What Country in the world has the best food?
What Country in the world has the best food?
Which country has the best food? (That I like the most?!) It's a toss up between Indian and Thai. I enjoy both a lot - hot and spicy as well as spiced, not hot. This aspect of both the cuisines cannot be expected to appeal to everyone. Just as cheese and dairy don't appeal universally. They are cuisines native to the countries with a very long history behind them.
After a think back to experiences in Thailand (stretching from the south to north of Chiengrai), the UK and travels within western Europe, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, China, Australia, Singapore, Thai food stands out as the most distinctive, a cuisine creatively crafted to stand on its own as "Thai cuisine" - enriched with historical influences from India, China and Indochine neighbours.
My Indian food experience is largely confined to Malaysia, where there's a sizeable Malaysian Indian presence (pop: 2mil+). The food however is entirely authentic and generally of a very high standard. They are traditional dishes, don't need to tweak to cater for locals of any ethnicity.
Malaysian cuisine is "rojak" - like the popular mixed salad created by Indian Muslims? The country is multiethnic; mainly cuisines of the Malay, Indian, Chinese, and large ethnic groups in East Malaysia. As if that's not enough, there is also the much-loved fusion cuisine of the Peranakan Chinese, (Straits-born Chinese; descendants of Chinese immigrants who came to the Malay archipelago). All good cuisines no doubt - traditional gastronomy of the various groups of people that is Malaysia.
A few Thai creations:
Mieng Kham is the ultimate appetizer! Fun to eat, healthy to boot, it's a one-bite food wrap that screams Thai flavours. Condiments: diced fresh young ginger, fresh sliced chillies, toasted/roasted shredded coconut, fresh limes with rind, roasted peanuts, diced shallots and dried shrimps - pinch a little of each onto a betel leaf (wild pepper) wrap/fold, add a dollop of the incredible sauce and pop the whole wrap into your mouth - feel the magic happening in your palate!
Fireworks of flavours popping inside the mouth: sweet, sour, tart, bitter, savoury, chilli heat and crunch. Out of this world!
Phat Thai
Introduced in the 1930s by Chinese-traders during the Ayutthaya reign, this plate of thin rice noodles stir-fried with egg, tofu and shrimp, and seasoned with fish sauce, sugar, tamarind, vinegar and dried chilli has become the culinary poster-boy of Thai cuisine.
Papaya Salad (Som Tam)
Toss shredded unripe papaya, cherry tomatoes, fresh green beans in a mixture of sweet, sour, spicy and tangy sauces. You'll experience a crunchy firm bite of the unripened papaya fruit that creates a savoury flavour to the dish, rather than sweet.
Tom Yam Kung
The prawn version of tom yam soups is extremely popular. Thanks to the meticulous combination of spices to make the broth. Succulent prawns in the tart/spicy soup impart an extraordinary fusion of flavours - very addictive, very Thai.
Thai Fish Cakes with Red Curry Paste
Kaffir lime leaves and wing beans (or green beans) enliven this Thai fish cake made from the fleshy Featherback Fish. Deep-fried and scented with sweet basil leaves, the fish cakes is a savoury snack on its own or as one of meal dishes.
Thai Green Curry with Beef
Gaeng Kiaw Wan literally means 'sweet green curry' - a lovely mildly spicy dish using fresh green Thai chili peppers in the curry paste with beef or chicken. So good with steamed Thai Jasmine rice.
Thai Red Curry with Roasted Duck
Trust the Thais to go Chinatown with this - Red Curry with Roasted Duck is popular in Thai restaurant overseas, not so much at home. I love the boldness to dunk roast duck meat into a spicy curry to infuse flavour - clever!
Pandan Chicken Wrap
I'm quite positive it's a Peranakan idea (no intention to start a quarrel). Anyway the chicken goes through marinating in Thai cilantro root, garlic, and white peppercorn then wrapped in oh-so fragrant wild pandan leaves (screwpine). The leaves impart their delicate aroma to the chicken as well as keeping them moist and juicy tasty.
Thai Sticky Rice with Mango
It's all about the rice. Soaked for several hours then steamed over a pot of boiling water with a traditional Thai steamer basket (best-practice here). After it's cooked, add coconut milk mixed with a pinch of sugar and salt - a bath for every grain of rice to absorb the sweet-salty coconut sauce. The rest is yummy!
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