An Ancient Thai King Wrote a Poem About Food. We Tried to Eat All of It.

[@armourer84]

9:41 FYI. ส้ม (Som) means orange (color) , orange (fruit) BUT The former ส้ม (Som) meaning in older Thai language mean SOUR. . Now a day the food that has ส้ม(Som) in its name has to be determined its sour taste. For example Som Tum means sour pounding (sour pok pok), Kaeng Som means sour soup/curry. . on 9:41 / the poem mentions about Nam Som on the pork liver. Nam Som can be translated as orange juice but also translated as "sour water". The sour water this way should be the "vinegar" with pickled chili.

[@OTRontheroad]

It is, you're correct- just keep watching, we figure that out a few seconds later.

[@TheLadyinblack1989]

ตับเหล็ก >> iron liver is actually pork spleen. My family usually eat boiled and slice pig organs and with chilli vinegar, pairing it with Thai distilled alcohol.

[@suppalerkjampangern1079]

Love it. I’m thai and actually this poem have been teach in thai school. But somehow our education system drain all of the importance and the interest out of it. I found that the history of thai food is very interesting and lesser known compare to how popular thai food is. There are another royal writing about thai food that you might be interested. เครื่องเสวยตามเสด็จไกลบ้าน from king rama the 5th. It about the food he ate when he went to europe. There are so many exotic thai and europian food and some are the combination. Keep up with your work. Very good research and video

[@OTRontheroad]

Whatttt?? Ok I’m super interested in this. I’ll keep you updated.

[@MrNataphong]

@@OTRontheroad I'm waaiting for it!!!!

[@SuperPromethee]

Agree...sometimes the way they taught...seems much destructive...

[@thefolder3086]

@@OTRontheroadstill waiting for this

[@tsuribachi]

@@SuperPromethee all just reading, all just remembering no analysis, no exploration

[@tarikamiz]

Man, you told a stories better than my Thai history teacher in my high school. Subbed!!

[@jonathanwongsa2314]

actually, the poem has 16 dishes but 2 of them is similar which is "La Tieng and หรุ่ม " another one just had a bigger roll and made with pork instead of shrimp I really enjoy this video you did a great job chef

[@OTRontheroad]

Great catch!! We actually had a section on this additional dish- but removed it because I wasn't sure I had it correct. Great to know!

[@wittawatnaruenatwanit4830]

I’m a local thai. I’ve just found out your channel by chance and after seeing one clip, I immediately hit subscribe. The combination of food & history is just perfect. This is so fun, inspiring and educative. Please keep up the good work!

[@OTRontheroad]

Thank you so much! Glad you found us

[@urasim4318]

+1

[@learnthaiwithme1041]

+1🎉

[@shoyushabu]

I know! It’s literally fascinating! I never knew this before!

[@PeKan310]

I’ve learnt more Thai history from him that my Thai History classes haha 😂

[@max14719]

At 10:01 I believed that "Nam Som" can be translated as "Orange Juice" in Thai modern usage of language, but it can also mean "Sour Water" or "Pickled Water" or anything that makes any food or ingredient sour. Som Tam, Gaeng Som, Nam Som Saichu (Vinegar), and Pla Som are a few examples. If "som" does not refer to an orange, it refers to a sour fermentation process.

[@OTRontheroad]

Keep watching! We get there about :30 later

[@napasatkathongman8617]

I am a local Thai…but I learn a lot about food and history and the nice place from your clip… thank you so much… looking forward to seeing the next ones..

[@sitangch]

Zeera Rice = Kao Hoong or may be the equivalent of Kao Leang (ข้าวเหลือง yellow rice) in Kao Mok Kai (ข้าวหมกไก่) and Nam Sod could be Pla Neau (พล่าเนื้อ spicy beef salad). Really enjoy the show and really want to share information.

[@OTRontheroad]

Thanks for writing. Pretty confident in zeera rice after a LOT of digging, though I could be wrong...but yes, nam sod absolutely could be pla neua. Wrestled with both of those and I truthfully am not sure which one is refers to- or if back then, it wrote about a dish that had similarities with both of those today.

[@knowgudk.8250]

'Khao Hung' ข้าวหุง in the poem is 'Briyani'. And it has to have 'Look En' ลูกเอ็น which is Cardamon. Maybe we can be your consultants for the next quest in Thai cuisisine :)

[@Goomphaphan1985]

You remind me of my American professor back in university days. He always pushed us to learn our history and appreciate our culture. Even got our class the tickets to watch Khon in Charoen Krung. Outside his work hours he devoted his time. Thank you for your hard work. Will always support you 🙏🏼

[@caragio]

What a fun quest to take on! Your channel deserves more recognition! This is very deep in detail, even for Thai people like me! Subscribed!

[@OTRontheroad]

Thanks so much!

[@applelaung8168]

I’m in 50 and I still remember the king food poem that I had to remember and sang exactly in Thai verse song to teacher to get a point for my grade. Even now, I still recall some of the verse but not all of them. Plus a decade ago when I visited my hometown, Thailand, my family visited the Royal cuisine restaurant in which I don’t know if they still exist. The restaurant offered Royal foods and desserts (quite expensive but great experience)อาหารชาววัง. Maybe you should try to find out about that.

[@OTRontheroad]

I'll look into it for sure! We did find it pretty easy to find restaurants that serve the desserts from the other part of the poem. There are a couple places that specialize in those- we'll definitely approach that in another video at some point.

[@patpatpatting]

Hey Adam. Just recently came across your Chanel today. What’s a great and fun journey. So sorry that you had to eat the whole bowl of boiled liver. I think the lady just took the poem by the words without really thinking them thoroughly. (Happen to most Thais who think Thai literature classes were easy in their high school years). Anyhow, as a Thai who cooks some of those dishes and have eaten most of those dishes since I was a boy. I believe “the liver, liver head boiled with vinegar, fish sauce, and chili”. Rama-II used the word “boiled” for the rhyming purposes, but it’s actually braised. I strongly believe it should be braised liver head (liver connective tissue part which connects the liver to the intestine), some places would put liver in the soup as well. Thai called it Koa Tub Moo Toon (คั่วตับหมูตุ๋น). The dish is totally a Chinese braised soup. You can mostly find it in the braised pork noodle soup places (older Chinese style rather than the street style stalls). Nevertheless, I love you research and your effort. Great job!

