CUISINES OF THE GREATER MEKONG SUBREGION
Delectable Similarities. Delicious Diversity

Fresh market, Rangoon Photo © Dominic Faulder

Beyond geographic proximity, the countries that form the fertile Greater Mekong Subregion share a common cultural heritage.

The peoples of Myanmar (Burma), Laos, China’s southern province of Yunnan, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand pursue agrarian lives dedicated to rice, fruit and vegetable cultivation, as well as fishing. All have been culturally and socially influenced in varying degrees by their neighbours.

The cuisines of the countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion have more in common than is often perceived. Consider basic ingredients, for example. A list of standard Burmese ingredients includes chilli peppers, curry paste, dried shrimp, fish sauce, garlic, lemon, lemon grass, onions, rice, salt, shrimp paste, tamarind and tumeric. All are equally prevalent in Thai, Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese kitchens.

Glutinous rice Photo© TAT

Fish sauce, a liquid salt substitute made from small fish fermented in brine, is indispensable in Thailand where it is known as nam pla. In Cambodia, fish sauce is known as prahoc, in Vietnam nuoc mam. Fish sauce is a vital component of spicy hot Laotian food.

Rice forms the region’s staple diet and is steamed, boiled or fried. Glutinous rice is more popular in Laos and Thailand’s Northeast (or I-san). For a change in menu, equally delectable rice noodles – in a soup or fried – are happily enjoyed throughout the region.

Photo© TAT

These exceptionally healthy and balanced cuisines feature similar indigenous herbs and spices that have long been honoured for their therapeutic properties for conditions as disparate as blood pressure, high cholesterol and indigestion. Japanese researchers recently reported on the anti-carcinogenic properties of certain Thai soups, notably the popular tom yum.

Many more interesting parallels can be found in cooking techniques.

Haw mok Thai-style Fish Souffle Photo© TAT Please click to expand

Haw mok -- a traditional, Thai home-cooked dish, featuring similar ingredients to its Cambodian counterpart, derives from folk cuisine and is readily available at any Thai outdoor market upcountry. It is equally popular in urban areas. Refined seafood versions use prawn or crab. Amok -- fish with coconut cream steamed in banana leaf – is one of Cambodia’s national dishes.

Khao soy Please click to expand

Hang Le Curry Photo © TAT

Mildly curried noodles are popular all over Burma. Thai variants of these are known as khao soy and are a must try for all visitors to northern Thailand. Indeed this wonderfully sophisticated creation was rated by a prominent regional magazine as one of the world’s top twenty dishes. Their many similarities notwithstanding, these national cuisines are equally noteworthy for their subtle differences.

Each country enjoys a distinctive cuisine. Myanmar is a prime example. In their practice of Buddhist beliefs, the Burmese avoid the consumption of large mammals and make scant use of beef or pork. Their mild curry-based dishes mostly feature seafood, chicken and mutton and often have an intriguing smoky quality. The national staple is steamed rice served with mild curries made with vegetables, chicken, fish or seafood. Ngapi, a fish or shrimp paste, flavours many dishes. Mohinga combines rice noodles with lightly curried yellow fish soup and is probably the most popular national dish. Thok is a popular fruit and vegetable salad.

Laotian food is by far the spiciest regional cuisine, and inspires an almost identical counterpart across the Mekong River throughout I-san, neighbouring Thailand’s northeastern plateau region. The staple Laotian diet is glutinous rice. In wilder parts, this is still consumed with dishes containing wild plants and insects, such as fried large red ants, which are not to be missed and taste somewhat like crisp bacon. Larb is a spicy mixture of raw or marinated meat, usually pork, chicken or fish. It is served with uncooked green vegetables, and is one of the national dishes of Laos. Other dishes include spicy hot papaya salads and grilled chicken, which are equally popular throughout Thailand. Besides chillies and fish sauce, the one element that gives Laotian food its distinctive flavour and aroma is pla daek, to some an odoriferous result of fermented freshwater fish. Pla daek is similarly cherished all over Thailand’s Northeast and has a specific Cambodian equivalent.

Food in Yunnan province varies across its three main regions. The crisp mountainous climate of the far north inspires a diet of dried meats, vegetables and dairy products. This includes cheese which is otherwise almost unheard of in Chinese cuisine. Southeastern Yunnan produces the most recognizably ‘Chinese’ food. The two most popular dishes are stewed chicken flavoured with medicinal herbs, and ‘Crossing-the-Bridge’ noodles, an individualised hotpot of oily chicken stock, noodles, shredded meats and vegetables. Chilli powders and spices are added according to one’s personal taste. As one would expect, Southwest Yunnan has much Burmese-influenced food. This includes a wide variety of stews, soups and curries, utilising such ingredients as tumeric, coconut, palm sugar and cloves – considered ‘uncharacteristic’ of Chinese cuisine in general.

