The Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University, and the project of Empowering Network of International Thai Studies (ENITS) would like to express a deep appreciation and gratitude to The Thailand Research Fund (TRF) for the financial support that makes this conference ‘THAI FOOD HERITAGE: LOCAL TO GLOBAL’ possible.

 

We are fortunate to have academic support from the Institute of Asian Studies as well as the Center of Thai Language and Literature, and the Center of Folklore Research, Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University. The Ministry of Culture, through the Office of the National Culture Commission, likewise bestows gracious gift of posters on Thai food for exhibition in our conference.

 

We also would like to sincerely thank all speakers and scholars with various expertises here and aboard who contribute to this conference, and we hope that this conference will be a beginning of a lasting network for the research cooperation among all the present and future scholars in the field of Thai Studies.

 

 

Dr. Suchitra Chongstitvatana

 

Director, Institute of Thai Studies

Chulalongkorn University

16:00–18:00

 

Registration & Reception

 

(At Room 108, Maha Chulalongkorn Building, Chulalongkorn University)

OPENING CEREMONY
     Room: Srisuriwongse Ballroom 

 

08:45–09:00

 

Welcome Address
     Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suchitra Chongstitvatana
     – Director, Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University

 

Opening Address
     Prof. Dr. Sawasd Tantaratana
     – Director, The Thailand Research Fund (TRF)

 

           

PLENARY SESSION
     Room: Srisuriwongse Ballroom 
     Moderator: Assoc. Prof. Surapheephan Chatraphorn

 

09:00–10:30    

 

Eating in Socio-Cultural Context
     Prof. Dr. Anan Ganjanapan
     – Chiang Mai University

 

Authenticity and Identity in Thai Cuisine: Thinking Outside the Box”
     Prof. Dr. Penny Van Esterik
     – York University

 

10:30–10:45

 

Break

 

 

PARALLEL SESSION

 

10:45–12:15

 

Parallel Session A

 

Room	Topic
Srisuriwongse Ballroom	Food & Folk (1)
Murano Room	Food & Tourism (1)

 

Food & Folk (1)
     Room: Srisuriwongse Ballroom
     Chair: Prof. Dr. Siraporn Nathalang

 

Kyaing Tong Food and Ritual
     Prof. U Hong Kham Noom
     – Academic from Kyaing Tong, Myanmar

 

You Are What You Eat: The Changing Relationships among Food, Ethnicity, and Identity in Northwestern Thailand
     Prof. Dr. Nicola Tannenbaum
     – Lehigh University

 

The Role of Food in the Musical Rites of the Lanna People of Northern Thailand
     Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bussakorn Sumrongthong
     – Chulalongkorn University

 

 

Food & Tourism (1)
     Room: Murano Room
     Chair: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suppakorn Disatapundhu

 

Dish Up the Country: Thai Food and Thailand’s Brand Image
     Dr. Krittinee Nuttavuthisit
     – Chulalongkorn University

 

Consuming ‘Royal Thai’ in London: Revisiting the Roles of Thai Restaurants
     Dr. Hakhee Kim
     – Gyeongin National University of Education

 

Serving Up Thai Culture Abroad
     Assoc. Prof. Nantana Lamart Slatter
     – Chulalongkorn University
     Kanjana Thepboriruk
     – University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa

 

12:15–13:15

 

Lunch

 

13:15–14:45

 

Parallel Session B

 

Room	Topic
Srisuriwongse Ballroom	Food & Folk (2)
Murano Room	Food & Tourism (2)

    
Food & Folk (2)
     Room: Srisuriwongse Ballroom
     Chair: Prof. Dr. Nicola Tannenbaum

 

Salt Trading among Villages in the Southern Part of the Vientiane Plain
     Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kumiko Kato
     – Nagoya University

 

Do the Thais Eat Thai Garlic?: Food Politics on Garlic in the Context of Trade Liberalization
     Yuki Miyake
     – Chiang Mai University

 

Khao Soi: From Food Hybridization to the Multiple Identities and the Domination of Taste
     Busarin Lertchavalitsakul
     – Chiang Mai University

 

 

Food & Tourism (2)
     Room: Murano Room
     Chair: Asst. Prof. Ritirong Jiwakanon

 

The Development of Food Tourism in Thailand
     Dr. Tanapoom Ativetin
     – Srinakharinwirot University

 

Thai Gourmet Packaged Food: A New Found Paradise for Tourism
     Jeane Huang
     – Chulalongkorn University

 

Thainess Gastronomy in Five-Star Hotel: A Case Study of ‘Spice Market’, The Four Season Hotel, Bangkok
     Niphatchanok Najpinij
     – Chulalongkorn University

 

14:45–15:00

 

Break

 

15:00–16:30

 

Parallel Session C

 

Room	Topic
Srisuriwongse Ballroom	Food & Folk (3)
Murano Room	Food & Tourism (3)

 

    

Food & Folk (3)
     Room: Srisuriwongse Ballroom 
     Chair: Assoc. Prof. Sukanya Sujachaya

 

Food as Encoded Message: A Thai Muslim Community Context
     Prof. Dr. Wanni W. Anderson
     – Brown University

 

Food and Consumption Culture of Muslims
     Assoc. Prof. Dr. Winai Dahlan
     – Chulalongkorn University

 

Khaek Cho Sen’s Recipe: Identity and Ethnicity of the Shi’ite Muslim in Thai Society
     Teeranun Chuangpichit
     – Silpakorn University

 

 

Food & Tourism (3)
     Room: Murano Room
     Chair: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suchitra Chongstitvatana

 

Chinese Tea Drinking in Thailand: A Comparative Study at Bangkok’s China Town and Siam Discovery
     Sakaorat Harnkarnchanasuwat
     – Chulalongkorn University

 

Save Street Food and Tourism
     Ladapha Mortero
     – Chulalongkorn University

 

Appetizing Chiang Khan- Slow Food Concept and Tourism Development
     Arunswasdi Bhuridadtpong
     – Chulalongkorn University

PLENARY SESSION
     Room: Srisuriwongse Ballroom 
     Moderator: Dr. Suradech Chotiudompant

