.”
I’ve attended Buddhist Studies conferences in Thailand where there was not a single vegetarian dish to be had! The Buddhist monks and white academics alike sat there, doling out and chewing the flesh of dead animals, while I attempted to speak Lao to the hotel staff, asking them to make something (anything) that was vegetarian.
They put me on the phone to the manager (who apparently understood my Lao brogue very well) as I explained that this was a Buddhist event, and that there should be something vegetarian on offer accordingly; he agreed with me, and ordered the cook to make something especially for me, but none of the other scholars or monks attending seemed to be interested in the slightest.
The lack of interest in the content of the presentations is endemic to the milieu: yes, there are Buddhist studies conferences where you can hardly find a single person interested in Buddhism, and there are Thai studies conferences where you can hardly find a person interested in Thailand. The main barrier to access is funding: attendance is neither based on talent, nor on publications, nor on original contributions to offer to the field… it is simply based on the ability to pay. The budget to cover transport and lodging, or the ability to convince some institution to pay for it on your behalf, are the real criteria.
People enroll in Thai studies for a wide variety of motives: I think you should take an empirical attitude (i.e., ask people at the conference why they’re there, and draw your conclusions from the results of the survey) rather than a prescriptive one (i.e., why assume that people share your passion for the subject as you define it?). Certainly, it is quite false to suppose that someone studying Thailand is inclined to criticize authorities of/on Thailand; as with any other ethnos, quite the opposite is true.
In the west, people enroll in English literature to uncritically worship authorities (more often than the reverse), and they enroll in the history of the British Empire, likewise, all-too-often, with the same uncritical and worshipful attitudes that Thai Nationalism is famous for.*
* [Have you ever seen The Cambridge History of the British Empire? It’s as bad or worse than anything the Thai Department of Fine Arts ever published in the category of propaganda as history…]
With all this having been said, Hinke, do you sincerely think that you would have been less disappointed at the conference in Melbourne? I think you’d encounter many of the same problems and… rather less vegetarian food.
By all means, correct me if I’m wrong; I’d be interested in seeing a similar criticism (on NM) of the outcomes of the Melbourne conference (or anti-conference), too.
Good recollection. Like that you expressed your frustrations! Wonder if it would have had the same atmosphere if it was held at Chiang Mai University? How permeated is Bangkok by 112 compared to other cities? I mean, how many of the 476 arrests in 2010 (btw do those 476 include the 33 in 2005, and arrests in subsequent years?) occurred in Bangkok versus other demographics? Could weight populations for a more accurate distribution.
Is the question exactly “Is Thai food Universally delicious?”, or is it “Is Thai food popular in the US and Anglophone societies?”
Oh and mind the word “Thai”. That word has assimilated a lot of cultures in the last century alone. And I hope you are aware that the signature dish “Pad Thai” is a very recent invention as well? You have Plaek Pibunsongkram to thank for that.
For the record, I think Thai food is the world’s best. However, I sometimes crave good Italian, Mexican, Greek, French, and Japanese dishes as well, and will travel into Bangkok to find it.
I also love a good steak, which is difficult to find in Thailand, unless one is prepared to pay for imported beef from Australia and New Zealand. To paraphrase Tevye’s famous line about chicken in “The Fiddler on the Roof”, if a man is being fed a cow (or a buffalo) in Thailand, “one of them has been sick.”
My rule of thumb for finding a good Thai restaurant outside of Thailand is this: if you sit down near the kitchen and your eyes don’t water from the frying chilli peppers, it isn’t an authentic Thai restaurant!
In my experience, American Pad Thai is often better than most of the Pad Thai I have had in Thailand. Here, most of the Pad Thai has been fast food, either on the streets or in a shopping mall food court, and is done quickly. In the US, my experience has been that the cooks spend a lot more time with it, making sure it is appealing and with nice garnishes on the side. Thai restaurant owners I have spoken with have said that the majority of visitors, especially first-timers, will only order Pad Thai, so they have to make sure it is good to get them to return.
A notable new entry on New Mandala points to the latest World Bank report on Thailand. In this announcement, the Bank upgrades Thailand?s economy from lower middle income to upper middle income, which is defined by average incomes of $3976 to $12275.
