Culinary trail leads to cultural awareness | Bangkok Post: lifestyle

You don't know Thai food if you think it's just green curry and tom yum gung spicy shrimp soup, and you won't ever know it if you eat only in Bangkok restaurants, no matter how fancy and how varied their menus. For food is culture and Thai cuisine is a living art. It is also a sacred offering because each dish manifests gratitude to Mother Nature for what she has endowed local environments.

Each region, province and town has its own distinct culinary gems waiting to delight visitors. But with the pervasive invasion of mass-market, industrialised food, we need to become aware of the locals' way of life and their challenges so that we can help them keep their culinary traditions alive.

This is why a group of culinary buffs led by former prime minister Anand Panyarachun took off on the Culinary Wander (Talon Kin) Tour to Rayong and Chanthaburi recently to explore the cooking arts of Thailand's eastern coast. Acting as honorary guide was seasoned actor Nirut Sirichanya, who has made Chanthaburi his home.

Thaveeratana Leelanuja and Nirut Sirichanya.

Organised by the Siam Cement Group to survey Thailand's diverse local cuisines and to document them for future reference, the culinary adventure started in Rayong, where Mr Anand opened his residence to showcase a wide array of local delicacies. These included squid in black sweet sauce, spicy prawn dipping sauce, grilled stringray, bean sprout salad, fish dumplings with noodles and the famous eastern Thai dish, pork curry with sour chamuang leaves. Chamaung trees are abundant along the eastern coast.

The next two days of the culinary journey featured the best of Chanthaburi and went well beyond its famous fresh seafood. Home of forest herbs and spices, Chanthaburi is known for its cardamom. The showcased delicacies included cardamom dishes such as spicy stir-fried fish and clear chicken soup with cardamom roots giving the dish a distinctive fragrance.

As an ancient port city, many of Chanthaburi's favourite dishes show the influence of other cultures, such as a sweet and sour soup that reveals Vietnamese roots.

Chanthaburi's herbs have also produced many unique dishes such as moo riang noodles with aromatic herbs and spices and pad thai fried noodles Chanthaburi style with sweet red sauce and fresh prawns. The province also boasts a rich variety of chilli dips that go with fresh native greens and herbs.

Samrong juice, made from native plants, has a cooling effect, while mangosteen juice is known for its antioxidant properties. Both of these juices have become famous far beyond this peaceful coastal town.But despite a generally bucolic pace, the locals have their worries, as revealed during the "food-for-thought" sessions held during the tour.

Some Chanthaburi dishes.

The export rush, for example, has eroded the quality of various fruits, while most small orchard owners are finding it difficult to carry on because of exploitation from the middlemen, high investment costs and the unpredictable weather of late.

"The reason we are able to survive now is because we have other back-up jobs," said Nirut, who supplements his orchard earnings with acting work.

Many herbs crucial for native dishes have been threatened by deforestation. And while the value of forest herbs and spices is waiting to be discovered and economically harnessed, the people who know Chanthaburi's forests best, the ethnic Chong people, are fast losing their roots. The language that holds the key to their ancient knowledge has become nearly extinct.

The conclusion is unmistakable. To preserve local culinary arts, we also need to preserve local cultures and the natural environment.

Bolstered by the good news that the Chong people are actively reviving their cultural identity and language, the culinary tour ended on a high note with the Master Chef-style cooking contest on the beach. Chalaluck Bunnag exhibited the same serious attention he gives to his business activities in winning the contest. But the popular choice went to _ who else _ Nirut. Not for his charm, which still makes women swoon, insisted the judges, but for being most true to the essence of the culinary wander tour in his use of local ingredients.

The winning team: From left, Torroong Jarungidanan, Chalaluck Bunnag Nidhi Eoseewong and Suchada Chakpisuth. and Khunying Supatra Masdit. PHOTOS:SANITSUDA EKACHAI