 

09:00–10:30

 

An Ethnoscientific Study of Cooking Terms in Thai
     Prof. Dr. Amara Prasithrathsint
     – Chulalongkorn University

 

Coffee in the Changing Thai Life Style
     Prof. Dr. Yukio Ikemoto
     – Tokyo University   

 

Food, The Best Preventive Medicine
     Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sang-Woon Choi
     – Tufts University

 

10:30–10:45

 

Break

 

 

PARALLEL SESSION

 

10:45–12:15

 

Parallel Session D

 

Room	Topic
Srisuriwongse Ballroom	Food & Discourse (1)
Murano Room	Food & Medicine (1)

 

 

Food & Discourse (1)
     Room: Srisuriwongse Ballroom 
     Chair: Prof. Dr. Amara Prasithrathsint

 

Tales from Thai Kitchens: The Use of Food Discourse in English Classroom to Create Spaces for Local Values and Critical Literacy
     Dr. Adcharawan Buripakdi
     – Walailak University

 

Coffee Culture in Thailand
     Mika Kodama
     – Waseda University

 

Food & Medicine (1)
     Room: Murano Room
     Chair: Dr. Yukti Mukdawijitra

 

Eating Habit Cultivated by Tradition, Culture, and Religion is an Effective Means for Prevention of a Major Seafood-Borne Infectious Disease: A Comparative Study on Infection by Vibrio Parahaemolyticus in Thailand and Indonesia
     Prof. Dr. Mitsuaki Nishibuchi
     – Kyoto University

 

Traditional Medicine of Thai Ethnic Groups in Vietnam
     Dr. Cam Thi Huong
     Son La Traditional Medicine Hospital, Vietnam

 

Herbal Soup Larm for Healthy Life
     Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rachadaporn Benchawattananon
     Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suwaree Sripoon
     – Loei Rajabhat University

 

12:15–13:15

 

Lunch

 

13:15–14:45    

 

Parallel Session E

 

Room	Topic
Srisuriwongse Ballroom	Food & Discourse (2)
Murano Room	Food & Medicine (2)

 

Food & Discourse (2)
     Room: Srisuriwongse Ballroom
     Chair: Dr. Siriporn Phakdeephasook

 

Court Cuisines, Longing and Lamentation in Kap He Chom Khrueang Khao Wan, and Food Heritage
     Assoc. Prof. Cholada Ruengruglikit
     – Chulalongkorn University

 

Food in Tri Bhumi Pra Ruang: Its Signification and Social Implication
     Dr. Namphueng Padamalangula
     – Chulalongkorn University

 

Royal Cuisine, Reminiscence, and Devotion in M.L. Nueang Nilaratna’s Cheewit Nai Wang
     Thiti Jamkajornciat 
     Arthit Jiamrattanyoo
     – Chulalongkorn University

 

 

Food & Medicine (2)
"Thai Herbs and Foods for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention"
     Room: Murano Room
     Chair: Asst. Prof. Dr. Arthit Thongtak

 

Introduction: Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Property of Thai Foods
     Asst. Prof. Dr. Somsri Charoenkiatkul
     – Mahidol University     

 

Anti-inflammatory Activities of Some Thai Spices and Herbs
     Dr. Siriporn Tuntipopipat
     – Mahidol University

 

Chemopreventive Effects of Some Thai Herbs and Vegetables
     Asst. Prof. Dr. Chanipun Butryee
     – Mahidol University

 

14:45–15:00

 

Break

 

15:00–16:00

 

Parallel Session F

 
 

Food & Discourse (3)
     Room: Srisuriwongse Ballroom
     Chair: Asst. Prof. Dr. Natthaporn Panpothong

 

Health-Claimed Foods and the Myth of Smart Consumers in Thai Society
     Dr. Siriporn Phakdeephasuk
     – Chulalongkorn University

 

The Roles of the Royal Court: Two Lady Chefs in the Thai Royal Court that Influenced Thai Gastronomic Culture
     Waraporn Chiwachaisak
     – Chulalongkorn University

Penny Van Esterik 
 

Department of Anthropology, York University

 

 

This paper explores how national Thai identity is contested, constituted and reconstituted through food, and how this process is both replicated and contradicted in the construction of diasporic Thai identity abroad. Contrasting culinary tourism with tourist food raises questions about authenticity and creativity in local food traditions. This paper places research on Thai cuisine within the broader theoretical context of food studies and the regional context of mainland Southeast Asia. Using both ethnographic and historical evidence, as well as recent social science literature in food studies, this paper explores what accounts for the popularity of Thai food abroad and what factors make Thai cuisine unique.

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Nicola Tannenbaum
 

Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Lehigh University

 

 

I have been conducting anthropological research in Maehongson Province of northwestern Thailand since the summer of 1977; my research focuses on Shan, a Tai minority group, who lives in both Thailand and Burma. Unlike more recent immigrants and refugees from Burma, most of the people in my community are long-term residents of Thailand and are Thai citizens. Much has changed in the last 30 years as this formerly isolated province has become increasingly integrated into the Thai nation through the extension of government services including education, the expansion of the Thai economy, and improvements in infrastructure making it more accessible for Thai businesses and tourists, both Thai and international. The larger international context also affects this province whose western edge forms the border with Burma. In the last 20 years, there has been a large influx of Shan refugees into Maehongson as well as other regions of Thailand.

 

In this paper I explore the relationship between food production, consumption, and ethnic identity for the Shan in Maehongson Province and how these aspects have changed over time. I further discuss the ways in which local cuisines within Thailand have become markers of regional identities, and the roles that local food production and marketing play in the cultural production of regional, ethnic, and national identities.

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Bussakorn Sumrongthong

 

Music Department, Chulalongkorn University

 

 

The scope of this paper is a subset of the author’s Ethno musicological research carried out in nearly all of Thailand’s provinces. The Lanna region in particular refers to an ancient kingdom of northern Thailand. Today, this region is comprised of Phrae, Lumpoon, Phayao, Mae Hongson, Chang Mai, Chang Rai, Lumpang, and Nan provinces. The body of this research shows that various types of food play very significant roles in the Lanna musician’s ritual known as the Wai Kru ceremony. This paper addresses the question of how food interacts with people’s belief systems as manifested in the Lanna Wai Kru ceremonies. This research describes the types of Wai Krus as well as discusses the main foods that comprise the offerings. Additionally, a comparison with the role that these foods play out in other countries is presented as well.