The fact that Thailand?s economy has grown strongly for nearly a decade and poverty has been reduced, as New Mandala notes, clearly helps to account for the growing political awareness of the rural population, which has resulted in continued support for the various populist, pro-Thaksin parties. But it is also simply amazing that, despite the political meltdown of the past five years, and the bloody standoff in Bangkok last spring, Thailand has maintained its economic momentum. In fact, despite last year?s violence, Thailand?s economy grew by over seven percent in 2010.
This resiliency is testament to the country?s ongoing strengths, even in the face of political chaos: A business-friendly tax regime, hospitality and services beloved by foreigners, a low-wage platform for manufacturing, and generally pro-investment governments. Thailand, in other words, has a reputation (based in some reality) that helps it glide through even the worst of its political problems.
However that reputation has also allowed successive Thai governments to avoid hard economic decisions, most notably about how to upgrade the country?s workforce. Thailand?s educational system is horrific, and this lack of quality education is preventing the country?s economy from rising up the value-added ladder. Eventually, it will have to do so, as even low wages and a business-friendly environment will not be enough of a competitive edge. Yet neither Thaksin nor successive Democrat governments took serious steps to address Thailand?s skill deficit. New Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra also does not seem to understand the depth of Thailand?s educational deficit, and how this deficit ? even more than its political strife ? could put an end to Thailand?s long run of economic good luck. Yingluck has appointed Worawat Ua-apinyakul as education minister in her new cabinet, an MP who has neither the credentials nor the national respect to lead a meaningful overhaul of Thailand?s education system or of the ministry itself.
Tried Vietnamese food during my brief stay in HMC. Too bland for me. The milk there was good though. Liked lots of things there, but just not taken with the local dish.
As a Thai, who had been living in US for quite sometime, I have to say that its not because Thai food is universally delicious but it has been modify to fit with the local tongues, much like italian and japanese cuisine. Pad Thai in US is a far cry from the original, I was almost scream when I saw American poured peanut sauce into Pad Thai, but that is why pad thai is so popular there.
Comes to why Cambodian, Burma, or Vietnam cuisines never hit the international market as hard, my think there were composed of many factors. Cambodian and Laos was under communism for a while (not to mention a large part of Cambodian population got massacre during the Kamar Rouge era) so the exposure of their culture to international audience where quite limited, as oppose to Thailand during the same period. Furthermore, in my opinion, Thai foods are quite easy to modify to fit the local taste since it composed of all the 5 main tastes; sweetness, spiciness, saltiness, sourness, and bitterness. Therefore, it is quite easy to adjust the taste to fit the local, as oppose to say, Japanese where the taste composed mainly of sweetness and saltiness.
Thank you for this input concerning the 11th Thai studies Conference. Differences in perspectives aside, I was puzzled by the absence of any coverage, of some sort, of this important event on the NM Blog. I likewise appreciated hearing about the Thai studies conference in Melbourne on the Aug 15 post on this Blog.
As in the case of these two said conferences, I will be unable to attend the The 4th International Conference on Human Rights & Human Development entitled ‘Critical Connections: Human Rights, Human Development and Human Security’, which will occur this Aug 18-19 at Chulalongkorn. I think it would be make for a great blog entry if someone who attends this conference could contribute a summary of highlights or points that caught their attention there. Off hand, one aspect of the conference that looks to be of interest from a Burma perspective, so I’m told, is that present at the conference will be panel contributions both from an ‘ethnic minority’ group as well as from ‘Myanmese government-tied’ representatives–if this in fact turns out to be the case, it might make for a dynamic range of perspectives on Human R/D/S in Burma.
An investigation by The Independent has established that entries in the Malaysian government’s Supplementary Budget 2010 show that FBC Media (UK) was allocated 28.35m Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) – nearly ┬г6m – for work on a “Global Strategic Communications Campaign” ordered by the Malaysian government in 2009. A similar sum (MYR29.34m) was designated to the company the previous year. Concerns over the arrangements have been raised in the Malaysian parliament.
