We all know the dishes. What are their origins and how did they evolve?
WE ALL KNOW THE DISHES. WHAT ARE THEIR ORIGINS AND HOW DID THEY EVOLVE?
EVENTUALLY SOMEONE ADDED NOODLES TO THE CHINESE’S BOILED COW OFFAL, AND THAT BECAME BEEF NOODLE SOUP
Knowing what you eat is not merely knowing where you indulge in good food. But you should have some knowledge about the background and development of the dishes you are eating — where they originated, whether they’re better or worse than the original, etc. There are a few basic dishes we eat quite often in our daily life. Let’s get to know some of them.
Khao man gai was brought to Thailand by the Hainanese, who migrated from China’s Hainan province. Hainan was internationally recognised for its superb
khao man gai (chicken rice). In Hunan’s Wengchang district, people raised a native breed chicken widely known as Wengchang chicken. This breed was famous for its tender and savoury meat, thick and soft skin. The Hainanese had a special method for cooking rice to be eaten with chicken. When the chicken was boiled, the fat floated to the top. The fat was then used for frying raw rice with some garlic and salt before being cooked in a broth that the chicken had been cooked in to make khao man.
When first arriving in Thailand, the Hainanese migrants still carried on the Hainanese chicken rice tradition and used Thai native chickens. However, the birds were lean and had strong muscles. Their flesh quality and tenderness was far from the authentic Hainanese chicken. The Hainanese came up with a technique to castrate the male native chicken so that they built up fat and their flesh became tenderer. The birds’ testicles were removed and the birds were reared individually in narrow cages so that the birds could barely move. Overly fed, the birds became heavy and fat. The meat became tender and tastier when boiled. This was the origin of Hainanese capon chicken rice (khao man gai tawn hailam). In the past the capon was reserved for paying homage to ancestors during the Chinese New Year festival. The caponised chickens were expensive and hard to find. Thus, there were only a few places selling chicken rice using the authentic gai tawn, as it was almost impossible to make profits.
Currently, poultry farms use special formula feeds to fatten the birds and enhance their meat to become tender, similar to the original gai tawn. It can be said that all
khao man gai shops nowadays use farmraised chicken as the caponised are almost non-existent.
Pad thai has evolved over time. In the past, pad thai was made by frying thin rice noodles (sen lek) with shallots and some water. When the noodle became softened, other ingredients including vinegar, sugar, fish sauce, chopped pickled radish, sliced tofu, small dried shrimps, duck egg, bean sprout and chive were added. The dish was served with sliced citric fruits such as mango, star fruit or madan. Fresh vegetables, eg banana flower, bai bua bok and Chinese chives were served, too. At present, pad thai is prepared by using pre-made sauce, which is a mixture of tamarind juice, sugar and fish sauce. Fresh prawns are added instead of dried shrimps, pickled radish and tofu. When done, the noodle is placed on a thin crêpe-like layer of egg and wrapped. This is called pad thai hor kai. No citric fruit or fresh vegetable is served any more.
Kuay tio nuea (rice noodles with beef ) has been adapted from boiled cow offal, a cheap menu eaten by a large number of migrant Chinese workers in Chinatown around a century ago. Homeless and desperate, they only ate the cheapest food, which was boiled pig or cow offal with steamed rice. Peddlers sold the food in front of an opium den, where many labourers went to sleep at night after eating dinner. Later someone added noodles to the boiled cow offal and that became beef noodle soup.
The early version of beef noodle soup was made by boiling cow offal and some low-grade beef until very soft and tender. This was later known as kuay tio nuea puei.
The original kuay tio ruea (boat noodle) was unique in its presentation. Thinly sliced beef was put on a block of ice placed on a woven bamboo sheet, with a large bowl placed underneath to gather the drippings. The collected drips were then added into the boiling broth. The addition of drippings and constant meat scalding made the broth thicker and tastier. Up to the present, beef noodles have adapted greatly. Different shops offer different recipes, most of which carry no trace of the original.
Pla duk (catfish), be it saltwater or freshwater catfish, has a lot of slime and a strong fishy smell. Therefore, cooking kaeng pla duk requires a lot of herbs to obscure the unpleasant smell. Curry paste for making
kaeng pla duk is prepared using a combination of intensely flavoured herbs and spices — namely krachai (aromatic rhizome), galangal, baby pepper corn, sweet basil, chilli and aubergine. Southern-style
kaeng pla duk adds cumin and mint leaves to oppress the smell and level up spiciness.
Sukiyaki, which originated in Japan, showed up in Thailand many years ago. Japanese restaurants replaced Japanese ingredients with locally available materials such as tofu, vermicelli, Chinese cabbage, beef and egg. Similar to sukiyaki was the
pad haeng hailam made by the Hainanese.
Pad haeng hailam’s ingredients included vermicelli, Chinese cabbage, celery, spring onion, dok mai jeen (moonflower) and tofu skin. Both are stir-fried dishes.
Pad hailam with soup is called suki nam, the name clearly borrowed from sukiyaki. Suki haeng (suki without soup) and
suki nam (with soup) have become so popular that more and more local food shops offer the dishes, with some further adaptations. More varieties of vegetable, eg morning glory, celery, spring onion and more choices of meat offered. Savoury sauce with hot, sour and sweet flavour is made, in addition to the original pickled bean curd dipping.
Kaeng ho is a northern dish created in Buddhist temples. This was because the amount of food collected by monks during the morning alms round was greater than the monks and others could finish. With no refrigerator, that food could go bad very quickly with the sour taste started as an evident sign of spoilage. People who were close to the monks tried their best to preserve the food by mixing all dishes together and frying them until most of the liquid evaporated. However, the mild sourness remained. This became kaeng ho, which was a mixture of everything — curry with eggplant, chilli, grilled chicken, roasted pork, vermicelli, string beans, cha phlu leaf, and so on.
The kaeng ho cooked for sale can use almost any kind of vegetable. The compulsory ingredients comprise chilli, vermicelli and fermented bamboo shoots for sourness, a signature taste of the dish.
Such culinary adaptations took place over time according to changing circumstances. If you are knowledgeable about the dishes on the table, you will enjoy eating even more.