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Krittinee Nuttavuthisit 

 

Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration, Chulalongkorn University
 

 

“Where are you from?” “Thailand.” “Oh! I love Thai food.” These statements are not uncommon among conversations between foreigners and Thai people. The strong relationship between Thai cuisine and Thailand has been demonstrated in many studies. Thai food is widely known and appreciated in the world. It symbolizes not only food qualities (e.g. tastes, smell, presentation) but also the country’s image. This proposed study aims to explore how global consumers perceive the image of Thailand via their consumption of Thai food. The qualitative research, including a three-month field immersion, observations, and interviews, was conducted with consumers in the United States, the second-largest market for Thai food exports. Results of this research illustrate the phenomenon, activity, or institution related to consumption of Thai cuisine. Emergent meanings of the essential qualities of Thai cuisine describe the essential features of the country’s images: flavorful taste, extraordinary variety, and exotic presentation. Knowledge of the relationship between product consumption and country image, particularly from the consumer’s perspective, will facilitate the design of the Thai Government’s policy to obtain the best benefits from Thai products or services that are marketed globally.

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Kim Hakhee

 

Social Studies Education Department, Gyeongin National University of Education

 

 

This paper shows where Thai food is consumed in London and how the image of Thailand is constructed through Thai restaurants. Participant observation in Thai restaurants, mainly located in London, was undertaken to explore the ‘staged authenticity’ of Thai food and the dynamics of foodways in the British context. Thai restaurants attempt to appeal to what they perceive to be their customers’ desires through promoting exotic and chic culinary experiences based on the imaginations of their aspiring customers. Thai cuisine has succeeded in gaining an image of being a healthy food. It has also succeeded in catering to the taste buds of diverse customers including vegetarians. However, Thai restaurants in London often offer a self-contradictory menu, claiming authenticity on one hand, but adapting to the British standards of culinary acceptability on the other. Thai-ness and ‘Royal Thai’ cultures are performed and consumed through the ambience of the restaurants as well as through the food itself. These restaurants try to create a sense of authenticity by using native artwork, decorations, wall patterns, and staff uniforms. Woodcarvings decorated with golden-colored materials, antique-styled sculptures of elephants or Thai women with hands pressed together in a welcoming wai pose are often installed to create an atmosphere of Thai-ness. Traditional Thai crafts, silk tableware and oriental serving bowls are used to contribute to the image of ‘Royal Thai’ culture beyond food. Thai restaurants in London make full use of the geographical imaginations in the age of the British Empire by provoking a nostalgic sentiment of the majestic dynasty and the colonial ties with the region.

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Nantana Lamart Slatter

 

Faculty of Education (Elementary Education), Chulalongkorn University

 

Kanjana Thepboriruk

 

Department of Linguistics, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa

 

 

This research discusses several issues pertaining to opening, managing, and operating a Thai restaurant abroad. This report is based on more than ten years of personal observation as a Thai restaurant owner in Madison, Wisconsin. We found that serving Thai cuisine abroad has both culinary and cross-cultural limitations.

 

Thai food is full of variety. Within any given regions there are different ways to prepare standard dishes like Green Curry or the world-famous Pad Thai. No one restaurant or vendor in Thailand can claim exclusive rights to any dish, recipe, or much less ingredient. If we apply this same idea across the different regions of Thailand, one will find even more variety. Variety in Thai cuisine in Thailand neither deters nor impedes the popularity of cross-regional and cross-cultural favorites such as Papaya Salad and Laab. This love of variety is exemplified by the ‘made-to-order’ and condiment culture in Thailand.

 

The application of such a natural variety across the Pacific, especially in a medium-sized American city, is difficult. The challenge is to present Thai cuisine in an appealing way to Western novices that also pleases local Thais’ palates all the while not compromising the quality or authenticity of the cuisine. The notion of Thainess is also problematic as there is no single definition and each person has his or her own ideas on how to convey such a concept through the restaurant trade.

 

There is, of course, no ‘right way’ to be employed towards owning and operating a Thai restaurant abroad, but there are commonly shared issues. In this report we suggest several possible ways to help restaurateurs reconcile the issues of authenticity, variety, and Thainess in a cross-cultural context.

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Kumiko Kato 
 

School of Letters, Nagoya University

 

 

Near Vientiane City in Laos, there are places where salt becomes crystallized above ground during the dry season. Areas with sites where salt becomes crystallized are called bo. Villagers living near these bo produce salt there. 

 

The salt is eaten and also used by the villagers to make pa-daek (fermented fish with salt and rice), which is indispensable for them as a seasoning and a preserved food. Any remaining salt is given to relatives and friends, or used for trading. The salt is also taken to the Thai side of the Mekhong River.

 

Almost all of the goods received in exchange for salt are kinds of food. Among them, yam beans, tomatoes and rice were often mentioned in the interviews. It is unique in that the salt-producing villagers themselves visit other villages to proactively trade their salt for rice, while conversely most other goods are traded by people in need of salt. 

 

However, this salt became less significant after 1975, when a salt factory was built a few kilometers from the bo, and the establishment of the Lao PDR made it more difficult for the villagers to cross the Mekhong River. Its use has become more a matter of preference than a necessity, and it is currently used mainly for making tastier pa-daek.

 

Production and trading of salt by villagers, however, still continues to play an important role in creating and maintaining social relationships among the people and their villages.

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Yuki Miyake

 

Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development, Chiang Mai University

 

 

Garlic is one of the most symbolic food ingredients for Thai people. Most Thai foods, including Nam-prik (chili paste to eat with rice), cannot be made without garlic. Today, however, on the one hand, such traditional food cultures are becoming faint especially among the young. On the other hand, along with market liberalization of garlic and imported products through the Free Trade Agreement, cheaper foreign garlic flowed into Thailand, and the Thai local garlic is decreasing its share of the domestic market. As a measure to cope with these problems, there is a group that promotes eating of Nam- prik in favor of consumption of Thai local food products. Under today’s globalized and complex structure of a food market, however, the action based on good intention of supporting the local does not necessarily help them without prior good knowledge of market structure and careful tactics.