Documents filed with the United States government’s House of Representatives in 2008 show that FBC Media (UK) contracted the Washington-based American lobbying company APCO Worldwide, which it paid more than US$80,000 (┬г50,000) in 2008 for the purpose of “raising awareness of the importance of policies in Malaysia that are pro-business and pro-investment as well as [showing] the significance of reform and anti-terrorism efforts in that country”.
In regard to the unsuccessful campaign of Thai Select, the way that the committees select Thai restaurant members doesn’t really help to promote Thai food. From my own experience working briefly with the Thai Trade Centre, the selection based on whoever that applied for it.
I had a Thai restaurant once upon a time with my Thai wife. There are now in Oz quite a few Thai Restaurants that are run by Chinese, sometime purely Thai and other times Thai/Chinese menus. Generally their old restaurant was slow so they add another cuisine and cash in on Thai food popularity. The food quality will depend on the cook they use but the cook is usually Chinese and it doesn’t quite work. Thai food is modified in the west, not through lack of ingredients, but to suit the taste of the customers.
There is a lot of cutting in Thai cuisine, the cooks have to get at it quite early in the day for a busy restaurant. In fact I had customers that preferred the Thai food in Oz to Thailand as we tend to use more veges and they are adjusted to the taste already, plus they probably didn’t eat at top venues.
True communists are always lurking, communism as an ideal has merit, however fails due to human nature, there are always those in charge and their bureaucrat buddies living the high life as the rest of society enjoys serfdom. I believe the deputy? leader of the Australian Greens and our ineffectual PM are “former” communists, same agenda, same policies, new name. Can’t flog their rancid agenda to the voters so have to use deceit.
As to Malaysia, can’t recall the communist manifesto embracing Islam so hard to imagine a majority of Malaysians embracing communism.
Could we live to see the food of Burma or Cambodia one day gain a global following? Or is that a fanciful notion?
Without wanting to sound like an advertisement, here in earthquake ravaged Christchurch Burmese food has a big following. Since the earthquake there has been a huge shortage of restaurants to choose from. The entire city has basically shut down, and the restauranteurs that want to continue are battling for space in the relatively unaffected suburbs.
The Burmese restaurant, The Bodhi Tree (website here), was popular before the quake, but since moving to the suburbs and a bigger space, they have apparently been overwhelmed. Good clean food, well presented and well explained, and outstanding tofu thoke. Before the quake one would walk past half-a-dozen or so almost empty Thai restaurants to get to the Bodhi Tree full to the brim.
Now a nice point of difference in a beaten-up city.
Anon(ymous) #4 it is not just the Thais who have borrowed their cuisine from others. The Thais first got chillies from the Portuguese in the 16th century who brought it from the New World and traded them throughout Asia. But in the same manner where would say English cuisine now be without potato which also came from the New World. Since the dawn of trade people have been exchanging ingredients for their cuisine.
Of course like most things prefaced by “National” and “Culture”, the idea of a “Thai Cuisine” is a bit of an artificial construct. And also like most things to do with Thai Nation and Culture the Royal Thai Government could not resist getting involved. A few years ago the Ministry of Commerce launched a scheme to promote Thai restaurants in Australia and New Zealand. Does not seem to have been a huge success. At http://thaiselect.com.au/index.html I see only 6 Thai restaurants listed for Melbourne compared with a total I believe of approx. 250 Thai restaurants here. And very few of them cook Thai food as it would be found in rural Thailand (Following the rule that Real Thai Culture is to be found in the village).
But at the end of it all, Yes Thai food is the best 🙂
Arthurson is right, Thai food outside Thailand is often affected by ingredient replacement and local tastes. But let’s say that for the sake of argument it’s all Thai food, more or less.
What makes it so popular? I’d guess that it comes down to strength of flavors (especially compared to bland cuisines such as what you get in American chain restaurants), uniqueness of layers (no other cuisine combines bitter, salty, sweet, fishy, fruity, sour, and nutty in a single bite), and what Anon says above about it being a pain in the ass to make at home.
Also timing. The food trend in rich countries is towards fresh ingredients, low calories, and exotic back stories. Call it the new sushi.
