Thailand: Foreign Foods Project

Hello,


As a group we decided to do the country of Thailand for our project.


Who is in this lovely group?


Carolina, Cherry, Erin & Linda


And we give our thanks to Mrs. Krishnan for assigning us this project and dealing with our forever changing cooking dates!


This blog will take you through the many different aspects of Thai cuisine, lifestyle  and culture.

Thailand Crops and Foods Exports:

Climatic and soil conditions permit the cultivation of a wide range of crops, not only tropical varieties but also many originating in semitropical and temperate zones. In the late 1950s, the major emphasis in agriculture was rice. Then there are cassava, beans, maize, yams, sugarcane, and fruits. Other than just grow them, they also exports them to other countries.

Special Food Ceremonies and/or Religious Occasions

Awk Phansa

The end of the Buddhist Lent. Monks are allowed to go out of temples, and people gather to bring them offerings of robes and food, in a ceremony called Thot Kathin, which lasts one month.

Ullambana (Ancestor Day) 

Is celebrated throughout the Mahayana tradition from the first to the fifteenth days of the eighth lunar month. It is believed that the gates of Hell are opened on the first day and the ghosts may visit the world for fifteen days. Food offerings are made during this time to relieve the sufferings of these ghosts. On the fifteenth day, Ulambana or Ancestor Day, people visit cemeteries to make offerings to the departed ancestors. 

Buddhism in Thailand is strongly influenced by traditional beliefs regarding ancestral and natural spirits. Most Thai people own spirit houses, miniature wooden houses in which they believe household spirits live. They present offerings of food and drink to these spirits to keep them happy. If these spirits aren't happy, it is believed that they will inhabit the larger household of the Thai, and cause chaos. These spirit houses can be found in public places and in the streets of Thailand, where the public make offerings.

Important Foods of the Country:

The main ingredients used are pumpkin and coconut. 

The pumpkin used commonly in thailand is called Fak Thong (Thai: ฟักทอง or golden squash) and is also called kabocha squash in North America. It has a strong yet sweet flavor and moist fluffy texture. It is a common ingredient in vegetable tempura and can be made into soup.

Thailand is in the top ten coconut producers in the world. The oil and milk of coconuts are commonly used in cooking and frying; coconut oil is also widely used in soaps and cosmetics. The coconut is known for its versatility uses of its different parts. The harvestation of coconuts include the use of pig-tailed macaques.

Gr aram masala is a blend of ground spices common in north indian and othesout asain cuisines. It is pungent, but not hot in the same way as a chilli pepper. The varying spices can include black & whitepeppercorns,cloves,Cinnamon ,mace blades, black & white cumin seeds, black brown & green cardamom pods, nutmeg, star anise, and coriander seeds.

Typical Cooking Presentations:

Thai food presentation  includes larger serving platters with delicately carved fruits and vegetables along with beautiful flowers. Each dish is served with its own spoon and everyone serves themselves. Typically, each meal has a salty, sweet, sour, and spicy dish, allowing for a range of flavors and textures. And most often you will find that many dishes include all four flavors.

Typical Customs Associated with Eating:

In most Asian countries, people often tend to think that they all use chopsticks for their utensils while eating, but in Thailand this isnt the case. Here, spoons and forks are used to eat and a knife is almost never present. The spoon is the main utensil used, the fork is used merely to push food onto the spoon.

At meal times, families will sit down together and eat, but not everyone gets their own dish. A food dish is served in comparison to the number of people, if there are 5 people, then there are 5 dishes. They are placed in the middle of the table and everyone spoons what they want onto their plate, everything is always shared. 

At each meal you will find a bowl of soup, at least one spicy dish, a plate of fresh vegetables, and various sauces for each person to add flavor depending on what they like.

Lifestyle of the people in Thailand:

Thailand is a mix of urban, rural and agricultural in its lifestyle.


The staple of a Thai diet is rice.


There is no difference between different social groups and their diets. Thai's enjoy very simple and fresh cuisine that is always delicious.