 

This paper firstly addresses how Thai food culture of garlic is changing; moreover, if further discusses the discourse of inclusion and exclusion of garlic promoted by Thai NGOs. Lastly, by clarifying a complex market structure of garlic, it argues that such a dichotomous way of elaboration of discourse may not solve the problems related to garlic these days in Thailand. 

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Busarin Lertchavalitsakul

 

Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development, Chiang Mai University 

 

 

This study, which is based on the literature reviews and interviews with three well-known Khao Soi shop owners in Chiang Mai city, aims to investigate the construction of Khao Soi, the curry rice noodle, to be a must-eat food of the visitors who travel to Chiang Mai under the tourism project of the Thai government. The study was inspired by the news article reporting that Khao Soi can now be shipped as a frozen product to be sold in Australia. This phenomenon shows the process of globalization through the “regional” dish of Khao Soi. Khao Soi has become one of the core markers identifying Chiang Mai as a top tourist destination. The emergence of Khao Soi as a cultural commodity of Chiang Mai is influenced by the context of Chiang Mai itself as well.  Because of the tourism promotion, Chiang Mai has been supported in terms of budget allocation and administration from the central government to be “the capital city” of the northern region. The development of Chiang Mai, which is intermingled with its richness of cultural heritage and natural resources persuades all walks of life to settle, work in, and visit Chiang Mai more and more every year. Consequently, Khao Soi, which is not originally from the Thai cuisine, has been selected as a cultural product of Chiang Mai. Actually, it is considered to be a food influenced by either Chin Haw (Yunnanese Muslim) or Shan and was appropriated into a Northern Thai food over time. Apart from tracing the historical context of the development of Chiang Mai city, the interviews of the three Khao Soi makers demonstrates interestingly the construction of Khao Soi through the means of hybridization and the domination of taste, which eventually allowed this dish to become the identity of Chiang Mai. 

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Tanapoom Ativetin

 

Department of Business Administration, Srinakharinwirot University

 

 

This research aims to study a development of concept formation that links the individual with eating behavior and tourism in terms of relationships between the dimensions of food and perception of one’s self identity through several modes of consumption, especially traveling and tourism. Furthermore, it emphasizes the impacts of consumer culture affecting the tourist’s view of food consumption in a touristic context. 

 

According to the research findings, food has been regarded as an important factor affecting an individual’s psychological processes and behaviors as it does not merely function as the crucial part for maintaining lives, but also performs prominent symbolic values that magnify clear self identity and efficiently reflect the individual’s world views, beliefs, values, attitudes, lifestyles and also social status. In addition, when food consumption is combined with tourism activities, the role of food is much more prominent, especially in terms of experience and the perception of taste derived as the result of traveling. In this case, a superior opportunity of tasting and researching the food context including the food itself, exotic ingredients, cooking processes, eating etiquettes and also food images represented are regarded as very crucial factors that generate and enhance the individuals’ own cultural capital from such traveling experiences. 

 

Finally, the influences of consumer culture in modern urban context perform an important role in stimulating the desire for several kinds of consumption activities in order to create self satisfaction and help fulfill the senses of nostalgia and need for searching exoticness in life. This has resulted in the emergence of various special interest tourism brackets in response to the specific needs of the individuals, especially food tourism and how it will be further developed in the future.

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Jeane Huang

 

M.A. (Cultural Management), Chulalongkorn University

 

 

Shopping souvenirs while visiting foreign destinations is a common practice for tourists. The gourmet packaged food made from local premium quality agricultural products in the travel destination has been increasingly topping the shopping list of visitors due to visitors’ curiosity for the original, local, exotic, and all natural products and also to the demands for “gourmet” food, a modern concept that usually guarantees to “good quality”. The abundant variety and the high quality of Thai agricultural products provide great ingredient basis for gourmet packaged food such as dried fruits, rice crackers, tea, coffee and herbs. As some of the food suppliers start emerging themselves to meet the global growing demands for “gourmet food” from local and international visitors, they are also met with challenges. This paper aims to study Thai gourmet packaged food suppliers and marketers such as “The Gourmet Market” of The Mall Group, “The Royal Project”, The King Power Duty Free and some of the well-known Thai gourmet packaged food brands on how they position themselves to take advantage in the gourmet food shopping trend and weather if they can stay competitive in a market catered to visitors’ destination shopping.

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Niphatchanok Najpinij

 

Thai Studies Center, Chulalongkorn University

 

 

There are many ways to understand food and its meanings. An anthropological view has been employed to understand food and its meanings in recent literature. According to many anthropologists, food is not only an item transformed for biological purposes (i.e. to satisfy physical needs such as hunger of a human being). Rather, food is understood, named, believed, consumed, as well as produced through the framework of a social setting.

 

Context and the process of giving words meaning both constructs and is constructed by the culture of a particular society. Culture is a critical thread leading anthropologists to understand meanings of food, the subjects (as well as their own identities), and the purposes of food consumption and production as well as the discursive practices that give rise to such meanings. 

 

Food, therefore, is a subject within a changing context. It is interesting to consider how Thai food has evolved in a contemporary setting such as a five-star hotel where meaning-making processes are constructed by several subjects such as the food and beverage managers, chefs, cooks, staff, and guests from various countries.

 

It has been found that food is not a material subject. Rather, the meanings of food are contextual. Data from in-depth interviews show that respondents who are hotel chefs, waiters, and customers of the hotel agree that this context plays a critical role in how a Thai dish is named, understood and presented. Interpreting this data from a marketing perspective suggests that the marketing mix of Thai food is influenced by a cultural space. This refers to the fact that there is a common language or repertoire of food where in this case, product, price, place, and promotion of food and beverages within a five-star hotel signify the following meanings: richness of ingredients (rather than local ingredients), professional culinary practice (rather than local and customary ways of making food), luxury presentation (rather than a traditional household presentation approach), full service (rather than in home consumption behavior), and a consumption of a contextual meaning of food within a five-star hotel (rather than what the food is made for in a household for day-to-day consumption). This study confirms the work of many authors that food is about culture and culture is about food.