The problems of thai food in Thailand are following:
1.street food is full of MSG (about 1 to 2 table spoon per dish!) try the same dishes without it (as i do often) and you will notice the difference: almost no taste at all! 2.the veggies in Thailand are FULL of pesticides, it has been “almost” banned for export in many western countries (the veggies found in the street markets being the most polluted of all) 3. the Thai Health Dept has recently (last july) issued a warning asking the 75000 noodles sellers to invest in safer material as most noodles brews are full of LEAD-leaking from their stalls-resulting in slow poisoning of millions of thais and foreigners! Bon Appetit!
Well, there are few cuisines in the world, which are famous for specific things, like Italian, French, Chinese, Mexican or Turkish for example and there surely must be a reason for it. I think the same applies to Thai cuisine.
Surely, Thai cuisine draws many foreign influences (such as from India or China) but that’s sounds just natural. Think of European cuisines and vegetables (like tomatoes or potatoes) or spices (nutmeg)…
Even the flavour of many Thai-Chinese dishes is nowhere to be found in China (well, maybe in Singapore). Same applies to Indian curries which uses a lot of really different spices. It is the complex combination of all things which makes Thai cuisine surely unique.
But still, there are many dishes which are similar to neighbouring cuisines such as Cambodian or Burmese which have their own sophistication. But I think that Burmese dishes tend to taste more Indian than Thai due to the use of their spices and Cambodian is still very similar to Thai but draws influences of the more mild-tasting Vietnamese cuisine (which I also really like for being mild in taste). From what I experienced and listen to is that many people love Cambodia or Myanmar but not really food-wise.
Maybe it is that some cuisines are not so much suiting for a wide array of tastes. There might be a reason why we will find Italian restaurants everywhere but seldom see British, Scandinavian, Filipino, Polish, or Russian ones. Although they may have some really amazing dishes.
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No passion at ICTS11
To be shallow, if I may, the one sentence that surprises me in your synopsis is this:
“The sad truth was the high points to look forward to were the vegetarian lunches.”
I’ve attended Buddhist Studies conferences in Thailand where there was not a single vegetarian dish to be had! The Buddhist monks and white academics alike sat there, doling out and chewing the flesh of dead animals, while I attempted to speak Lao to the hotel staff, asking them to make something (anything) that was vegetarian.
They put me on the phone to the manager (who apparently understood my Lao brogue very well) as I explained that this was a Buddhist event, and that there should be something vegetarian on offer accordingly; he agreed with me, and ordered the cook to make something especially for me, but none of the other scholars or monks attending seemed to be interested in the slightest.
The lack of interest in the content of the presentations is endemic to the milieu: yes, there are Buddhist studies conferences where you can hardly find a single person interested in Buddhism, and there are Thai studies conferences where you can hardly find a person interested in Thailand. The main barrier to access is funding: attendance is neither based on talent, nor on publications, nor on original contributions to offer to the field… it is simply based on the ability to pay. The budget to cover transport and lodging, or the ability to convince some institution to pay for it on your behalf, are the real criteria.
People enroll in Thai studies for a wide variety of motives: I think you should take an empirical attitude (i.e., ask people at the conference why they’re there, and draw your conclusions from the results of the survey) rather than a prescriptive one (i.e., why assume that people share your passion for the subject as you define it?). Certainly, it is quite false to suppose that someone studying Thailand is inclined to criticize authorities of/on Thailand; as with any other ethnos, quite the opposite is true.
In the west, people enroll in English literature to uncritically worship authorities (more often than the reverse), and they enroll in the history of the British Empire, likewise, all-too-often, with the same uncritical and worshipful attitudes that Thai Nationalism is famous for.*
* [Have you ever seen The Cambridge History of the British Empire? It’s as bad or worse than anything the Thai Department of Fine Arts ever published in the category of propaganda as history…]
With all this having been said, Hinke, do you sincerely think that you would have been less disappointed at the conference in Melbourne? I think you’d encounter many of the same problems and… rather less vegetarian food.
By all means, correct me if I’m wrong; I’d be interested in seeing a similar criticism (on NM) of the outcomes of the Melbourne conference (or anti-conference), too.
