European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 31, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thai food hottest ethnic cuisine in town by Marian Burros new Yore times of Ohe the Sun is up in Bangkok Small flames Dicker All Over the City Sec ets marking inc portable kitchens thai Dot the landscape and provide Bangkok residents with a never ending Supply of snacks mow York cily s Street food pates in comparison bul then so do now yorkers impulses Loen thais eat whenever they Are hungry live 07 six Lions n Day pausing Al one of the thousands o Streel vendors to have a Lilloo something to satisfy the Appel la this pattern 15 so established that thais Lohowa in even when they sit Down to More formal meals there arc no Sal courses As we know them and meals to not have a beginning Middle and end rather there Are Small amounts of Many dil Fernl dishes most of them Sot nut in rapid succession the diner alternates Between the spicy and inc Blair a though with the exception of he Over present Rice very Lilloo can to called Bland in Treiland ii is this intensity of seasonings that appeals to the american Plale. Making thai food the hottest literally and figuratively ethnic cuisine in new York nol All of in however is Serj singly hot thai is ust nne of several misconceptions americans have Aboul this food Wilh Jas complexity of exotic flavors a we Klong visit to Bangkok and to the Northern cily of Chiangtai provided a Grealer appreciation of what thai Lood should Liste like us an understanding Hal most of what is available in new York is nol thai food Al its Best or its most authentic to Appeal to Compra Tivomey Lender american palates most thai res Laurants in the United states douse some of the food s fire Ivl for reasons nol readily understood they also tend to oversimplify and  this in a Lault thai some thais find with the food in Bangkok compared with Tho food of the Countryside which Many consider More authentic residents of Bangkok Are noted for their collective Sweet tooth several thai restaurateurs in now York said they have been forced to oversimplify some  because they have nol been Able to obtain the proper ingredients to Koses the manager of Siam inn in Manhattan Lor example said Hal the Basil in the United states is not the same As in Thailand and  lie has to use dried Lemon grass instead of fresh we also make foods less hot and a mile sweeter because most people Heie like in Hal  he said of i a made 1 real spicy people would t eat it the of scr created Iheson Tec ipos. And Illey Are not like the ones Al Home in Thailand " thai cooking like the culture owes much to la other dishes the entire coriander Plant including the Rool is used this enhances the seasoning s intensity Nam Pla a fish sauce Mado with fermented anchovies or shrimp adds Bolh saltiness and an elusive flavor. Thin and Dahl rown is color it 15 to thai cooking whal Scy sauce is to chinese add loll in Csc Altir Lime leaves Lamard and a variety of ser ugly hoi critics. And you have Bolh Iho Basic ingredients and Tho Core concepts of this Quismo hot Sweet sour Sally and bit i or. Strangely enough Iho Philios for which she cuisine is famous arrived in Thailand Only 350 years ago and they Camo from Tho americas before inc Chimics arrived. Iris thais de ended on Peppercorns to fire up in if toed. Most thai cooking that has made its Way across the Pacific comes from Bangkok it lends Lobo More sophisticated than the food of the North or South and More decorative. The Artol carving mils and vegetables to look like Lowers is More widely practice in the City than anywhere Cleo in the country. While Laird Iarj Bangkok Lor its culinary creativity upcountry Chrls deride its cooking As Loo mild and too upper class chalice Ama Akul director o the thai cooking school Al the Oriental hotel in Bangkok agrees noting. Bangkok Gol used to mild food and Likos it sweeper than country people. Country food is spicier like the people " the North which has the second target City in Thailand. Chiangtai. Emphasizes House of Irish fish or pork and Sticky Rice also called Glutinous Rice. Because of their High starch Content the Rice kernels stick loge Lher when cooked. The City is Welt know Tor what Ine thais Call dips which Bear Lilloo resemblance to the ones served As hours d oeuvres in this country. Thai dips Are Chili based sauces that accompany main dishes and vegetables in the South he emphasis is on Chicken and Tho abundant fish irom inc nearby seas pork is nol generally served because Many Southern thais Are moslem. This is attic Home of that curries and of the hottest food in the country beyond such generalities in is impossible to Coli by that cuisine several local chefs have tried in and failed. Thai casks arc Loo fiercely individualistic i seems. There Are for example As Many ways to Mako Mee Krob Ollen called the National dish of Thailand As there Are Cooks who make it. A floating fruit and Vega Lable Market on one of the canals of Bangkok a City where snacking never ceases. Page 14 the stars and stripes