 

The study, however, adds that the meanings of food within a culture in this age of globalization can be a complex phenomenon. This is because food, or in this case the meaning of food, has been used in many emerging spaces such as five-star hotels where this cultural setting also suggests an emerging meaning of food and an on-going meaning negotiation process. This paper also addresses the challenges between the tensions of adaptation and conservation of the Thai food culture. 

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Wanni W. Anderson 

Department of Anthropology, Brown University

 

 

Most studies of Muslim food concentrate on the Islamic halal food as a symbol of Muslimness. This paper takes a different approach. It analyses the foodways of Nipa Island on the Andaman Coast as encoding also other messages. They convey information about the core diet, the secondary diet, and the periphery diet of the community. What are the types of food eaten, how is the food served, to whom it is served, and when it is served carry coded meanings about social relationships, status, its celebratory context, and a Thai Muslim largess to non-Muslim Others. 

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

WinaiDahlan

 

Halal Science Center, Chulalongkorn University

 

 

The aim of this presentation is to explain the consumption culture of Muslims or those who believe in Islam, by emphasizing on consumption culture focusing on foods according to Islamic ways of taught.

 

Fundamentally, the consumption culture of Muslims follows the guidelines of Prophet Mohamad (S.A.A.W) which  are as follows: Wishing (دعاء Du'a), Sanitation (صحة Sihiya), Donation (تبرع   Tabarrua), Economize ( إقتصادIqtisood), Quality ( جودة Guda), Restraint ( ضبط Dhobta) and Together ( جماعةJama'a). Regardingly, the rules of selection and consumption for Muslims comply in 2 ways; Fasting in Ramadan (the 9th month in Islamic Calendar) and consumption of food exclusively halal or kinds of food permitted by Islam rule. However, consumption culture of Muslims is not homogeneous but various depending to previous belief, culture, ethnic, school of thought, etc., therefore the differences in these matters should be precisely considered.

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Teeranun Chuangpichit

 

M.A. (Anthropology), Silpakorn University

 

 

This article focuses on culinary recipes of the Thai Shi’ite Muslims, known to Thai people as Khaek Chao Sen, whose ancestors were the Persians. The Shi’ite Muslim came to Thailand in the reign of King Naresuan, Ayutthaya Era (circa B.E. 2143 or C.E. 1600). The Shi’ite Muslim played important roles in Thailand in terms of economy, politics, society, culture, and the traditions of the Siamese court. The influences of the Shi’ite Muslims were remarkably revealed in the reign of King Prasartthong and have lasted throughout Siamese history from the Thonburi Era to the Rattanakosin Era. 

 

Gastronomies of Khaek Chao Sen’s recipe were mentioned in the Royal Barge Chant-Appreciation for Food & Desserts, composed by His Majesty King Rama II or King Phra Buddhalertlahnabhalai. The recipe of Khaek Chao Sen is considered to be an aspect of Khaek Chao Sen’s identity, revealing the existence of this group of people within Thai society.
 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

SakaoratHarnkarnchanasuwat

 

Thai Studies Center, Chulalongkorn University

 

 

Tea drinking is one of the most outstanding Chinese cultures handed down from ancient times to the present. It is closely related to Chinese people and their daily lives. It has also been developed to be a unique culture in several countries around the world. It was believed that Chinese tea has first entered Thailand in Ayutthaya period or earlier. Since then tea drinking behavior has been varied according to time and social change. This paper is an attempt to study tea drinking in term of “culture” at the present time to find out how Chinese tea drinking is still existing, changing or developing. Field studies are at Chinese Tea shops in Bangkok’s China town consisting of Yaowarat Road and nearby, and at Siam Discovery. The study reveals that there still are a lot of tea drinkers in both areas. They are Chinese, Sino-Thai and Thai people. The aims of tea shops at both areas are different. Tea shops at Bangkok’s China town aim at low-cost to middle-cost market; whereas tea shops at Siam Discovery aim at middle-cost to high-cost market. Accordingly, tea quality and variety are different. In Bangkok’s Chinatown, drinking tea at Chinese tea shops is still the way of life of some middle-aged and elderly men. Moreover, the youth and health-conscious person increasingly tend to drink Chinese tea. Although Chinese tea drinking cannot be considered genuine Thai culture, it cannot be considered a passing trend that has come and gone either. Actually, it has gradually been absorbed in Thai way of life and would remind a part of Thai culture in the lasting future to come.

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Ladapha Mortero

 

Thai Studies Center, Chulalongkorn University

 

 

Tourism is an increasingly important component of the economies of many countries. For some countries including Thailand, it is a major source of income and overseas investment. It perceives tourism as a fast track to economic growth. It can be assumed that tourism development requires less investment than other industries; tourism is also an effective means of creating job opportunities and increasing local income. Tourism expansion creates both positive and negative impacts on the destination areas of Thailand. It is a major source of revenue for Thailand and important to the Thai economy. 

 

In Thailand, restaurants and street vendors can easily be found along the streets in not only the tourist areas but also in any community in Bangkok and all other provinces. It is one of the greatest joys of Thai people. These eating habits are easily satisfied by the wealth of varieties of tantalizing "street food" that are sold each day along the sidewalks near shopping areas, marketplaces, bus stations, business offices, and busy neighborhood centers. One reason for the variety of food vendor emergence is that today more and more Thais do not cook at home anymore. Smaller families of only two or three, and for some the fast-pace city life creating less time to spare, makes cooking a task to avoid. By four or five in the evening, street vendors are ready at their stalls with varieties of already cooked foods to be chosen by customers on their way home. Thousands of tourists to Thailand each year also find this way of life intriguing. The food looks great, the taste is superb, and the price is cheap. The only question left is food safety. 