[@OTRontheroad]

Fascinating! That's a great theory. I will also say- we just filmed (you'll see it on Tuesday when we post the new video) at a Hainanese-Thai restaurant, and one of their old recipes is pork liver with pickled chili....except it's a lot closer to what you described; beautifully cooked (not sure if it was braised after searing or just pan-fried, but thick cut and delicious) served with fried garlic and pickled chili in fish sauce. Amazing dish.

[@pmuean]

Behold the chatGPT's glory. Oh, fair maiden, thy masaman curry, Doth emit the sweet fragrance of caraway and curry, A fiery taste that doth make men scurry, To feast once more on thy culinary flurry. Oh Yum Yai, a salad of many things, Displayed in many ways that the heart sings, And with Japanese fish sauce, it doth impart, A taste so divine, that doth forever start. Blanched sliced spleen, briefly boiled in pot, Mixed with vinegar and pepper, tastes hot. No other cook can make it taste as fine, As thou, my dear lover, who made it mine. Moo naem, minced and pounded pork so fair, With fresh chilies and coral leaves to wear, Its taste doth make one yearn for more and more, And leave it not, but crave it to the core. Goi Goong, with raw shrimp spicy and bold, Prepared to make one's tongue feel hot and cold. To death itself, yet heavenly on the tongue, Yet not so fine as thou, my love among.

[@OTRontheroad]

Haha!! Wow. I’ve never been so impressed and terrified at the same time.

[@OTRontheroad]

If you haven’t seen it, we did a video scripted by ChatGPT a couple months back. Pretty wild experience

[@SRTBahndosi]

Simply superb. Ever so rarely do you come across a channel that goes far beyond the general foreign perception of what Thai food is.

[@OTRontheroad]

What a kind message. Thank you and hope you enjoy our videos!

[@eddyr5990]

To learn more about Royal thai dishes you should read this book ชีวิตในวัง or living in the palace by หม่อมหลวงเนื่อง นิลรัตน์. She spent her childhood in the palace leaning how to cook and the story inside her palace dorm.

[@yingluckypupuu3311]

Great initiatives. Respect to your love of food and try to understand the culture and history.

[@OTRontheroad]

Thank you!

[@TVOme]

Eating 'Gang Dtai Bpla' without a fatty protein, a big bowl ofsteam rice and big big tray of vegetable is a suicide attempt, even for a veteran Thai. 😂😂😂😂

[@Johnny54321]

Gang Dtai Bpla is a kind of curry soup but you are supposed to eat it with rice, other dishes, and vegetables. It’s not like a western soup that you get before your main course. I also see a similar situation where westerners eat the famous crab omelette without having rice.

[@4oil0nly]

You directly ate Kaeng tai pra without rice!!!!

[@thatthebee]

Great adventure! always love your content and research! As Thai, Gaeng Tae Po is my absolute favourite Thai dish! and one of the hardest Thai dish to balance the sweet, saltiness and sour flavour. Although now they cook it with pork belly but the original 'Taepo' เทโพ comes from the fish called Tae-po. The dish would use belly part(พื้นเนื้อท้อง in the poem) because of its fattiness(That's why they replace it with pork belly). I remember trying the fish version only once in my life from our own restaurant. Sometimes they also cook with dried fish/salted fish like you mentioned in other videos.

[@chawalak]

It always amazes me how far you may go to collect the information for each episode.

[@pachan8355]

No.6 ตับเหล็ก is not liver , rich in iron. ตับเหล็ก is mean spleen. This menu is blanch pork spleen with vinegar and sprinkle peper.

[@OTRontheroad]

Interesting- I’ll look into that.

[@KowitLaison]

ahh.. that poem.

[@thasneebkk9271]

Interesting content❤ Thank you so much for doing this🎉

[@veewaiyawuth2063]

We learnt the poem in junior highschool. I've never thought of the poem in this much interest. Thanks for sharing!

[@lymphoblast]

The liver dish with vinegar is not correct. In the poem they mentioned ตับเหล็ก, which is spleen, not liver.

[@bartmcfartmaster5084]

As a chef you should recreate these old dishes or pass it onto other KZbinrs like max Miller on taste history

[@dearmoor9577]

WOW! I am very impressed that foreigners know so much about Thai history about food.

[@thasneebkk9271]

Thank you for your working hard to find out❤but you just go to the backside of the grand Palace there is one division of the official King ceremony. they have many things such as how to make bouquet or. Royal recipe

[@simplebudd]

Your presentation is well researched and in good taste particularly the respect given to the history of Thai food. Keep up the excellent work. Thank you.

[@saengthong8945]

I'm very impressed with the clip you presented.

[@ploytatchi]

Very interesting content! I love learning about food and culture. As a Thai I have always known this poem but never tried to explore all the menus. You did great job! I tried to search for Spiced Rice. The next verse from it described it to be 'cooked with 'Look-En'" I searched for 'Look-En' in Thai language ลูกเอ็น/ลูกเอ็ล. It came up as Cardamom seed/pod but I think the menu definitely from Indian origin. :)

[@jormungandr5689]

Kaeng Tae Po - red curry with morning glory is one of my favourite dishes! Kaeng - curry Tae Po - a kind of catfish Called 'black ear catfish' that was commonly found in fresh water in Thailand That means this curry originally cooked with this fish. But in the modern days the fish is consider rare. Therefore people turned to use pork belly as subtitute.

[@krittapaschanchaiworawit9480]

Next time, requesting help from Thai high school students with the Thai poem would save you a lot of time. They were drilled in this like their lives depend on it due to the need for college entrance exams. The verse itself was taught in high school back in my days. And I believe it still is now.