No passion at ICTS11
Good recollection. Like that you expressed your frustrations! Wonder if it would have had the same atmosphere if it was held at Chiang Mai University? How permeated is Bangkok by 112 compared to other cities? I mean, how many of the 476 arrests in 2010 (btw do those 476 include the 33 in 2005, and arrests in subsequent years?) occurred in Bangkok versus other demographics? Could weight populations for a more accurate distribution.
Thai food: Universally delicious?
Is the question exactly “Is Thai food Universally delicious?”, or is it “Is Thai food popular in the US and Anglophone societies?”
Oh and mind the word “Thai”. That word has assimilated a lot of cultures in the last century alone. And I hope you are aware that the signature dish “Pad Thai” is a very recent invention as well? You have Plaek Pibunsongkram to thank for that.
Thai food: Universally delicious?
For the record, I think Thai food is the world’s best. However, I sometimes crave good Italian, Mexican, Greek, French, and Japanese dishes as well, and will travel into Bangkok to find it.
I also love a good steak, which is difficult to find in Thailand, unless one is prepared to pay for imported beef from Australia and New Zealand. To paraphrase Tevye’s famous line about chicken in “The Fiddler on the Roof”, if a man is being fed a cow (or a buffalo) in Thailand, “one of them has been sick.”
My rule of thumb for finding a good Thai restaurant outside of Thailand is this: if you sit down near the kitchen and your eyes don’t water from the frying chilli peppers, it isn’t an authentic Thai restaurant!
Thai food: Universally delicious?
@Tarrin 19,
In my experience, American Pad Thai is often better than most of the Pad Thai I have had in Thailand. Here, most of the Pad Thai has been fast food, either on the streets or in a shopping mall food court, and is done quickly. In the US, my experience has been that the cooks spend a lot more time with it, making sure it is appealing and with nice garnishes on the side. Thai restaurant owners I have spoken with have said that the majority of visitors, especially first-timers, will only order Pad Thai, so they have to make sure it is good to get them to return.
Thailand: an upper-middle income economy
From the TLC email list:
http://blogs.cfr.org/asia/2011/08/16/thailand%E2%80%99s-economy-survives-it-all/
Thailand?s Economy Survives it All
Posted on Tuesday, August 16, 2011
by Joshua Kurlantzick
A notable new entry on New Mandala points to the latest World Bank report on Thailand. In this announcement, the Bank upgrades Thailand?s economy from lower middle income to upper middle income, which is defined by average incomes of $3976 to $12275.
The fact that Thailand?s economy has grown strongly for nearly a decade and poverty has been reduced, as New Mandala notes, clearly helps to account for the growing political awareness of the rural population, which has resulted in continued support for the various populist, pro-Thaksin parties. But it is also simply amazing that, despite the political meltdown of the past five years, and the bloody standoff in Bangkok last spring, Thailand has maintained its economic momentum. In fact, despite last year?s violence, Thailand?s economy grew by over seven percent in 2010.
This resiliency is testament to the country?s ongoing strengths, even in the face of political chaos: A business-friendly tax regime, hospitality and services beloved by foreigners, a low-wage platform for manufacturing, and generally pro-investment governments. Thailand, in other words, has a reputation (based in some reality) that helps it glide through even the worst of its political problems.
However that reputation has also allowed successive Thai governments to avoid hard economic decisions, most notably about how to upgrade the country?s workforce. Thailand?s educational system is horrific, and this lack of quality education is preventing the country?s economy from rising up the value-added ladder. Eventually, it will have to do so, as even low wages and a business-friendly environment will not be enough of a competitive edge. Yet neither Thaksin nor successive Democrat governments took serious steps to address Thailand?s skill deficit. New Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra also does not seem to understand the depth of Thailand?s educational deficit, and how this deficit ? even more than its political strife ? could put an end to Thailand?s long run of economic good luck. Yingluck has appointed Worawat Ua-apinyakul as education minister in her new cabinet, an MP who has neither the credentials nor the national respect to lead a meaningful overhaul of Thailand?s education system or of the ministry itself.
Thai food: Universally delicious?
Tried Vietnamese food during my brief stay in HMC. Too bland for me. The milk there was good though. Liked lots of things there, but just not taken with the local dish.
Thai food: Universally delicious?
