
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) early Wednesday morning listed tom yum kung, a Thai spicy prawn soup, as one of Thailand’s intangible cultural heritages.
Culture Minister Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol said the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (IGC-ICH) of the Unesco resolved to include tom yum kung in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The resolution was reached in Asuncion, Paraguay, at 4.10pm on Tuesday local time, or 2.10am on Wednesday Thailand time.
Four of Thailand’s cultural heritages have already been listed as humanity’s intangible cultural heritages, namely Khon mask dance, Nora dance, Thai massage and the Songkran festival.
"Tom yum kung reflects the lifestyle of Thai people," Ms Sudawan said. "It is a dish of people in riverside agricultural communities in the Central Plains. Its ingredients come from local resources and local people turn them into healthy food."
To make tom yum kung, prawns are cooked in boiled water mixed with herbal vegetables that locals grow at home, such as galangal, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves, she said.
"The soup's lead taste is sour from lime, followed by saltiness from salt or fish sauce, spiciness from chilli, sweetness from prawns and a slight bitterness from the herbs," the minister said.
Tom yum kung is an internationally popular dish and an important soft power food item of Thailand, she said.