[@OTRontheroad]

That would make a very short video

[@TomTraderTH]

​@@OTRontheroad No, Don't do as he said ....... Yes that's way ,you will find the answer quickly, Many Thai people already know the answer ...We just enjoy watching other people's discovery

[@Zzz-tf5mw]

I guess you got it wrong with massaman. The origin of this dish is unclear but, the most popular theory is it is an imitation of Persian stew. Someone, likely a Persian officer of King Narai of Ayuthaya, tried to recreate Persian stew with what available in Siam. A French priest living in Siam in 17th century noted that local food tasted terribly and the king served his foreign guests with Persian food made by cooks imported from Persia. Dishes mentioned in the poem and description as provided. (Not all dishes is detailed.) - Chicken massaman (มัสมั่นไก่)- The stew with cumin, hot and tangy smell. - Yam yai (ยำใหญ่)- A dish of various ingredients, seasoned with Japanese fish sauce. - Parboiled spleen (ม้ามลวก)- seasoned with vinegar and pepper (ตับเหล็ก means pork spleen, not liver with iron.) - Moo naem (หมูแนม)- comes with fresh chili and coral tree leaves, beautifully plated. - Shrimp koy (ก้อยกุ้ง) - Scented. (Koy is seasoned raw meat.) - Tepho soup (แกงเทโพ) - With belly meat, delicious-looking with oil on the surface. - Khom curry (แกงขม) - To eat with kanomjeen. - Om soup (แกงอ่อม) - Smooth flavor (The om soup here likely is a coconut milk-y fish soup, not the soup of the same name from Isan.) - Foreign style cooked rice - Cardamon flavored - Boar kaeng kua som (แกงคั่วส้มหมูป่า) - with sour salak (ระกำ) - Pla (พล่า) - With tangy aroma. - (Another dish of seasoned raw meat) - La tiang (ล่าเตียง) - Beautifully stacked. - Room (หรุ่ม) - (This snack is very similar to la-tiang. Speculated to have Persian origin. You may find you luck seeing this dish in a Muslim community in Bangkok.) - Steamed bird nest - Fish maw curry (แกงไตปลา) - Saeng wa (แสร้งว่า)

[@OTRontheroad]

Again- there are 20 articles with 20 different explanations...we literally couldn't find two identical lists of the actual dishes. Yours is as good a guess as any and it's similar to a few (but not all) of the other explanations online and in print...we certainly don't declare our list to be definitive (and made that clear in the video I hope!), but I'm happy with the results and most of all, I'm glad to help this important work be remembered and to generate conversation about it. I'm excited to check out your suggestions and follow those up, too.

[@OTRontheroad]

I will say, re: Massaman- this is something we have researched exhaustively and I am absolutely certain of the origins as being an Indian dish adapted by Malays before arriving in Thailand. The "Persian" explanation is due to the Persian roots of the Mughal empire, which was the dynasty that spread these dishes across Asia. It would be very likely that many of the Mughal traders who arrived in the Malay peninsula may have been Persian. But the dish is certainly Indian-Malay in origin.

[@Zzz-tf5mw]

​@@OTRontheroad Sorry. I did not even guess. The poem is officially a part of Thai language lesson in middle school in Thailand. They are some online Thai language lessons on this poem (thanks to COVID lockdown) and every one of them giving the basically the same explanation. Unless you are better in Thai language than Thai language experts ...

[@OTRontheroad]

I think you might have missed the context of the video- the entire point is that whatever you might have learned in COVID lockdown studies or Thai lessons, there’s nothing about it in English. So we tried to figure it out. It’s a video about the quest and the history more than a literal word-for-word translation. And no, it’s certainly not correct to say that all sources agree on the same dishes- that is simply not true and very easy to confirm. I have zero doubt of what you’re explaining and I fully trust your knowledge of the subject- but again please understand the context of the video and the point of this mission. Anyway thanks for your time in watching and responding!

[@Zzz-tf5mw]

@@OTRontheroad A notable historical figure from Ayuthaya period is Sheik Ahmad. According to Siamese record, Sheik Ahmad led his troupe of merchants from Qom to Ayuthaya. The troupe settled in Ayuthaya and Sheik Ahmad later was assigned the post of "samuhanayok fai nua, the prime minister of northern region. He was the most influential foreigner in Siamese court at the time. There are various records from foreigners that King Narai of Ayuthaya loved Persian cultures. King Baromakot of Ayuthaya was recorded loving Persian tales and his officer made a compilation of Persian tales for him. Everything suggested that the Persian was highly favored in the royal court in Ayuthaya period. It makes no sense to believe the Persian did not directly left its influence on Thai cuisine. The name massaman is assumed to derive from Persian word "musliman" meaning Muslims.

[@moonlightbrightnight]

It is the first time come across you channel and Impressed in depth video, thank for doing this. Just subscribed ❤

[@yunniekal]

Gaeng Om is so very low land Lao/central Lao dish. I'm surprised and not surprised it made it on the list. I still hate dill to this day. I cant tell you how often my dad would make this ... X_X

[@darkjellyfish4107]

As a Thai I find your passion for our food fascinating, in which I’d be too lazy to research to your extent. Subbed, keep it up bro!

[@sleekslack]

you already did what many Thai KZbinr couldn't do, don't be upset, here's my thumb up.

[@adalynnepalmer]

Good content 👍 ❤

[@ryunoichi]

The correct translation for no.6 pork liver with (nam som) should be “vinegar. ”

[@voroshkin]

yuo amazing !! why so little views?

[@OTRontheroad]

Hah! Thanks, we like this one too. For a brand new channel, you never know what might get traction, but we appreciate everyone who takes the time to watch. Give it time and help us share the video!

