In the old days, when it came to food-related social structure in rural areas, cooking was the responsibility of housewives who inherited their cooking skills and know-how from their mothers.
But that doesn’t mean men knew nothing about food. Youngsters were all equally assigned kitchen tasks, regardless of gender. Children learned to debone a fish, slice vegetables, grate coconut and make curry paste. And all learned how to cook from their mothers. Food in rural areas makes use of local and seasonal ingredients. Dishes are usually easy to prepare and do not require a complicated cooking process. For example, if a fish is caught locally, villagers will find bamboo shoots close to their houses. They will slice the bamboo shoots, boil them before adding the fish, season with fermented fish ( pla ra), sugar and kaffir lime leaves. This dish is called per soup, which is tasty and easy to make. It doesn’t cost a lot to prepare the soup. Women of the house are usually credited for creating such a dish.
Women of the house are a good source of knowledge when it comes to preparing chilli paste.
Families are open for food-related comments from people outside the house too. For merit-making ceremonies, a temporary kitchen will be set up at or near the temple. This requires collaboration and support from neighbours. Food will be cooked with perfection, which is usually an involved process, requiring time and a lot of help. Through this, people learn various cooking techniques from one another. This is how people pass on knowledge about food in their communities.
In Bangkok, women played an integral part in cooking not just inside the palace and residence of royal family members but also middle-class families.
In the palace or residence of royal families, housewives are highly honoured to take all the responsibilities in the royal court when it comes to art, crafts and kitchen. Food prepared in each royal residence is distinctive in its own way. They are meticulously prepared from the best ingredients. While tastes are usually mild and gentle, dishes are decorated beautifully. Famous dishes from each royal residence are strictly preserved. Knowledge about how to prepare these dishes is passed down from one generation to the next.
Outside the royal court, there were universities and vocational institutions to choose from. There was the famous School of Culinary Arts, which taught not just general knowledge but also a curriculum with regard to how to master household tasks including arts and crafts, tailoring and cooking. For the cooking part, the school taught royal delicacies, western food, international food and local treats. This helped pave way for the next generations of housewives.
Some 70-80 years ago, food started to become a popular topic. A number of cookbooks were published by various publishing houses. Modern cooking equipment and tools were available and could be purchased in neighbourhoods not far away from the publishing houses.
Regardless of social status, the idea of helping out in the kitchen is deeply rooted in Thai society. In merit-making events, people volunteer to help out and the best way to do so is to bring food that they can cook together or food prepared from house recipes. When good food is shared and prepared, the host of the merit-making event feels honoured and satisfied. This is called the circulation of food and housewives play an important role here in passing on the culture.
Food cooked by mothers is a family’s pride — a memorable piece of legacy passed on to the next generations. When mothers are gone, their food isn’t. Many families publish a cookbook that contains their mother’s recipes to give away during her funeral. It’s a way to distribute her cooking knowledge to others.
Such cookbooks are deemed valuable cooking bibles. They are full of experiences and perfection. If people cook from those books, old recipes will never die. They will last forever.