 

In order to protect consumers as well as promote good tourism in Thailand, a project aiming at assuring the good sanitation of all restaurants and street vendors in Thailand has been in place since 1989. The Department of Health of the Ministry of Public Health, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, and the Ministry of Interior who is responsible for all local governments in provinces around the country have joined hands in a project aimed at assuring the good sanitation of all restaurants and street vendors in Thailand. The "Clean Food Good Taste" Project directly benefits the people of Thailand while also reassures tourists that food in Thailand is safe, as well as looks and tastes good. At present, 5,377 restaurants (of 11,731 applied) and 3,045 vendors (of 6,843 applied) have passed the criteria and been awarded the Clean Food Good Taste logo to be displayed at their businesses. Thirty percent of the awardees are randomly chosen and assessed twice a year. If good sanitation is not found, the award and logo will be revoked. 

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Arunswasdi Bhuridadtpong

 

M.A. (Cultural Management), Chulalongkorn University

 

 

Gastronomy is one of the elements incorporated within a new concept of cultural heritage and cultural tourism driven by growing trends of a desired healthy lifestyle, authenticity, environmental protection, and the need to for a high-quality experience. Tourists increasingly want foods that emphasize the heritage and culture of a place, which assists in the preservation of traditional forms of agriculture and cultural heritage.

 

Chiang Khan District, Loei Province, has various local dishes narrating their culture and traditional way of living. Moreover, today “new tourists” (Poon, 1994) are searching for the identity or the spirit of regions they visit. Local foods have always been crucial elements of place-based tourism. The concept of Slow Food has an intention of bringing back taste, tradition and experience to consumers’ food consumption, while at the same time aims to support small, local food producers and perhaps strengthen Chiang Khan District’s position in the tourism market, as opposed to international and industrial food producers. Slow food concept might potentially secure local employment and keep rural communities alive.

 

The study employed observations and interviews with Chiang Khan’s gastronomy from both local consumers and tourists. This study therefore aims to propose the concept of ‘slow food’ as one of the tools for promoting cultural tourism in Chiang Khan District, Loei Province, in the future.

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Amara Prasithrathsint
 

Southeast Asian Studies Program, Chulalongkorn University

 

 

Cooking terms are defined here as words denoting methods of making food suitable for eating by applying heat or some other agent. A review of related literature reveals a large number of publications in the form of cookbooks and a smaller number of scientific studies on such topics as nutrition, chemical components of food, and the effects of methods of cooking on health. Such practical information and scientific investigation on cooking is useful to human beings. However, there is another kind of cooking studies that is equally important but frequently neglected; that is, studies on how cooking is related to culture.  Previous studies on such a topic are scarcely found. Nevertheless, a study by Goody (1982) on “Cooking, cuisine and class: A study in comparative sociology” is a good example of the rare studies. He relates the differences in food preparation and consumption emerging in various societies in the world to differences in their socio-economic structures, specifically in modes of production and communication. Based on an examination of the worldwide rise of industrial food and its impact on Third World societies, he concludes that the ability to resist cultural domination in food is related to the nature of their pre-existing socio-economic structures. Goody’s study implies that industrial food may change the food identity of an ethnic group. A basic question arising from this implication, which concerns the present study, is: how can one arrive at knowledge of the food identity of a society?

 

Thus, this study aims at researching Thai indigenous knowledge concerning ways of cooking as reflected in Thai cooking terms. To achieve that aim, the ethnoscientific approach is adopted, the purpose of which is to investigate scientifically how local people classify different things in their daily lives. Since concepts of these things are represented by words or terms in the local language, the ethnoscientific aims to analyze the terminology representing the things in order to uncover the normally hidden local wisdom.

 

The methods of componential analysis and folk taxonomy are used for the analysis of the semantic relations of 60 Thai verbs of cooking collected from ten purposefully selected traditional Thai cookbooks. The terms are identified as verbs only if they can occur in the blank in the following test frame; e.g., tom ‘to boil,’ phat ‘to stir fry,’ ping ‘to grill,’ etc.
 
 Mae              kay  /khaaw/ khay /phak,        etc.          hay       luuk     kin
 Mother     chicken/  rice  /  egg  /vegetable, etc.          give      child     eat
‘Mother … chicken/  rice  /  egg  /vegetable, or other foodstuffs for her child to eat.’
    
The results showed that cooking terms are divided into two sets: 22 generic and 38 specific cooking terms representing the Thai basic system of cooking methods and varieties of these methods. The 22 generic cooking terms are distinguished from one another by positive, negative, and distinctive features in these nine dimensions of contrast: use of heat, cooking utensils, use of fat, dry cooking, cooking time, wrapping foodstuffs, end products, spice added, and stirring to mix. The 38 specific cooking terms are distinctively marked by taste, color, indispensable ingredients, ethnic origin, and noticeable characteristics.

 

The findings of this study imply discrepancy between scientific knowledge and folk or indigenous knowledge. The former represents etic worldview related to universal culture and the latter represents emic worldview related to local culture. Moreover, the study also shows that a particular language reflects the worldview of its speakers.
 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Choi Sang-Woon

 

Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University

 

 

Overt nutritional deficiency diseases, once common worldwide, are extremely rare in developed countries. However, it appears that the prevalence of sub-clinical or marginal deficiencies is higher than expected. Since these deficiencies are major risk factors for chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases and neurodegenerative disorders, the interest of modern nutrition has shifted from preventing overt deficiency to decreasing the risks of chronic diseases.

 

In the Western medicine, which focuses on treatment of diseases rather than prevention, preventive remedies are mainly nutrients such as vitamins, which are safer and more physiologic than drugs. However, recent clinical trials have failed to demonstrate a beneficial effect of nutritional supplementation on the risk of cardiovascular diseases or cancers and supplementation with high dose synthetic nutrients may even exacerbate the disease processes. In contrast, high dietary intakes of certain nutrients are still effective to reduce the risks of these diseases, clearly emphasizing that the prevention of chronic diseases should be through foods, which are made with nature’s finest ingredients, but not through a pill that contains high dose synthetic nutrients. 