[@gchow6009]

I thoroughly enjoy the content of your productions. I made a mistake ordering the fish innards curry dish when we were in Krabi last December. It burned! My Thai sister in law did not stop me from ordering it. The waitress told me she doesn’t even eat that curry although she is a southern Thai after she brought it out. Lol. The Thai food master blog, Hanuman, does a fantastic job in his recipes about Thai dishes and its history through old classic cookbooks. To my surprise, a lot of Thai royal princesses have much influence on its food.

[@OTRontheroad]

Hanuman is such a great resource

[@Nous98]

Why does in many of your videos, you connect Indian (Persian) style food with the South? The cuisine has not thing to do with the southern part of Thailand. The Indo-Persian muslim cuisine, like that of Massaman are from the central region. Ayutthaya was once a very properous trading post where many traders met, one of the most prolific traders were the Persian/Iranian merchants. Since Ayutthaya , the royal court appointed an important ethnic Chinese and Persian merchant to oversee the their respective trade and community, and given them rank of nobility. The leader of the Persian/muslim community is called "Chularajamontri"; one of, if not, the last noble title still in used (Today the title lost its commercial aspect to it, and transformed into an office of the leader of muslim affair in all of Thailand, equivalent to a grand mufti, or a sheikh al-islam in other muslim countries) During the reign of King Narayana (Narai) the Great (1656-1688) he even appointed a Persian/Iranian merchant named Ahmad Qumi to a position "Samuha Nayok" or "Civilian Chancellor", equivalent to a Prime Minister (previously held a Chularajamontri title, overseeing of all commerce coming from the West). The king himself introduce the court to many Persian cultures. For example, the official diplomatic attire of the Siamese when they went abraod was a persian dress. What I want to say is that Indo-Persian culture and cuisine was introduced to Thailand by the merchant traded and settled in the royal capital. It has nothing to do with the southern part of Thailand. There are still community of muslims exists in Ayutthaya to this day. And when Ayutthaya was sacked and Bangkok was established, many muslim nobles and people also settled in the new capital city. Their cuisine continue to thrive in the capital. Granted that early Bangkok saw a wave of Southern/Malay people (and captives) settled in Bangkok too; and their culture and cuisine certainly mixed with those of the court Indo-Persian muslims. But still, muslim food, ingredient, and palate founded in Thai cuisine are entirely from the central region, mainly the capital city, connected with the court nobility of Indo-Persian heritage, not southern Thai or Malay.

[@Nous98]

Also, about this video, the song/poem was actually not address to any particular princess. And because Thai kings kept many wives and concubines, it is not far from possibility that the whole poem might collectively addressed to all the favorite foods that number of Rama II's concubines cooked for him. If it was about only Princess Bunrawd, then it cannot explain why Rama II mentioned a muslim dishes like Massaman or "Khao Hung" (lit. cooked rice, in this case a briyani-type rice dish, in which you translated as "spiced rice".), and other Indo-Persian dishes and desserts. The one addressed in those verses was probably the Chief Concubine-Princess Riam (later called Princess Mother Sri Sulalai), mother of the following king, Rama III. She has a muslim heritage from her mother side. (Her name probably come from the name Mariam, a muslim name.) This is debatable, but if it must be, Princess Riam might actually be the sole subject of the entire poem, as she was known to be a very avid cook who know many cuisines. (She has a muslim heritage but not a muslim herself. As her mother married a governor of Nondapuri (Nonthaburi) province and possible convert to Buddhism. Riam herself was certainly a Buddhist, but as I said, she seems to know muslim, Thai as well as other cuisines.) But as mentioned, I think can address all Rama II's wives.

[@Nous98]

Also, also, the fact that you eat many curries without rice baffled me.

[@OTRontheroad]

I disagree with all of this, it’s honestly an absurd twisting of history- you’ve selected several things that did happen and connected them into a narrative that misses many more elements and factors. History isn’t a straight line and it’s not easy. You cannot ignore so much context. That being said, I really do appreciate you watching the channel and thank you very much for your interest

[@Nous98]

@@OTRontheroad dud you didn't even know Thai. I can read the poem and translated it more faithfully that yours. Also as I studied history and majored in political science/international relations, I read countless of articles about Thai history, most of them in Thai, where you cannot access to. You don't even understand the subtle history of this poem genre. Or of the history of muslims in Thailand. (I'm a Thai muslims, btw) This frinkin poem is taught in middle school, ffs. (Any knowledgable Thai who are not a complete fool can interpret the verses.) Don't act like a smart ass foreigner on a highhorse. This is 21th century, not a colonial period. Your video, while entertaining, did have a subtle disrespectful tone like a know-it-all. You are not a researcher or an academic; you don't even reach out to one. Why don't you go out of the expat bubble first, befriended some intelligent Thai people who can actaully told you, in a friendly fashion, of what elements, facts or context you've missed. Ugh!

[@Nous98]

Just the fact that you don't know about how Persian influenced the Ayutthayan court. And that Persian and Mughal Indian are not the same. (Mughal, in turn were influecned by Persian even.) Laughable.

[@Puranut]

Bravo to you for having the Gaeng Tai Pla alone just like that. It must have been very spicy. We usually don’t eat any curry or soup (like Tom Yam) alone without rice. The spiciness should be more tolerable with the rice. Anyway, I always enjoy your videos and thank you for making these videos!

[@eug3nz698]

we need princess Daria poem on Spotify. anyhow, video is as amazing as always.

[@PlebiasFate1609]

18:00 i misheard geng cwa sont ( crossaint ) and was like wtf 😂😂😂

[@OTRontheroad]

Oh god. Although- if roti-curry is one of my favorite things, why not croissant-curry?

[@asneerojvatunyu7385]

the liver dish is not accually pork liver, but it is the pork spleen dip in vinegar mix with pepper and japanese soy sauce.

[@asneerojvatunyu7385]

All the curry in Thiland we eat with rice which acually goes very well and improves more taste.

[@OTRontheroad]

Yes, somebody else pointed out that it might be referring to spleen instead of liver. I will try to find this to taste. Thank you!

