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Chao Wang Food:

(Food Prepared for Royal or High-Class Families)

The food which is prepared for Royal family members or of the high-class people is different from that of the ordinary people. The Chao Wang food has its own delicate cooking; for example, Khieo Wan Kai must have only chicken meat without any bones, whereas the ordinary people's Khieo Wan Kai contains with chicken both of meat and bones. The Chao Wang Namprig has beautifully carved vegeytables, side by side, to take with.

Some Bits about Thai Food:

Thai food is a Thai national symbol. It reveals the characteristics of the Thai people: their delicate taste, discipline, rules of conduct, artistic taste and human relationship. Thai food has its unique name with pr'cis meaning of feature, flavor or the methods of cooking, Tong Yip and Foi Thong are examples of Thai sweets in this case. To understand causes and effects of Thai food cooking is to achieve.

To preserve the Thai nationality, the learners of how to cook Thai food should both keep Thai national values of the past and also accept any new ones.

Thai Food of Each Festival:

Thai food is cooked in agreement with Thai festivals organized according to Thai religious customs.

The fifth Month (April):

The old Thai New Year is celebrated in this month of April (between April 13 and April 15). To relieve the hot weather in the summer month, the dainty Khao Chae, (-a luncheon dish which includes rice served in scented water with jasmine and rose petals, and with seven or eight side dishes-), is used to serve monks, relatives and friends in the merit-making occasion. Kaaraamae (a Thai caramel) is made as well as Khao Niew Dang (Sweetened red glutinous rice) to give among friends and relatives.

The Sixth, Seventh, Eighth Months:

The Eighth Month (July) is in the rainy season and the Buddhist Lent. Fruits are in abundance so they are preserved in many techniques of cooking: stirring, or cooking as well as soaking in thick syrup. Durian Guan, Kluai Guan, Kluai Taak, Sabparod Guan are examples. Fully ripe chillies are sundried for the needed time. Fully ripe and sour tamarind is pitted, sprinkled with salt, pasted and preserved for the coming days. Fishes which are also plentiful, are sundried or grilled, for the next days.

In these months, Thai people do their merit-making at the temple. They offer foods to the monks in the form called 'Salaag Puut', that is, the monks are offered foods by drawing slots. The baskets offered to the monks, contain with both fresh and dried foods. The people, offering foods to the monks, are very exited to see who is going to get their basket by drawing lots.

The Eighth Month is also the time for young Thai males to enter the monkhood. Folks helps bringing foods and sweets to join the occasion. The foods are of various kinds with ingredients of vegetables, fishes, coconut or sugar. One example of these is Yam Kamoei cooked with any food stuff found at hand but delicious with its sauce made with crunched, red chillies, garlic, vinegar, fish soy, lime and sugar.

Main dishes are often many kinds of curries and lon (a kind of sauce served with raw vegetables). For the funeral, Plara Lon(a sauce made with fishes which are fermented by salted and roasted rice) and foods with noodle-ingredients are avoided because of Thai superstition of death prolongation.

The Ninth Month (August):

The Ninth Month is the most favorable month for wedding ceremony, new house merit making, and age meritorious performing. Favorite Thai sweets, symbolized fortunes and honors, Khanom Chaan (sweetened, light color pudding with many layers) and Khaaw Niew Kaew (sweetened, glassy glutinous rice) are favorably cooked.

The Tenth Month (September):

The Tenth Month (September) is the month for Sart Thai Festival.

Krajaa Sart (sweetened, forested, and popped rice mixed with peanuts and sesames ) and Khaaw Yaa Koo(a cake made of sugar boiled with water received from crunched young rice grains) are popular sweets.

The Eleventh, Twelfth Monts:

The Eleventh Month (October) and the Twelfth Month (November) are months of Krathin Ceremony (the offering of Krathin Cloths to the monks) and Oogpaansaa (the outing of the Buddihist Lent ). Khaaw Tom Paad (glutinous rice wrapped by banana or bamboo leaves cooked by steaming ) are offered to the monks in this festival. Other favorite foods are rice cooked and wrapped in lotus or banana leaves accompanied by fried food such as Paad Prig Khing, dried curries, Namprig Makaam Paad, Namprig Makaam Piak and Namprig Taa Dang including salted food as salted meat and salted eggs, along with vegetables plucked along the way.

The Fist Lunar Month (Dyan Aaai or January)

The Fist Lunar Month (Dyan Aaai or January) of the old days was full of shrimps in the canal. Tha main ingredients of food in this month, then, were shrimps.