 

Nutrients are not simply food ingredients; they can directly affect the expression of genes that are associated with chronic diseases. Nutrients and bioactive food components delivered by foods interact with genes in our body to maintain our health and prevent chronic diseases. These nutrients also interact with other factors such as exercise and aging. Recently, the most highlighted is nutritional epigenetics, a new mechanism by which nutrients and bioactive food components interact with genetic and environmental factors and alter the expression of critical genes, thereby affecting many physiologic and pathologic processes in our body. 

 

Collectively, the proper intake of foods is the best way to maintain our health and prevent diseases through their interactions with genetic and environmental factors. 

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Adcharawan Buripakdi 

 

English Department, Walailak University

 

 

This paper explores the role of food narratives used in English classrooms of southern Thailand. In the context of this pilot study, students enrolled in a Contemporary English Language and Communication course were asked to participate in a group discussion entitled International Food Symposium. The goals of this activity were not only to encourage the students to employ food discourse to negotiate meanings but also to respond to the Mcdonaldization phenomenon. In doing so, ten English major students were asked to revisit their roots by drawing on foods meaningful to their academic and personal selves to tell a story related to the foods. These foods included those that were dying or attempting to survive from within the competitive global market. To create an autonomous learning atmosphere, one student with advanced English skills was chosen to be a chair of the symposium. Ultimately the students raised various issues pertaining to food discourse. These included history, production, consumption, beliefs, myths, taboos and current challenges. In the end, the students self-critiqued their performance and reflected upon their experiences from the symposium and the food research. This classroom-based research demonstrated how pivotal food narratives were for enhancing students’ critical thinking skills, empowering students’ identities and nurturing local cultures. In particular, the discourse of food could cast light on what it meant to learn English meaningfully and critically. The recognition of food power and the inclusion of sociopolitical contexts in English classrooms proved significant for teaching and learning English in the 21st century.

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Mika Kodama
 

Graduate School of Environment and Energy Engineering, Waseda University

 

 

In the past, most coffee houses in Thailand were located at the center of the community where people usually meet, such as markets. Coffee houses served as meeting places where people gathered in the morning and talked about any topic, especially politics. Consequently, the term Sapha Kafae, the morning café group or the coffee forum, was coined and has been used to describe this kind of social gathering at coffee houses. Coffee houses played a significant role in that information such as gossip, political, and economic issues could be collected, exchanged and transmitted to the people in the community.

 

Today, many coffee house chain companies such as Starbucks, Coffee World and Black Canyon, which offer machine brewed coffee in beautifully decorated shops, can be seen in Bangkok. Further, coffee carts and Ran Kafae Boran (traditional coffee shops) serving Kafae Boran (ancient coffee) can be seen on the street and on the corner at the markets. Since coffee house chain companies were established in Thailand in late 1990’s, two co-existing coffee cultures in Thailand: modern/new coffee culture and traditional/old coffee culture have emerged. In the modern coffee culture, one can see an intermixing of the traditional and modern elements as well as the local and global elements resulting in hybrid features. 

 

In addition, the new coffee image created by new coffee companies such as Starbucks brought about the modern adaptation of some local and traditional coffee houses. Therefore, the new coffee image is the motivation not only for the emergence of new coffee houses, but also for the hybridization of coffee culture.

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Mitsuaki Nishibuchi,

 

Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University

 

(with Rika Shimizu, Koji Seo, Varaporn Vuddhakul,
Abdul Aziz Djamal, and Yoshitsugu Nakaguchi)

 

 

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a marine bacterium and a virulent strain of this bacterium can cause diarrhea through consumption of contaminated seafood. Our collaborative studies starting in India and extending into a multinational collaboration demonstrated that a new clone of V. parahaemolyticus emerged around 1996 in Asia and the infection spread to various parts of the world. The number of the infections was very high, and was therefore deemed a pandemic of V. parahaemolyticus infection for the first time in the history of V. parahaemolyticus study. We have reported extensive infections by the new clone of V. parahaemolyticus in Thailand. The studies in Thailand also demonstrated bivalve mollusks including bloody clam (Anadara granosa), hard clam (Meretrix lusoria), and green mussel (Perna viridis) are the source of the infection by the new clone of V. parahaemolyticus.

 

Around Padang, West Sumatora in Indonesia, we did not find patients infected with V. parahaemolyticus among those with diarrhea in spite of an extensive effort although the bivalves sold in this area are contaminated with virulent strains of V. parahaemolyticus. Eating habits of bivalve mollusks was investigated in this area. Comparison of the result of investigation and that in Thailand suggested different eating habits cultivated by tradition, culture, and religion may explain the difference in infection by V. parahaemolyticus between the two countries. The results of these studies may allow us to conclude that improvement of eating habits can be a very effective means for prevention of V. parahaemolyticus infection.
 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Cam Thi Huong

 

Son La Traditional Medicine Hospital, Vietnam

 

 

This paper tries to study the use of traditional medicine of Thai ethnic groups in Son La Province, Vietnam. The preservation of herbal medicine is now an urgent issue in Vietnam not only because of the lack of knowledge amongst the new generation, but also because of the destruction of forests affecting the ecological balance. This paper will start with addressing general concepts towards illness and diseases. Then, it will deal specifically with the use of traditional medicine and describe a comparative study of herbal medicines used by Thai and Mong people in Son La Province. Apart from documentary research, this study also explores the experiences of those who use herbal medicine, namely medical officers and people in local communities. 

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Rachadaporn Benchawattananon

 

Biology Program, Loei Rajabhat University

 

Suwaree Sripoon

 

Social Science Program, Loei Rajabhat University

 

 

Herbal soup Larm is a local specialty that has been made by villagers along the border of Thailand and Lao PDR for many years. Larm is a method of cooking by roasting food contained in a bamboo trunk. This study was undertaken at Ban Tadeemee, Chaingkan district, Loei province, Thailand. The objectives were 1) to identify local food wisdom for a healthy life 2) to analyze its usefulness and 3) to conserve local food wisdom sustainability. The methodology was an in-depth interview of local herbal scholars through presentation and demonstration of cooking herbal soup Larm. Collected data of these herbal soup ingredients was analyzed to obtain their usefulness.

