- Thailand is in the middle of mainland Southeast Asia. It has a total size of 513,120 km2 (198,120 sq mi) which is the 50th largest in the world. The land border is 4,863 km (3,022 mi) long with Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia.
- A fertile floodplain and tropical monsoon climate, ideally suited to wet-rice (tham na) cultivation, attracted settlers to this central area in preference to the marginal uplands and the highlandsof the northern region or the Khorat Plateau to the northeast.
- By the 11th century AD, a number of loosely connected rice-growing and trading states flourished in the upper Chao Phraya Valley. They broke free from domination of the Khmer Empire, but from the middle of the 14th century gradually came under the control of the Ayutthaya Kingdomat the southern extremity of the floodplain.
- Successive capitals, built at various points along the river, became centers of great Thai kingdoms based on rice cultivation and foreign commerce. Unlike the neighboring Khmerand Burmese, the Thai continued to look outward across the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea toward foreign ports of trade.
- Northern Thailandis a mountainous Parallel mountain ranges extend from the Daen Lao Range (ทิวเขาแดนลาว), in the southern region of the Shan Hills, in a north-south direction, the Dawna Range (ทิวเขาดอยมอนกุจู) forming the western border of Thailand between Mae Hong Son and the Salween River
- The northeast, with its poor soils, is not favoured agriculturally. However, sticky rice, the staple food of the region, which requires flooded, poorly drained paddy fields, thrives and where fields can be flooded from nearby streams, rivers and ponds, often two harvests are possible each year. Cash crops such as sugar cane and maniocare cultivated on a vast scale, and to a lesser extent, rubber.
- Thai cooking places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong aromatic components and a spicy edge.
- No complicated cooking techniques or equipments were used to cook. Staple food is rice.
- Cooking techniques were influenced by the cuisines of China, India, Laos and Malaysia.
- Thai food was traditionally eaten with the right hand while seated on mats or carpets on the floor, a custom still found in the more traditional households. Today, however, most eat with a fork & spoon or Chopsticks.
THAI MEAL COMPOSITION
- Tidbits : hors d’oeuvres or starters.
- Salads : with herbal flavours and dips.
- General fare : a sweet and sour dish.
- Soups : made of beans or other foods.
- Curries : simple and complex.
- Single dishes : rice and noodles dishes.
- Dessert : sweets or fruits.
They have the custom of serving foods with bread and wine is had with the food.
FAMOUS DISHES
- Khanomchin, freshly made Thai rice noodles.
- Khaoniao(sticky rice), served with somtam (papaya salad) andkaiyang (grilled chicken) as part of a typical Isanmeal.
- SomTam saladis a spicy salad made from shredded unripeRaw papaya.
- Red curry kaengphet, (lit: spicy soup) is a popular Thai dish consisting of red curry paste cooked in coconut milk and added with meat; such as chicken, beef, pork, duck or shrimp, or tofu.
- Green curry kaeng khiao wan-(lit: sweet green curry) is a Central Thai variety of curry. The name “green” curry derives from the color of the dish, which comes from green chillies.
- Tom Yum Soup -A famous Thai, clear, spicy and sour soup.
- FOR MORE INFO GO TO THE LINK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Thailand