[@OTRontheroad]

The problem is- when I'm filming a video and I have to eat a lot of food in the same day, sometimes rice is just too filling. Of course we'd normally eat curries with rice, but it's just not possible when we're eating all day! Hah.

[@asneerojvatunyu7385]

Kang Tae Poe was originally used Tae Poe(a kind of catfish) fish instead of pork, very difficult to find this curry cook with this fish in the restaurant.

[@Jet_npch]

I think if you have Thai chef friends, you might actually found all the menu in one restaurant though. There are couple of restaurants dedicated to that and if I remember correctly one of them has the original recipe book that was used in the royal kitchen. Edit : I’ve found the restaurant that has the original cookbook, It’s called Paka restaurant.

[@onponnoy5403]

That's what my thought. If he bothered to look up for local expert in Thai food that would safe a lot of problems and misunderstood.

[@typhoontyph]

@@onponnoy5403 That would ruin the fun of the quest!

[@ศรีสุวรรณเปรมรัศมี]

Love it, you are not supposed to eat GLANG Tai pla without like. It is not your typical chicken noodle soup.

[@ศรีสุวรรณเปรมรัศมี]

RICE IS NEEDED WITH Glang Tai pa

[@OTRontheroad]

lol, as I said to other people who made that point- of course, but don't forget how much food I have to eat on days when we film!! Add rice to everything else and I'll explode.

[@jarurotetippayachai8220]

16:12 “Tom Khlong” is a good combination with beer. I love Tom Khlong so much.

[@OTRontheroad]

wow- you nailed it! Watch the video on Hangover Cures (one of the first ones we ever did). The whole video is about Tom Khlong and beer!

[@Jay-je8fc]

I think the pork liver menu, probably referred to "Tub Lhek" (ตับเหล็ก: Iron liver). But despite the name, this menu is made from spleen. not liver.

[@manisindhu4544]

I dont think 'koi kung' in the poem is esarn koy kung. It is more like pla (พล่า)- raw meat spicy salad of central thai.

[@OTRontheroad]

Very possible. In Thai translations both are mentioned as possibilities.

[@tongsuddee]

Love the episode.. however I think in the verse about Tae Po is Tae Po Curry made with Tae Po fish. The fish has fatty belly. Nowadays, Tae Po fish is too hard to find, so many people use pork belly instead. It is not Kang Tai Pla the southern cuisine I'm quite sure. Good content still. Some ancient dishes are like myths in these days and age.

[@OTRontheroad]

Another viewer pointed this out, and after some digging I think you're absolutely correct re: the original Tae Po fish recipe. Seems that fish became quite overfished and is very hard to come by these days.

[@tongsuddee]

Ah my bad, there's actually a verse talking about Kang Tai Pla as well! 😅

[@Smilequve]

I reread the poem again after watching your fun video. I found that some of the menu you got were wrong. Iron liver is actually pig spleen. But good job anyway man 🎉.

[@OTRontheroad]

Yes- someone else pointed this out too. I'm going to try to find the pig spleen dish! Thanks for mentioning it. Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@นนทพันธ์ศรีอัครพงศ์]

"Gaeng Kua Som" is not "Gang Som" at all but it is the same sub-category of red curry which is coconut milk base. Taste profiles totally like "Gaeng Tae Po"; savory, sweet, sour and a little bit salty. But just change some ingredients. Tamarine sour and lime aroma, sour and astringent from kaffir lime juice (other kind of sour) are still mandatory. Sometimes put the whole cut piece with skin into a soup also. Moring glory is the key veggy combination. But for protein, they use sundried Siriped Cat Fish (Thai Pangasius) instead of pork belly. This is the original recipe the I had eaten since I was young made by my aunt. Other "Gaeng Kua" are varied based on the main ingredients. Like in Petchburi and other southern provinces; such as Gaeng Kua Hua Tan (young Palmyra palm), Gaeng Kuai (young small shrimp or shrimp paste).

[@OTRontheroad]

The video makes clear that those are two different dishes...but thanks for the story about your family version, that’s always really interesting. And you can watch our other videos for in-depth explanations of things like Gaeng Kua Hua Tan- did a whole video on that subject! Please explore the channel a bit.

[@นนทพันธ์ศรีอัครพงศ์]

@@OTRontheroad I saw them already and all information you'd researched were great. I just doubt the picture in your video that looks like Kaeng Som Kung (shrimp) rather that Kaeng Kua Som.

[@OTRontheroad]

@@นนทพันธ์ศรีอัครพงศ์ ah that’s fair. It might be- it’s definitely possible google image spat out the wrong photo and we didn’t catch it. It’s happened before.

[@notonoty]

Well... funny thing is if you just google 'menu' then the name of the poem in Thai (เมนู กาพย์​แห่ชมเครื่องคาวหวาน)​ you would be greeted with tons of pages with a list of the 15 menus, picture, recipes and many more 😅😅😅 Also, you should consider consulting a Thai or History subject teacher or maybe a professor, this poem is taught in elementary school so maybe you could get a more refined translation and get some suggestions on places to find that kind of food. But to be able to find an authentic version of these kinds of food might be pretty hard though... the ingredients, how lengthy and sophisticated the process are, and the spirit of authentic Thai food are very hard to be found. As a Thai person myself, I will admit that I have only tried a handful of these dishes. Even then, lots of these dishes are just a crude version of the real deal (I meant the refined version. Because to make these dishes to serve lots of people, some of the processes might have to change.) Anyways... I'm not an expert in this field. Just some hearsay so take it with a pinch of salt. Thai food is awesome, flavorful, and very interesting. Enjoy your journey 😀😀😀

[@OTRontheroad]

I mean...that would be a really boring video. The adventure is part of the fun.

[@J.L.sleepybear]

I really really love this video. ❤ I think this poem is the best for introducing Thai culinary for everyone (Thais and foreigners). I studied the poem when I was in primary school (many years ago 😁), which is faded away through times.😅 While watching this vid, I could recall some parts of the poem that takes me down in the memory lane of my childhood. 😊 Thank you very very much for doing this ep. Much love & respect. 💝

[@OTRontheroad]

Awesome comment, thanks so much for saying that.

