Chef Ian Kittichai muses over the fact that Thai cuisine is one of the few that is authentic, when most other cuisines get Indianised to suit the Indian palate.
In this ever changing world that is getting smaller and smaller with the effects of globalisation, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, international movie blockbusters from all over the world, international magazine brands tailored for the local markets and more, questions that always seems to arise, are over true Thai cuisine, fusion and localisation.
So the answer to the question “Why is Thai cuisine one of the few authentic cuisines in India that does not get Indianised to suit the Indian palate?”is a multifold one.
To start, one needs to understand “true Thai cuisine” and to look back into the history of Thai cuisine and its evolution.
Although Thailand is the only nation in Southeast Asia to have never been colonised by any foreign power, my nation has always been in the path of visiting foreign dignitaries, merchants, religious pilgrims, migrations, sparring kingdoms, and fluctuating borders. If you look at Thai cuisine as it is today, you can see influences from across the world.
Noodles were invented by the Chinese and spread throughout the world (hence Italian pasta). Chinese immigrants brought the noodle to Thailand and to this day Thais only use chopsticks (as in the Chinese tradition) when eating a Thai noodle dish.
The all-important chili used extensively in Thai cuisine was first brought to Thailand from the Americas by Portugese missionaries in the 1500s.
In the present day, when one has a somtom salad (papaya salad) in Thailand, in addition to the traditional green papaya and dried shrimp, you will also find shredded carrot and sliced tomatoes – both non-indigenous ingredients and adopted by Thais within the past 200 years.
Whether cooked in the royal kitchens of the king or on the streets, Thai cooks have long borrowed ingredients and techniques from outside cultures, absorbing them and making them their own.
Thai food is not a stagnant set of recipes and Thais have a great tradition of adopting external elements, using them in new ways, and creating something distinctly Thai.
What makes Thai cuisine so uniquely “Thai” are the flavours – the infamously bold spicy, sour, sweet, salty, and herbaceous.
In one enjoyable bite the diner finds an explosion of the majority of these five flavours. A perfect example of this is my “nueng manow” Alaskan Black Cod, which is slow poached in a hand smashed bird-eye chili lime broth.
I take the traditional spicy, sour, and herbaceous ingredient broth elements of a classic “neung manow” fish dish, and delicately poach the firm-yet-flaky flavourful Alaskan Black Cod.
One would almost never be able to find Alaskan Black Cod on any other Thai chef’s menu, but I personally feel that this type of fish tastes better, is of better quality, and stands up to the flavours of the dish, so I prefer to use this ingredient versus a local river fish as is common in Thailand.
My cuisine is still authentic Thai, but I take my lifetime of learning as a professional chef and cook to perfection with the best possible ingredients, whilst staying true to my Thai foundations.
Secondly, as any chef will tell you, it is unrealistic to think you do not have to change some elements of your menu to suit the local preferences. To give you very relevant examples – in my restaurant in New York City we only had two pork dishes on the menu as most Americans do not prefer to eat pork, especially in New York City.
At my restaurant in Barcelona, I had to have many pork dishes on the menu as the Spanish definitely enjoy their pork! But I did not “localise” my core ingredients and flavours – one bite of spicy, sour, sweet, salty and herbaceous will tell you where my heart and palate is!
An example of how I have adjusted my menu offerings for Indian diners versus in my other restaurants around the globe, is the element of vegetarian offerings.
What I have done at KoH is to expand the vegetarian offerings and let my creativity run wild in the vegetarian direction. Lastly, another major reason I believe Thai food in India does not tend to get “localised” as much as other cuisines, is due to the fact that over the centuries, Thailand has adopted many elements and influences from India.
From religion, to certain cultural customs, to the roots of certain foods – such as curry – Thais can trace these elements directly back to India.
I think the Indian diner’s palate anticipates and demands bold flavours, which Thai cuisine certainly delivers!
Getting high on Thai
(NULL)
Chef Ian Kittichai muses over the fact that Thai cuisine is one of the few that is authentic, when most other cuisines get Indianised to suit the Indian palate.