 

The results of the research proved that herbal soup Larm is a very nutritious local food in balancing body systems. The usefulness of herbal soup Larm reveals that its contains more than 10 species of herbs such as Para Cress (Spilanthes acmella murr.), Rattans (Calamus siamensis), Concan (Dracaena angustifolia Roxb.), protein sources such as wild animals or fish, and many kinds of elements (calcium, magnesium, ferrous and phosphorus). The conservation of herbal soup Larm is considered a local value and is practiced through the creation of local curriculum teaching the value of herbal soup Larm to school children, demonstrating of cooking Herbal Soup Larm during festivals, and also the process of raising villager’s awareness is taken into consideration.

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Cholada Ruengruglikit

 

Department of Thai, Chulalongkorn University

 

 

A close reading of Kap He Chom Khrueang Khao Wan reveals that this text could be classified as nirat since it is a verse lamenting the poet’s sorrow when his beloved departed from him. The poet’s praise of her exquisite taste and decorative court cuisines, both Thai and foreign cuisines, is one of the techniques he used to demonstrate his grief in the context. Each dish that impressed him, including some dishes sent to him by his beloved during their separation, caused the poet to miss the incomparable culinary skill of his beloved, leading him into a deep sorrow characterized by more grief, more longing for her, and more desire for her return. The findings in the present study express that the poet not only intended to admire the culinary skill of his beloved, as believed before amongst Thai scholars, but also to use this admiration to hint the change within his love from happiness to bitterness, and more importantly to express his lamentation for how much he missed his beloved due to this change. Moreover, a study of other documents supports that the poet composed this text from his experiences during his three-month suffering in the reign of King Rama I. At present, it is found that most of the court cuisines in Kap He Chom Khrueang Khao Wan still exist in Thai society, and are spread amongst common people as well as within the palace. However, it has also been found that one dish may have more than one appearance or two dishes could have the same name. This requires that the scholars and court cuisine chefs work together to set the standard of these court cuisines in order to perfectly preserve the food heritage.

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Thiti Jamkajornciat and Arthit Jiamrattanyoo

 

Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University

 

 

This paper aims to analyze Cheewit Nai Wang by M.L. Nueang Nilaratna as a combination text of memorandum and recipe. In order to explore the significance of royal cuisine in relation to the author and the context through this text, the author reminisces upon a period of her life when she devoted herself to cookery for the royalty as a royal culinary artist in the reign of King Chulalongkorn. Thus, the text provides the researcher knowledge of royal cuisine as well as lives within the royal court. Royal cuisine in the text plays an important role in fulfilling the author’s nostalgic feelings by bringing her back to the time of prosperity in Suan Sunanda Palace where she joyfully spent her youth carrying out the honorary duty of a royal devotee, under which royal cuisine was served for the royalty’s sake, not for the demand of ordinary people as in the case of present time when the text is actually written. 

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Siriporn Phakdeephasuk

 

Department of Thai, Chulalongkorn University

 

 

Nowadays, healthy consumption of foods is a trend in Thai society. A variety of health-claimed products have been introduced to the market. Together with these products, the adverts of these health-claimed foods have been circulated in various types of media, especially within health magazines. The content of these ads covers a wide range of products. Attempting to increase the selling potential of the products, health-claimed ads do not simply provide information about the products, but they also construct myths of smart consumers in order to influence the consumption activities of consumers in the Thai society. 

 

This paper aims to analyze the health-claimed advertising discourse in Thai health magazines in order to uncover the relationship between language and the myth of smart consumers. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is used as an approach for unmasking the manipulation present within health-claimed ads. The findings reveal that the health-claimed ads attempt to promote the identity of health-concerned consumers as smart people who know how to choose wisely. Various strategies are used to create and represent this myth, for instance, the use of lexical choices, presupposition, rhetorical questions, and intertextuality. It is anticipated that this study will yield an understanding of the relationship between health food consumption and discourse in Thai society.

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

Waraporn Chiwachaisak

Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University

 

 

This study is an attempt to explore the role of two lady chefs who were most memorable in Thai food heritage, namely Lady Vichy in the Ayutthaya period and Taxpaying Plain Pasakoravong in the Ratanakosin Period. These two ladies were wives of prominent royal court officials.

 

Lady Vichy was famous for her exquisite sweets. She was the first chef who introduced the use of eggs in Thai sweets, which were originally based on sugar and flour only. Thanpuying Plein was a new–fashion lady of her time. She started the writing of recipes in the western style by using western measurements for the ingredients.

 

Therefore, these two lady chefs are much admired for their significant role in creating a Thai food heritage that has withstood up until the present time.

 

 

(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))

ADVISORS

 

Prof. Dr. Kua Wongboonsin
     Vice President, Chulalongkorn University

 

Prof. Dr. Pranee Kullavanich
     Director, Sirindhorn Thai Center,
     Chulalongkorn University

 

 

CHAIR
 

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suchitra Chongstitvatana
     Director, Institute of Thai Studies, 
     Chulalongkorn University

 

 

DEPUTY CHAIR
 

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suppakorn Disatapundhu
     Deputy Director of Research Affairs
     Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University

 

 

COMMITTEE
 

Asst. Prof. Dr. Arthit Thongtak
     Deputy Director of Administrative Affairs
     Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University

 

Asst. Prof. Ritirong Jiwakanon
     Deputy Director of International Affairs
     Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University

 

Prof. Dr. Siraporn Nathalang
     Director, Thai Studies Center,
     Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University

 

Assoc. Prof. Sukanya Sujachaya
     Director, Center of Folklore Research,
     Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University 

 

Asst. Prof. Dr. Montira Rato
     Deputy Director of Academic Affairs
     Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University

 

Asst. Prof. Dr. Natthaporn Panpothong
     Head, Research Centre of Thai Language and Literature
     Chulalongkorn University

 

Dr. Siriporn Phakdeephasook
     Department of Thai, Faculty of Arts, 
     Chulalongkorn University 

 

Mr. Wuth Lertsukprasert
     Secretary, ENITS Project