[@J.L.sleepybear]

@@OTRontheroad 💝💖💗

[@simplebudd]

Thai curries are meant to be eaten with rice or rice noodle (Khanom Jean). So to have Tai Pla Curry plain like you did could be overwhelming which doesn't deliver the 'taste' the curry is supposed to have. I admire your courage because I can't eat the Tai Pla from restaurants as it's always fatally hot.

[@OTRontheroad]

Agreed but as I’ve said in response to other comments- I just don’t usually eat rice when we film. Imagine how much I have to eat in one day- with rice too, it would be impossible

[@simplebudd]

@@OTRontheroad I understand. I'm not saying you're ignorant or anything. That's why I said you're courageous.

[@moumous87]

Dude, maybe invest in a local guide/translator 😑

[@OTRontheroad]

The adventure is the whole point of the video. I’m sure there are places you can pretty easily find someone simply reading the list. Sorry if that was lost on you, “dude”

[@pongsutav]

I'm very confuses right now, why am I learn Thai history from a foreigner... and enjoying it... keep up the good works.

[@brandillysmom]

I love Thai food…..I Love Thai Food…. I Love😍THAI FOOD 🌶️🧄🧅🫚🍤🍗🍜🍲….(hunger overtakes me…)

[@azimtomo2882]

Careful using the map from 3:30. You might trigger some people 😅

[@OTRontheroad]

lol...well...I lived in China for a decade, I'm used to running into controversy with maps...I didn't draw it, I can just blame the map maker or Google for spitting out these results

[@jimmyboy223335]

7. You can't eat it by itself. You MUST eat it with white rice.!!! Too salty and spicy to eat by itself.

[@BrichaJulbry]

CORRECTION (Please): Miang Kam (เมี่ยงคำ) is eaten with Lalot leaves (ใบชะพลู), not Betel leaves (ใบพลู). Betel leaves are larger, thicker, and bitter, which is normally chewed up with the lime paste (as in limestone), just like chewing tobacco. You would get very dizzy if you eat the wrong thing, btw.

[@OTRontheroad]

Correction: lalot leaves are better known as “wild betel”. Which is what they’re called here!

[@BrichaJulbry]

@OTRontheroad Lalot is Piper Sarmentosum. Betel is Piper Betle. At times, some people call Lalot as wild betel out of ignorance, and the name just sticks around. They often get it mixed up because their is no actual name in English. They are two totally different plants. The same thing happened with Chinese Water Spinach. Some people call it morning glory out of the flower similarity. Their leaves are very different.

[@OTRontheroad]

@@BrichaJulbry Wild Betel and Betel are two different plants. Not related to each other. I think you're confused on this one. It's a terminology thing, maybe it's a different name based on where you come from, but as a chef working in Asia what you call "lalot" is Wild Betel. Full stop. "Betel" is what's used to wrap betelnut, which as you said, is not the same thing and is unrelated.

[@BrichaJulbry]

@OTRontheroad I'm not confused. I'm explaining how the names got mixed up and became understood the way you think. Several people in Thailand have always been confused themselves. There was originally no wild vs domestic betel. Betel leaves and betelnut are two other different plants as well. (Now, we are talking about three plants.) People who said wild betel didn't know better when they tried to differentiate betel leaves from Lalot back then. Over time, the name wild betel stuck that way as part of language evolution (just like any living language). Since you kindly share your credentials, let me share mine. I was born and raised in a Chinese family in Thailand. I have a language degree from Chulalongkorn University. I worked as an interpreter and a certified tour guide there. I've also been traveling and living abroad for the past 25+ years, cooking and grocery shopping for myself. 😊 Feel free to fact check on Wikipedia if you are still curious. Hope this help! Appreciate your passion anyhow.🙏

[@pm7128]

The poem is pretty straight forward to me. We learn it in elementart school. One of my favorite poem.

[@คริษฐ์ช่วยอักษร-ข2ฐ]

1 Your videos are even better than high school Thai textbooks.

[@hammaidai]

ชื่อเมนูอาหาร ขออภัยที่ฉันพิมพ์เป็นภาษาไทย ฉันไม่เก่งภาษามากนัก 1.แกงมัสมั่น อันนี้ทุกคนน่าจะรู้จัก 2.ยำใหญ่ ก็คือ ยำ แต่ในกลอนจะมีส่วนผสมที่ใช้เพิ่มคือ น้ำปลาญี่ปุ่น 3.ตับเหล็ก คือ ตับลวก ส่วนน้ำจิ้ม จะมีส่วนผสม ของน้ำส้มสายชูกับพริกไทย 4.หนูแนม 5.ก้อยกุ้ง 6.แกงเทโพ 7.ขนมจีนน้ำยา แต่ในกลอนจะเป็นน้ำยาแบบแกงขม จากมะระ 8. ข้าวหุง มีการใส่ ลูกกระวาน หากินยากมาก 9.แกงคั่วส้มใส่ระกำ จานนี้ใส่ เนื้อหมูป่า 10.พล่าเนื้อ 11.ล่าเตียง หายาก 12.หรุ่ม รูปร่างคล้ายล่าเตียง หากินยาก 13.รังนกนึ่ง 14.แสร้งว่า ในกลอนทำรูปร่างคล้าย ไตปลา 15.แกงไตปลา อาหารทางใต้ รสเผ็ดมาก คำเตือนสำคัญชาวต่างชาติ สำหรับใคร ที่อยากลองกินอาหารตามบทกลอน ลองใช้คำตามที่อยู่ข้างบนถามคนไทยดู อาหารบางชนิดหากินยาก และรสชาติอาจจะไม่เหมือนกันกับรสชาติในสมัยนั้นเท่าไร เนื่องจาก มันมีการปรับปรุงสูตรอยู่เรื่อยๆ คุณอาจจะลองกินดูไปเรื่อยๆจนเจอสูตรที่คุณชอบ ส่วนร้านอาหารที่น่าจะมีอาหารเหล่านี้อยู่ ส่วนใหญ่จะเป็นร้านอาหารขนาดใหญ่ จะสังเกตุได้ว่า อาหารสมัยก่อนส่วนใหญ่จะเป็นประเภท ต้ม แกง นั้นคือพื้นฐานของอาหารไทย นอกกว่านี้ยังมีอาหารอีกมากมายอยู่ร่วมสมัยในช่วงที่กลอนนี้ถูกแต่งขึ้น เช่นแกงประเภทต่างๆ ขอให้สนุกกับการกินอาหาร ส่วนตัวของฉัน ฉันชอบ ต้มโคล้ง