In this ever changing world that is getting smaller and smaller with the effects of globalisation, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, international movie blockbusters from all over the world, international magazine brands tailored for the local markets and more, questions that always seems to arise, are over true Thai cuisine, fusion and localisation.
So the answer to the question “Why is Thai cuisine one of the few authentic cuisines in India that does not get Indianised to suit the Indian palate?”is a multifold one.
To start, one needs to understand “true Thai cuisine” and to look back into the history of Thai cuisine and its evolution.
Although Thailand is the only nation in Southeast Asia to have never been colonised by any foreign power, my nation has always been in the path of visiting foreign dignitaries, merchants, religious pilgrims, migrations, sparring kingdoms, and fluctuating borders. If you look at Thai cuisine as it is today, you can see influences from across the world.
Noodles were invented by the Chinese and spread throughout the world (hence Italian pasta). Chinese immigrants brought the noodle to Thailand and to this day Thais only use chopsticks (as in the Chinese tradition) when eating a Thai noodle dish.
The all-important chili used extensively in Thai cuisine was first brought to Thailand from the Americas by Portugese missionaries in the 1500s.
In the present day, when one has a somtom salad (papaya salad) in Thailand, in addition to the traditional green papaya and dried shrimp, you will also find shredded carrot and sliced tomatoes – both non-indigenous ingredients and adopted by Thais within the past 200 years.
Whether cooked in the royal kitchens of the king or on the streets, Thai cooks have long borrowed ingredients and techniques from outside cultures, absorbing them and making them their own.
Thai food is not a stagnant set of recipes and Thais have a great tradition of adopting external elements, using them in new ways, and creating something distinctly Thai.
What makes Thai cuisine so uniquely “Thai” are the flavours – the infamously bold spicy, sour, sweet, salty, and herbaceous.
In one enjoyable bite the diner finds an explosion of the majority of these five flavours. A perfect example of this is my “nueng manow” Alaskan Black Cod, which is slow poached in a hand smashed bird-eye chili lime broth.
I take the traditional spicy, sour, and herbaceous ingredient broth elements of a classic “neung manow” fish dish, and delicately poach the firm-yet-flaky flavourful Alaskan Black Cod.
One would almost never be able to find Alaskan Black Cod on any other Thai chef’s menu, but I personally feel that this type of fish tastes better, is of better quality, and stands up to the flavours of the dish, so I prefer to use this ingredient versus a local river fish as is common in Thailand.
My cuisine is still authentic Thai, but I take my lifetime of learning as a professional chef and cook to perfection with the best possible ingredients, whilst staying true to my Thai foundations.
Secondly, as any chef will tell you, it is unrealistic to think you do not have to change some elements of your menu to suit the local preferences. To give you very relevant examples – in my restaurant in New York City we only had two pork dishes on the menu as most Americans do not prefer to eat pork, especially in New York City.
At my restaurant in Barcelona, I had to have many pork dishes on the menu as the Spanish definitely enjoy their pork! But I did not “localise” my core ingredients and flavours – one bite of spicy, sour, sweet, salty and herbaceous will tell you where my heart and palate is!
An example of how I have adjusted my menu offerings for Indian diners versus in my other restaurants around the globe, is the element of vegetarian offerings.
What I have done at KoH is to expand the vegetarian offerings and let my creativity run wild in the vegetarian direction. Lastly, another major reason I believe Thai food in India does not tend to get “localised” as much as other cuisines, is due to the fact that over the centuries, Thailand has adopted many elements and influences from India.
From religion, to certain cultural customs, to the roots of certain foods – such as curry – Thais can trace these elements directly back to India.
I think the Indian diner’s palate anticipates and demands bold flavours, which Thai cuisine certainly delivers!
Novotel Visakhapatnam Varun Beach celebrates fetes local heroes
Binny Sebastian appointed as General Manager of Alila Fort Bishangarh
Ibiza The Fern Resort & Spa opens in Kolkata
MiStay raises funding from Axilor and others
WelcomHeritage introduces first farm-stay property, Ranjitvilas, Amritsar
Ishaan Malik is Front Office Manager of Conrad Pune