Spice Doctors
Filled with herbs and spices that have medicinal and therapeutic properties, a simple Thai meal can help cure many ailments
Thai food has always been one of the world's favourite cuisines. One of the most distinctive aspects of our culinary heritage is the use of herbs and spices. But the herbs have another function; besides providing flavour, they all boast medical and therapeutic benefits to varying degrees. Filled with herbs and spices, a simple Thai meal can also help cure many ailments.
Some herbs used in Thai cooking have great medicinal benefits."Thai people tend to suffer from 'wind' disorders because we live in a tropical country," said Komson Dinakara na Ayudhaya, a traditional Thai physician and a special instructor at Rangsit University's Faculty of Oriental Medicine.
"When a monsoon hits the country, low air pressure meets high air pressure and that causes wind. The Thai proverb 'lom fon ja pai, lom naw ja ma' [monsoon breeze is going away and cooling breeze is coming] is a good reflection of the relationship between Thai people and the wind.
"Simply put, when hot meets cool, wind is formed. And when we are affected by wind, we have to eat hot and spicy food in order to treat wind disorders," he said. "This concept gives a good answer to the frequently asked question why Thais enjoy hot and spicy food.
"When our ancestors got sick, they didn't go to hospital; instead, they went to the kitchen and cooked a meal that contained herbs and spices in order to fight the illness."
Hot curry helps ease headaches and runny noses.According to Komson, the Thai wisdom of eating foods as medicine has been practised for a long time. The secret to maintaining good health is to eat food that harmonises with the geographical condition of our locality as well as the season. In ancient times, housewives cooked meals for their families in accordance with the particular outside temperature, so that family members didn't get sick easily.
For instance, Thais who live in the southern peninsula are often affected by wind. That's why they enjoy food that is hot and spicy to help them combat wind disorders. Meanwhile, Thais who live in the cooler northern environment tend to be afflicted by conditions related to the respiratory system; as a result, they enjoy dishes that are sour, and many contain tomatoes. Nam phrik ong is a good example.
According to Thai medical lore, wind disorders can bring on stiffness and blockages that trigger the development of illnesses and ailments. Conditions that are caused by wind problems in the field of modern medicine include gastrointestinal discomforts, digestive disorders, dizziness and fainting as well as back and shoulder pains and pains in the neck and sprains.
"Many patients don't understand when I say that their condition involves wind or this treatment is a wind problem," he said.
"When wind is accumulated in the body, one should quickly remove it; otherwise, they may become sick. For example, when you sit for too long without changing position, it will prevent you from passing wind.
"Although blowing off can be a bit embarrassing, it's absolutely necessary for digestive health."
Komson noted that Thai cooking methods include boiling (tom), salad-mixing (yum), pounding (tam) and making soups and curries (kaeng). Thai food involves less frying or deep-frying.
Enjoy a chilli paste dipping dish with blanched veggies (naam prik pak luak ) during any meal."Some Thai people eat a lot of fried and greasy foods and then they get sick," he said, adding, "Thai people live in a hot environment so that we don't need to warm the body up like the Chinese who enjoy fried food."
People who work in an air-conditioned environment also tend to suffer from wind disorders because they experience dramatic transitions from being hot and being cool several times a day.
"They work in an office that is air-conditioned and then go out for lunch then they go back to work. Then they walk to get a car to go home and then get in a car where the environment is air-conditioned," he said.
THE HARMONY OF FOOD AND WEATHER CONDITIONS
To help people fight illnesses and promote physical well-being, Komson suggests eating food that has sourness and acerbity as well as bitter-tasting items in the morning because people wake up with phlegm and mucus in the throat.
To help get rid of the discharge, try breakfast dishes like rice porridge, spicy Thai noodles (kuay teow tom yum) and tomato soup.
"Add some vinegar to the porridge and some lime sauce to the noodles to make the dishes taste a bit acidic and sour," the expert said. To help cool the body's temperature when the hot and dry weather arrives in the afternoon, people are recommended to consume cooling fruits and vegetables including watermelons, cucumbers, squashes and morning glory (pak bung).
Bitter-tasting foods that have a mild taste can also be good options. Stay away from food that has a burning taste. Perfect lunch menus include clear soup with ivy gourd (kaeng jued tum leung) and water mimosa salad with shrimp (yum pak krachate).
It's advisable to consume something hot and spicy when the temperature starts to drop in the evening. Increased moisture and coolness in the air can cause people to become sick with headaches and runny noses. To help relieve the symptoms, go for food with strong spices that include chilli, pepper, basil, lemongrass and kra chai. Hot shrimp clear soup (tom yum kung), stir fried chicken with holy basil (pad kaprao kai) and hot curries are ideal.
In other words, enjoy vegetables and fruits as well as dishes that have opposing properties to weather conditions during the day to keep healthy.
If people enjoy Thai chilli pastes such as a dipping dish with blanched veggies (naam prik pak luak), they can have it with any meal. But adjust the pastes according to weather conditions, Komson said. Make it very sour when eaten in the morning, and make the taste milder when eaten in the afternoon. Add more chilli at dinner.
"Thai wisdom of eating foods as medicine is something to be proud of," said Komson, a sixth-generation member of the royal Dinakara family. They produce traditional herbal medicine sold at a shop owned by MR Sa-ard Dinakara, who received the recipes from his father, HSH Prince Phoonsawat Dinakara. "If people eat three meals of healing food instead of three doses of medicine, then so much the better."
Chicken in coconut soup (Tom kha kai)
Following the rainy season, the temperature tends to drop slowly and the climate can be cool. Try tom kha kai that has sourness to keep healthy.Komson's tom kha kai recipe is unlike any other. The menu is made up of fresh coconut water, making it an aromatic and naturally sweet-tasting soup; there is no need for sugar. Importantly, he doesn't use lemongrass (takrai) in his soup because the pungent smell would overcome that of the galangal.
According to authentic Thai recipes, he said, galangal (kha) isn't an ingredient in tom yum and lemongrass is not an ingredient in tom kha. Another important thing is that he suggests preparing a sauce separately to make the coconut soup tastier.
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
Add fresh coconut water and coconut milk in a pot and bring it to boil. Add the chicken, sliced galangal and mushrooms and boil on medium heat for a few minutes and wait until the chicken is cooked through.
Add some sliced tomatoes.
Mix the lime juice, tamarind juice and fish sauce together and add roughly pounded chilli.
Take the mixture out of the oven, wait for a while and then add the mixed sauce to the mixture. Stir the mixture and the sauce just once to ensure that it is well mixed.
Prepare for serving and add some coriander to the cooked soup at the very end to retain its taste.