[@Saddawg-cz7yw]

I'm aware this is late relative to the video but regarding the rice, what it might've been is ข้าวบุหรี่ (Bukhri Rice), or at least what my middle school Teacher believe it was. I'll note that due to Thais being Thais screwing up how stuff are said it's apparently called cigarette rice when translated using the distorted form.

[@jonnywas2665]

This channel is fast becoming my favourite thing on KZbin...and I watch a LOT of KZbin!

[@OTRontheroad]

Ah thanks man. Means a lot.

[@neoflynow1130]

Please refrain from prejudice, use reason and evidence to find out the truth.❣ There are probably many people in this world who want to know. The story of the ancient world, the truth is greater than fiction. Thailand (Siam) give orders to build the wonders of the world called Angkor Wat.👽🤖 Cambodian people are just tribesmen who sell labor to build Angkor Wat.🤔 If you search, you will find many evidence such as ancient inscriptions. Either in China, Burma or Vietnam, leading to the belief that Siam is the real owner of Angkor Wat. The Khmers are not the real owners of Angkor Wat. Suryavarman II came from Siam. Evidence from stone carvings indicates that great kings such as Suryavarman II came from Thailand's Lopburi province. King Jayavarman V traveled from Phimai in Thailand. The Kingdom of Siam predates the Angkor Wat era.☺ For example, the name of the Kingdom of Lawo. Dvaravati Kingdom All of these were established by Siam. Lawo Kingdom located in the area of Lopburi Province on the land of Thailand at present Lawo people speak Thai words ancient Thai language🧐 If there is information to discuss, there should be an on-stage debate.Must have representatives from many countries came to listen as witnesses and judges such as Indians, the origin of civilization🕘 There are various evidences of Siam to explain to humans to discover the truth. and unanimously summarized Angkor Wat data because truth is truth💯👀

[@NanChirayukool]

It's a great idea...just not in 1 day. I applaud your guts to chase those flavours though!

[@mchaisoccer]

This is such a powerful deep history about Thai food! Growing up reading and studying this poem while in secondary school 30 some years ago, I had never appreciated what was taught through this poem. Back then, I thought it was just a piece of poem explaining many wonderful dishes the queen had experienced. But when you extracted it going deep down to the root of each dish and the imagination of how multi-cultural food scenes existed couple hundreds years ago, it looks very interesting. Regardless of where the origin of each food, religious or culture was, Thais have embraced it to the society so well. Many even thoughts we originated everything but we did not. We embraced and recreated a new version of food, culture and tradition that everyone once being guests in the country feel like home or part of it.

[@jimmyboy223335]

You only finished 15 out of 16 dishes. There're also 14 fruits and 16 deserts in the poem.

[@OTRontheroad]

The desserts and fruits section is considered a separate verse (they were composed together, but are two separate verses) and it’s also MUCH more well known, so it wasn’t as interesting to cover this time. Maybe at some point in the future we’ll look at the other one. There’s no challenge in “finding” the desserts though- there are several restaurants that specialize in the full dessert menu.

[@kaowtruck3900]

1st off, I have to thank you soo very much for teaching me about my native Thailand. I came to the states when I was 10, so that’s my Thai education level. My weak attempt at learning the history of my land always gets halted by the higher language used in my Thai media when explaining Thai history. It’s way above a 4th grade level. I can’t believe Gang Om was on this list. I do t think many Bangkok Thais have even had this dish. One of my favorites hard to duplicate in the states but my mom makes one of the best. Waiting for you to do one on Nam Prik Gabi and Gang Som Bae Sah!

[@Tokanya]

Ohh cooool. So this is kind of a Thai version of the Simpson's New Orleans food tour.

[@Ohgodmail]

You'd be surprised by the word Nam Som, which means vinegar. because vinegar existed before orange juice So why do Thai people use the word Nam Som to call these 2 things? Because the word Som in ancient Thai means sour test. You'll find the word Som meaning sour when talking about cooking. But if you order a beverage called Nam Som You will have orange juice. because Thai people call orange fruit is "Som" And I want to say one more thing about Kaeng Tepo. That is, this name comes from the name of a local fish in the central region of Thailand in ancient times. The Tepo curry is cooked using this fish. But day by day, this fish is becoming more and more rare until you can hardly find it. So he switched from fish to pork belly instead.

[@OTRontheroad]

Yes, right on both counts. Thanks- I didn’t add the note in the video about the origins of Tae Po but one day we’ll revisit the subject. Thanks!

[@ItsPForPea]

Think of it like this: "Som" means sour "Nam Som" is literally sour water, which means vinegar "Phon Som" is literally sour fruit, and you know what fruit is sour? Orange. So "Nam Phon Som" would be sour fruit water, or orange water, or orange juice. But Thais are lazy and just call orange juice "Nam Som", the same word for vinegar, lol.

[@sanwa2000]

Thank you for you summarize. I was learn and able remember this poem since I was young.

[@AlexanderLohachitranont]

Crap! I used to have to sing this song in the elementary school!😮

[@zyberjunker]

Curry and those coconut Thai curry are made to be eaten with rice, not straight. Now you are complaining it's too spicy.

