Report from bangkok Post dated 26 August 2012 :-
They started getting to know southern Thai-style dishes about 40 years ago. These foods first appeared in Thon Buri, the ones that caught on first being kaeng tai pla (an extremely spicy curry made from fermented fish innards), kaeng lueang (another fiery dish, this one a variant of Central Thai kaeng som), phat sataw kap kapi sai kung (a stir-fry made from a strong-smelling bean with kapi and shrimp), pork or shrimp phat khem wan (prepared as a salty-sweet stir-fry) and pla het khon thawt khamin (a type of sea fish fried with turmeric). What people liked about these dishes was their intense spiciness. Compared in terms of chilli heat, the spiciest central Thai dishes were kindergarteners while the southern recipes had PhDs.
Those super-spicy tastes added bright new colours to the flavour spectrum. The hot southern dishes broke the routine of central Thai food day in, day out. They also came accompanied by many fresh vegetables, which were good for you if you ate a lot of them. People noticed that, even though they might not eat southern food every day, if they stayed away from it for too long, they missed it.
With time, southern food became available throughout the country. In the North it was sold in Chiang Mai, and there were restaurants that served it in the major cities of Isan. Initially it was sold by cooks from the local southern Thai association - workers from the South who migrate to other parts of the country like to form associations that serve as centres where they can meet, and southern food is often sold there.
At the same time, central Thai food began to spread to the North and to Isan. The reason was the same as that for the spread of southern food to Bangkok - it was a welcome change from the usual fare. For one thing, coconut cream was not used in northern or Isan cooking. When people tasted the central Thai curries made with coconut cream they found them delicious in a new way. Another thing was that central Thai curries were often made with snakehead fish or with salted fish. At that time snakehead was considered a delicacy in the North and salted sea fish was a tasty novelty. What's more, curry and rice was a simple, one-dish meal, and most train and bus stations would have a stall that sold this kind of Central Region food for a low price.
CURRY SHOPS: Offer convenience to both vendors and their customers.
In southern Thailand, almost 100% of the good restaurants are curry and rice shops that serve southern dishes. They differ from each other somewhat depending on whether the province in which they are located is predominantly Muslim or Chinese. A Muslim shop, for example, will offer mutton curry and chicken biryani, but will also serve kaeng lueang and khua kling nuea (an intensely spicy chopped beef dish). Chinese shops in places like Phuket and Songkhla will sell Chinese-style tom jap chai but also khua kling, phat phet kraduk mu (a spicy pork bone stir-fry) and kaeng tai pla.
The Central Region is still the home of its traditional foods like kaeng khio wan luk chin pla krai (kaeng khio wan made with balls of pounded fish meat), kaeng som made with a variety of different vegetables, phanaeng mu (a thick and rich, pork curry-like dish made with coconut cream), phat phet pla duk and haw mok (fish meat and herbs steamed in spicy curried coconut custard). Some provinces have special local dishes. Kanchanaburi, for example, has kaeng pa (a very spicy curry made without coconut cream) made with either fish or beef, and phat phet mu pa (a hot stir-fry made with the meat of the wild boar). Rayong has kaeng mu kap bai chamuang (a mild, sweet pork curry made with the crunchy leaf of a local tree), and Chanthaburi has phat phet mu kap ngao krawan (a spicy pork stir-fry with tender cardamom roots) and kaeng mu kap bai chamuang. All are signature dishes of their respective provinces.
There are quite a few good southern restaurants in the Central Region, with about 40% of them in Bangkok. Outside of the capital they are harder to find, limited to a restaurant or two per province.
In the North and in Isan they are quite widespread. There are a number of them in Lampang, Payao, Nan and Phitsanulok, and even the smaller provinces boast a few restaurants that offer southern dishes. In provinces like Maha Sarakham and Mukdahan in Isan, shops that sell southern dishes are as prominent as the ones that offer Central Region dishes. There is one special restaurant in Nakhon Phanom that mixes Central Region dishes with Lao and Vietnamese recipes.
When you take a nationwide view of current tastes of curry shop dishes, it is possible to get an idea of what lies in store for the future. Recipes from the Central Region and from the South have won the hearts of Thais in every part of the country. The most popular Central Region dishes are kaeng khio wan luk chin pla kraim haw mok, thawt man (deep-fried patties made from pounded, seasoned fish or shrimp), phat phet pla duk, phanaeng nuea and phalo dishes (duck, goose, or other meats stewed with aromatic Chinese spices). The southern favourites are kaeng tai pla, khua kling mu and kaeng lueang.
All signs point to the fact that foods of this kind will remain popular for a long time.
Thais everywhere are craving the fiery heat of southern cooking these days - so much so that cooks may find that they have to up the chilli content of Central Region dishes, too.