As a Thai, who had been living in US for quite sometime, I have to say that its not because Thai food is universally delicious but it has been modify to fit with the local tongues, much like italian and japanese cuisine. Pad Thai in US is a far cry from the original, I was almost scream when I saw American poured peanut sauce into Pad Thai, but that is why pad thai is so popular there.
Comes to why Cambodian, Burma, or Vietnam cuisines never hit the international market as hard, my think there were composed of many factors. Cambodian and Laos was under communism for a while (not to mention a large part of Cambodian population got massacre during the Kamar Rouge era) so the exposure of their culture to international audience where quite limited, as oppose to Thailand during the same period. Furthermore, in my opinion, Thai foods are quite easy to modify to fit the local taste since it composed of all the 5 main tastes; sweetness, spiciness, saltiness, sourness, and bitterness. Therefore, it is quite easy to adjust the taste to fit the local, as oppose to say, Japanese where the taste composed mainly of sweetness and saltiness.
No passion at ICTS11
Thank you for this input concerning the 11th Thai studies Conference. Differences in perspectives aside, I was puzzled by the absence of any coverage, of some sort, of this important event on the NM Blog. I likewise appreciated hearing about the Thai studies conference in Melbourne on the Aug 15 post on this Blog.
As in the case of these two said conferences, I will be unable to attend the The 4th International Conference on Human Rights & Human Development entitled ‘Critical Connections: Human Rights, Human Development and Human Security’, which will occur this Aug 18-19 at Chulalongkorn. I think it would be make for a great blog entry if someone who attends this conference could contribute a summary of highlights or points that caught their attention there. Off hand, one aspect of the conference that looks to be of interest from a Burma perspective, so I’m told, is that present at the conference will be panel contributions both from an ‘ethnic minority’ group as well as from ‘Myanmese government-tied’ representatives–if this in fact turns out to be the case, it might make for a dynamic range of perspectives on Human R/D/S in Burma.
Thanks,
Tony
Thai food: Universally delicious?
I think it just comes down to the in-your-face spices.
The fight for Sarawak – ABC 7.30 report
Extracted from Ian Burrell and Martin Hickman “Special investigation: TV company takes millions from Malaysian government to make documentaries for BBC… about Malaysia“, The Independent, 17 August 2011.
Thai food: Universally delicious?
In regard to the unsuccessful campaign of Thai Select, the way that the committees select Thai restaurant members doesn’t really help to promote Thai food. From my own experience working briefly with the Thai Trade Centre, the selection based on whoever that applied for it.
Thai food: Universally delicious?
I had a Thai restaurant once upon a time with my Thai wife. There are now in Oz quite a few Thai Restaurants that are run by Chinese, sometime purely Thai and other times Thai/Chinese menus. Generally their old restaurant was slow so they add another cuisine and cash in on Thai food popularity. The food quality will depend on the cook they use but the cook is usually Chinese and it doesn’t quite work. Thai food is modified in the west, not through lack of ingredients, but to suit the taste of the customers.
There is a lot of cutting in Thai cuisine, the cooks have to get at it quite early in the day for a busy restaurant. In fact I had customers that preferred the Thai food in Oz to Thailand as we tend to use more veges and they are adjusted to the taste already, plus they probably didn’t eat at top venues.
UMNO and the Commies
True communists are always lurking, communism as an ideal has merit, however fails due to human nature, there are always those in charge and their bureaucrat buddies living the high life as the rest of society enjoys serfdom. I believe the deputy? leader of the Australian Greens and our ineffectual PM are “former” communists, same agenda, same policies, new name. Can’t flog their rancid agenda to the voters so have to use deceit.
As to Malaysia, can’t recall the communist manifesto embracing Islam so hard to imagine a majority of Malaysians embracing communism.
Thai food: Universally delicious?
“Thais are ready to claim that any good local foods are their. (and, of course, if it is not good, it belongs to others)”
Yes, and they are the only people in the world who do that ! Shame on them !!!
Thai food: Universally delicious?
Could we live to see the food of Burma or Cambodia one day gain a global following? Or is that a fanciful notion?