[@OTRontheroad]

Complaining? I've never complained about spice once in my entire life- unless it's that something isn't spicy enough

[@zyberjunker]

@@OTRontheroad I mean if you don't do things as the founder intended to and give negative feedback IE. food is horrible, too salty, etc. that is not a fair statement. Curry and rice are meant to be eaten together to have perfect harmony. It's not a hunk of steak. Eating curry straight up will rub us wrong, like shoes in bed etc.

[@aerosuffly]

8:16 We need an episode about Daria's thoughts of potato in Thai and Asian food :)

[@OTRontheroad]

lol...I'll pitch the idea to her. Hah

[@udayseth6012]

BTW, "Isaan", or "ishan", is north east in the jain directions, spoken in the northern Indian languages

[@v.4789]

12:16 please eat it with rice 😂

[@OTRontheroad]

haha- but then I'll be too full to finish filming!

[@v.4789]

@@OTRontheroad i can feel the pain just from watching you 🌶️🌶️🌶️😂

[@whoareyoulookingfor]

your point of being able to eat all of these in a day when it took the princess a lifetime of travel to find them really makes me appreciate all the food i eat, the places it comes from, and the places i've been able to visit. i've been lucky enough to be able to travel to different places in the world with my family a few times, and we're a half vietnamese family, and wherever i go i at least TRY local foods, even if there are things in it i don't normally like. it makes me sad to think of a friend i had in middle school who still only eats plain pasta with butter and parmesan or chicken fingers, and she's gone on many world trips, usually coming back complaining about not being able to find food she can eat so she ends up just going to mcdonalds and starbucks

[@AlexanderLohachitranont]

Interesting, I had 10 out of 15!😊

[@wezzuh2482]

As someone who is obsessed with Thai food I absolutely love this channel!

[@manolexing68]

You​ have definitely​ created a cult of food seekers now. I'm not definite on that, but I've got a pretty strong hunch. I'm going to an Isan restaurant​ tomorrow. Chao!!!

[@OTRontheroad]

Awesome message. Love to hear it. Thanks so much for writing

[@HENTAICOMBO]

18:57 that not Gaeng Kua Som it's Gaeng Som and it's completely different dish (don't taste the same at all) Gaeng Kua Som has the same look as Gaeng Tae Po use the same paste but taste a little bit different even most Thai people have a difficulty to separate them by look to put it simply it's a bit Sour Gaeng Tae Po Gaeng Kua Som(curry that has Orange color, a bit Sour) Gaeng Som(Soup that has Orange color and Sour)

[@OTRontheroad]

The photo is labeled as Gaeng Kua Som แกงคั่วส้ม when we searched for copyright-free photographs....however it's definitely possible that it's mislabeled and we didn't catch it.

[@HaradaCh]

If I remember correctly there's a whole lot of food inside the poem. We have a class that dedicate to this poem only at around grade 7-8

[@OTRontheroad]

Yes, there’s a whole section devoted to desserts and fruits which we didn’t even touch

[@sinchansouk1986]

I love food and history while eating is so good! 😋

[@butsayaphianjit3840]

Excellent documentary about Thai ancient culture food, reminds me it’s all. Thank you for makes this docs, good job 👏👍❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@OTRontheroad]

Thank you

[@3salty]

Khanom babin is also hard to find now.

[@teeyakdon8835]

You should not translate every single word especially from the ancient one to English. The meaning may be changed. หรุ่ม & ล่า are kinds of egg roll, which หรุ่ม use a sheet of egg while ล่า use striped sheet of egg . So ล่า เตียง is not hunt the bed ... The poem only reference เตียง for bed ... Others give you the information for น้ำส้ม / ส้ม ... which is correct. There are many language traps for the translation in every languages. I've also got some wired translation when I was at the cinema.

[@teeyakdon8835]

You can search more about "กาพย์เห่ชมเครื่องคาวหวาน" from Internet, but most are in Thai. I'm Thai and this poem are taught in the school. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kap_He_Chom_Khrueang_Khao_Wan

[@OTRontheroad]

Haha yeah there are definitely resources available, and we do research in Thai (jaspar, the producer, is Thai, for example), but that wouldn’t have made nearly as fun a video

[@Kanchai7]

This is not a one-man job and this is not a one-day investigation. That's what i thought when you say " We Tried to Eat All of It " 🤣 But thank you for your good work. 😀😀

[@OTRontheroad]

haha thanks!

[@mamashinecalma2165]

I wanna try this culinary "tour"...🥰🥰🥰

[@daiuy4358]

Regarding the spiced rice dish; one possible contender might be khao kluk kapi (ข้าวคลุกกะปิ).

[@OTRontheroad]

That’s a pretty interesting guess. We know it was obviously around back then

[@dittasuwan]

Thailand has been trading with foreign countries for a long time. Ayutthaya we have a Japanese village. portugal village and many countries to stay together in a group that is easy to govern.

[@OTRontheroad]

I think you need to watch more of our videos, we have covered all of those subjects extensively.

[@hollish196]

OMG!!! I cannot imagine how you will ever top this---but I am sure you will. You never fail to amaze and delight. Love , love , love!!

[@OTRontheroad]

I appreciate the comment- yeah I went back and watched this one again recently and had forgotten what a fun video this was. Glad you liked it!

[@RangKlos]

Respect! The verse I'm sure has tens of graduate study research papers on it. Your efforts are huge fun and informative. Subscribed.

[@OTRontheroad]

Haha thanks! Much appreciated. Yeah- this was a really fun one to take on...though I’m sure those graduate research papers probably know more than we do.

[@tooktikwm7477]

Thais eat any Gaeng with rice or Kanhomjean noodle, we don’t eat only the Gangs.

[@OTRontheroad]

As I’ve mentioned already- put yourself in my shoes. I’m eating 15 meals in a single day. Adding rice would literally kill me.

[@rontan8433]

Where is the restaurant that you guys had La Tieng? It looks so beautiful, hope to visit it!

[@OTRontheroad]

goo.gl/maps/zMrJw5M4YvEh41hB8