Vietnamese Spring rolls

Pho

Vietnamese cuisine owes its distinctiveness in part to Chinese influences. Thanks to a coastline running the full length of the country, it makes copious use of fresh seafood of the highest quality. Vietnamese food’s original and subtle flavours are conjured from mint, coriander, lemon grass, shrimps, fish sauce, ginger, black pepper, garlic, basil, vinegar, sugar and green onions. Favoured dishes include the immensely popular pho beef noodle soup, seafood noodles, grilled shrimp paste, various forms of deep-fried and raw spring rolls, rice steamed rolls and fried meat rolls complemented by fresh tropical fruits such as durians and mangoes.

Crisp vermicelli salad with chicken and Khmer herbs Photo © Hotel Le Royal, Phnom Penh

Cambodian cuisine draws inspiration from its neighbours. Congee and red curries number among adopted dishes. Samlorwijhen (tangy soup) and prahok (lightly spiced and fermented fish paste) are indigenous dishes. Rice, eaten steamed, fried or as noodles, and fish, eaten fresh, sun-dried or salted, comprise the staple diet. Specialty dishes include kor kor, fish mixed with vegetables; amok, fish cooked in coconut; and nhom, comprising vinegar, dried fish, herbs and vegetables. Beef, pork and chicken used to be reserved for special occasions. Seasoning includes hot peppers, lemon grass, ginger and mint. Cambodia is regarded by some Thai gourmets as the major source of quality sun-dried fish and mangoes.

Amongst Southeast Asian cuisines, Thailand’s has probably enjoyed the most international exposure thanks to the 12 million plus tourists who visit each year, a good number of whom attend local cooking schools. There is also the sheer ubiquity of Thai restaurants in Europe, America and Australasia, outnumbering in many places their older Chinese counterparts. There is also a vast selection of books in different languages on the pleasures of preparing Thai food.

The perfect Thai meal is a ‘feast of the senses’ incorporating a harmonious blend of delicate flavours featuring subtle hints of sweet, sour and salty tastes, and at times, even mildly spicy, combined with visually-appealing qualities.

Authentic everyday Thai cuisine features simple, quick and easy to prepare dishes made with ingredients readily found in kitchen gardens surrounding a house, along rivers and in the forests. Families toiling in the fields or woods have little time for the preparation of elaborate meals. Food is simply steamed, boiled, grilled, fried or stir-fried for quick serving. The trick is to make something special out of the most basic ingredients. Simply by varying the ingredients, it’s possible to create an infinite choice of Thai dishes.

Nam Prik Ong chilli dip Photo © TAT

For example, freshly-picked or blanched vegetables are served with the all-time- favourite chilli dip - nam prik and grilled or deep-fried fish. Vegetables, along with other fresh ingredients and garnishing, can be incorporated into a spicy salad or yam. With a slight variation in the ingredients, the vegetables can be served either as a light but peppery-hot clear herbal soup noted for its nutritional value called kaeng liang or a piquant, chilli-hot seafood-based soup called kaeng som. Vegetables can also simply be stir-fried with seasoning and served with steamed fragrant rice. Alternatively for a more substantial meal, a choice of aubergine, fish, sea-food, chicken, beef or pork can be stir-fried with Thai Sweet Basil, garlic and chilli in the form of the versatile pat kaprow. Steamed rice forms the basis of the staple diet but freshly-cooked rice noodles and rice vermicelli in all of its variations offer convenient but tasty alternatives.

Fruit and vegetable carvings Photo © TAT

In sharp contrast, "Royal Cuisine", a highly refined version of Thai cuisine traditionally served in royal and aristocratic households, is noted for its subtle and delicate blend of flavours and painstaking artistic presentation. Vegetables, fruits and other garnishes served with 'Palace Cuisine' are intricately carved into ornate designs.

Massaman Photos © The Rose Garden Aprime Resort

Palace kitchens had access to aromatic spices and other ingredients from the old empires of China, India, Europe as well as the ‘New World’. The royal chefs experimented with new influences and invented new culinary creations for the divine kings. Kaeng massaman - chicken or beef cooked in an Indian-style curry with cardomom, cloves and cinnamon, kaeng kari – an Indian-style curry made with chicken or beef and Indonesian satay reflect these multi-cultural influences. (As a rule, Thai-style curries or gaeng should not be confused with Indian curries as they utilise a different array of fresh herbs and spices.)

The Chinese were largely responsible for the introduction of deep-fat frying and stir-fried dishes, the use of lard, the wok, the aromatic five-spice powder, ginger, garlic and noodles, while the Portuguese introduced chillies and egg-based desserts, cakes and pastries. Today, contemporary versions of Palace Cuisine are served in Thai restaurants worldwide.

In all, the fertile Greater Mekong Subregion is equally abundant and deliciously mirrored in its rich cuisines.