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The delicate
flavours
of
Royal Thai
cuisine Tongue on
fire? Well, you’re probably savour-ing the delights of hot and
spicy Thai food. Northern style, Southern style, Isan style.
The great variety of dishes, delicately flavoured with herbs,
spices and curries, has driven international gourmets into a
feeding frenzy.
Be they for
tourists or locals, thousands of restaurants serving exotic
Thai cuisine have sprung up all over the world in response to
the demand for such dishes as tom yam kung (hot and spicy
prawn soup), tom ka gai (coconut milk soup with chicken), pad
Thai (Thai style fried noodles), and kratong thor (mince pork
in pastry cups).
Despite cartoons
of diners pouring icy water down burning throats, eating Thai
food never has to be an ordeal by fire. Take, for instance,
the little known Royal Thai cuisine – dishes prepared for
royal families and nodles over the centuries, which rely on
delicate flavours, hints of spices, and presentation to please
the royal palates. 
Every cook seems
to have a secret recipe, passed down the generations from
father to son. These are from chefs who once worked in the
royal kitchens, they learnt these wondrous dishes from master
chefs themselves. Many of these dishes can be
found on the
menus of good Thai restaurants, if you know what to look
for. Here are some recommendations for afficianados who would
like to taste them:
Saeng Wa
(Grilled Shrimp Salad)
Served as a snack or
with rice, saeng wa features grilled prawns served with
crisply fried catfish in a Thai-style salad. The flavour is
sweet and sour, salty and hot.
Miang
Kham
A snack which requires a little patience.
The dish is served as little portions of salty dried shrimp,
peanuts, diced ginger, red onions, lime pieces, and toasted
shredded coconut together with wild betel leaves. Fold one
betel leaf into a cone, and mix in the ingredients to suit
your taste. Add a spoonful of sweet brown sauce and pop into
the mouth. Small chillies can be chewed with it, for those who
prefer some added zest.
Tom Klong
Pla Salid
If you like tom yam kung, then this
is for you. A clear, tasty, hot and sweetly sour fish soup,
which is flavoured with tamarind juice and leaves.
Musulman
This thick, orangybrown
curry is flavoured with coconut milk, potatoes and nuts,
giving a sweet and sometimes salty taste.
Musulman is
simmered over a low fire until the meat (beef or chicken) is
tender, absorbing the coconut milk and spices. Served with
rice, it is not hot.
Khai Wan
Khai Khem
A dessert served since the reign of
King Chulalongkorn. Khai Wan means sweet egg while Khai Khem
means salted egg. This dish ses only the egg yolk, which is
not so salty, and has a creamy taste. The egg is cooked in a
syrup with coconut milk, and coconut 
slices, and served topped with
shredded ginger. The ginger aids digestion. Royal Thai cuisine
offers an unusual style and flavour, with many more dishes
than the few mentioned here. Try one of these dishes next time
you go to a Thai restaurant, and taste the delicate flavours
for yourself.
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