Some like it hot: Southern cuisine fires up kingdom
Chefs nationwide and in Bangkok in particular are finding they need to turn up the heat as diners demand the spiciness of Southern cuisine
Decades back, people in Bangkok were used to eating curries and other dishes of the kind that originated in the Central Region, and felt no need to look any further. Some of the basic ones were kaeng som pla chon (a sour-sweet, slightly spicy, soup-like dish made with snakehead fish) with phak boong or some other fresh vegetable on the side, kaeng phet kai or kaeng phet mu (a spicy, red, coconut cream-based curry made with chicken or pork), kaeng khio wan nuea (another spicy, coconut cream curry, made with beef), phat phet pla duk (a spicy catfish stir-fry), pla chon phat khueang kaeng (snakehead fish stir-fried with spicy seasonings), pork or shrimp fried with garlic and pepper, kaeng lieng (a spicy, vegetable soup-like dish), tom yam, yam dishes (salads made hot and sour with chilli and lime) and all kinds of nam phrik (chilli-dip sauces eaten with vegetables and fish).
They started getting to know southern Thai-style dishes about 40 years ago. These foods first appeared in Thon Buri, the ones that caught on first being kaeng tai pla (an extremely spicy curry made from fermented fish innards), kaeng lueang (another fiery dish, this one a variant of Central Thai kaeng som), phat sataw kap kapi sai kung (a stir-fry made from a strong-smelling bean with kapi and shrimp), pork or shrimp phat khem wan (prepared as a salty-sweet stir-fry) and pla het khon thawt khamin (a type of sea fish fried with turmeric). What people liked about these dishes was their intense spiciness. Compared in terms of chilli heat, the spiciest central Thai dishes were kindergarteners while the southern recipes had PhDs.
Those super-spicy tastes added bright new colours to the flavour spectrum. The hot southern dishes broke the routine of central Thai food day in, day out. They also came accompanied by many fresh vegetables, which were good for you if you ate a lot of them. People noticed that, even though they might not eat southern food every day, if they stayed away from it for too long, they missed it.
With time, southern food became available throughout the country. In the North it was sold in Chiang Mai, and there were restaurants that served it in the major cities of Isan. Initially it was sold by cooks from the local southern Thai association - workers from the South who migrate to other parts of the country like to form associations that serve as centres where they can meet, and southern food is often sold there.
At the same time, central Thai food began to spread to the North and to Isan. The reason was the same as that for the spread of southern food to Bangkok - it was a welcome change from the usual fare. For one thing, coconut cream was not used in northern or Isan cooking. When people tasted the central Thai curries made with coconut cream they found them delicious in a new way. Another thing was that central Thai curries were often made with snakehead fish or with salted fish. At that time snakehead was considered a delicacy in the North and salted sea fish was a tasty novelty. What's more, curry and rice was a simple, one-dish meal, and most train and bus stations would have a stall that sold this kind of Central Region food for a low price.
CURRY SHOPS: Offer convenience to both vendors and their customers.In southern Thailand, almost 100% of the good restaurants are curry and rice shops that serve southern dishes. They differ from each other somewhat depending on whether the province in which they are located is predominantly Muslim or Chinese. A Muslim shop, for example, will offer mutton curry and chicken biryani, but will also serve kaeng lueang and khua kling nuea (an intensely spicy chopped beef dish). Chinese shops in places like Phuket and Songkhla will sell Chinese-style tom jap chai but also khua kling, phat phet kraduk mu (a spicy pork bone stir-fry) and kaeng tai pla.
The Central Region is still the home of its traditional foods like kaeng khio wan luk chin pla krai (kaeng khio wan made with balls of pounded fish meat), kaeng som made with a variety of different vegetables, phanaeng mu (a thick and rich, pork curry-like dish made with coconut cream), phat phet pla duk and haw mok (fish meat and herbs steamed in spicy curried coconut custard). Some provinces have special local dishes. Kanchanaburi, for example, has kaeng pa (a very spicy curry made without coconut cream) made with either fish or beef, and phat phet mu pa (a hot stir-fry made with the meat of the wild boar). Rayong has kaeng mu kap bai chamuang (a mild, sweet pork curry made with the crunchy leaf of a local tree), and Chanthaburi has phat phet mu kap ngao krawan (a spicy pork stir-fry with tender cardamom roots) and kaeng mu kap bai chamuang. All are signature dishes of their respective provinces.
There are quite a few good southern restaurants in the Central Region, with about 40% of them in Bangkok. Outside of the capital they are harder to find, limited to a restaurant or two per province.
In the North and in Isan they are quite widespread. There are a number of them in Lampang, Payao, Nan and Phitsanulok, and even the smaller provinces boast a few restaurants that offer southern dishes. In provinces like Maha Sarakham and Mukdahan in Isan, shops that sell southern dishes are as prominent as the ones that offer Central Region dishes. There is one special restaurant in Nakhon Phanom that mixes Central Region dishes with Lao and Vietnamese recipes.
When you take a nationwide view of current tastes of curry shop dishes, it is possible to get an idea of what lies in store for the future. Recipes from the Central Region and from the South have won the hearts of Thais in every part of the country. The most popular Central Region dishes are kaeng khio wan luk chin pla kraim haw mok, thawt man (deep-fried patties made from pounded, seasoned fish or shrimp), phat phet pla duk, phanaeng nuea and phalo dishes (duck, goose, or other meats stewed with aromatic Chinese spices). The southern favourites are kaeng tai pla, khua kling mu and kaeng lueang.
All signs point to the fact that foods of this kind will remain popular for a long time.
Thais everywhere are craving the fiery heat of southern cooking these days - so much so that cooks may find that they have to up the chilli content of Central Region dishes, too.