Without wanting to sound like an advertisement, here in earthquake ravaged Christchurch Burmese food has a big following. Since the earthquake there has been a huge shortage of restaurants to choose from. The entire city has basically shut down, and the restauranteurs that want to continue are battling for space in the relatively unaffected suburbs.
The Burmese restaurant, The Bodhi Tree (website here), was popular before the quake, but since moving to the suburbs and a bigger space, they have apparently been overwhelmed. Good clean food, well presented and well explained, and outstanding tofu thoke. Before the quake one would walk past half-a-dozen or so almost empty Thai restaurants to get to the Bodhi Tree full to the brim.
Now a nice point of difference in a beaten-up city.
Thai food: Universally delicious?
Anon(ymous) #4 it is not just the Thais who have borrowed their cuisine from others. The Thais first got chillies from the Portuguese in the 16th century who brought it from the New World and traded them throughout Asia. But in the same manner where would say English cuisine now be without potato which also came from the New World. Since the dawn of trade people have been exchanging ingredients for their cuisine.
Of course like most things prefaced by “National” and “Culture”, the idea of a “Thai Cuisine” is a bit of an artificial construct. And also like most things to do with Thai Nation and Culture the Royal Thai Government could not resist getting involved. A few years ago the Ministry of Commerce launched a scheme to promote Thai restaurants in Australia and New Zealand. Does not seem to have been a huge success. At http://thaiselect.com.au/index.html I see only 6 Thai restaurants listed for Melbourne compared with a total I believe of approx. 250 Thai restaurants here. And very few of them cook Thai food as it would be found in rural Thailand (Following the rule that Real Thai Culture is to be found in the village).
But at the end of it all, Yes Thai food is the best 🙂
Thai food: Universally delicious?
Arthurson is right, Thai food outside Thailand is often affected by ingredient replacement and local tastes. But let’s say that for the sake of argument it’s all Thai food, more or less.
What makes it so popular? I’d guess that it comes down to strength of flavors (especially compared to bland cuisines such as what you get in American chain restaurants), uniqueness of layers (no other cuisine combines bitter, salty, sweet, fishy, fruity, sour, and nutty in a single bite), and what Anon says above about it being a pain in the ass to make at home.
Also timing. The food trend in rich countries is towards fresh ingredients, low calories, and exotic back stories. Call it the new sushi.
Thai food: Universally delicious?
The problems of thai food in Thailand are following:
1.street food is full of MSG (about 1 to 2 table spoon per dish!) try the same dishes without it (as i do often) and you will notice the difference: almost no taste at all! 2.the veggies in Thailand are FULL of pesticides, it has been “almost” banned for export in many western countries (the veggies found in the street markets being the most polluted of all) 3. the Thai Health Dept has recently (last july) issued a warning asking the 75000 noodles sellers to invest in safer material as most noodles brews are full of LEAD-leaking from their stalls-resulting in slow poisoning of millions of thais and foreigners! Bon Appetit!
Thai food: Universally delicious?
Well, there are few cuisines in the world, which are famous for specific things, like Italian, French, Chinese, Mexican or Turkish for example and there surely must be a reason for it. I think the same applies to Thai cuisine.
Surely, Thai cuisine draws many foreign influences (such as from India or China) but that’s sounds just natural. Think of European cuisines and vegetables (like tomatoes or potatoes) or spices (nutmeg)…
Even the flavour of many Thai-Chinese dishes is nowhere to be found in China (well, maybe in Singapore). Same applies to Indian curries which uses a lot of really different spices. It is the complex combination of all things which makes Thai cuisine surely unique.
But still, there are many dishes which are similar to neighbouring cuisines such as Cambodian or Burmese which have their own sophistication. But I think that Burmese dishes tend to taste more Indian than Thai due to the use of their spices and Cambodian is still very similar to Thai but draws influences of the more mild-tasting Vietnamese cuisine (which I also really like for being mild in taste). From what I experienced and listen to is that many people love Cambodia or Myanmar but not really food-wise.
Maybe it is that some cuisines are not so much suiting for a wide array of tastes. There might be a reason why we will find Italian restaurants everywhere but seldom see British, Scandinavian, Filipino, Polish, or Russian ones. Although they may have some really amazing dishes.