Tomyum Kung (Thailand)
Nomination: Representative List 2024
EN: Tomyum Kung is Thailand's simple and popular soup. Its main ingredients are river prawn, fresh herbs and hot chili which make this aromatic and spicy dish a healthy food especially during the rainy and cool months in the tropical climate.
EN: Herbs for Tomyum Kung include lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, shallots, chili, lime juice and coriander. These herbs have medicinal properties that help maintaining the blood circulatory system and contribute to strengthening the immune system.
EN: A villager catches prawn in the Bang Pakong River, Chachoengsao, for cooking Tomyum Kung with other locally sourced ingredients. This is a common and convenient practice among riverside and canal-based communities in Thailand, showing their self-sufficient lifestyle.
EN: A farmer in the area of Taling Chan community, Bangkok, harvests galangal and coriander, which are herbal plants grown around the house to cook Tomyum Kung for her family meal.
EN: Knowledge about the preparation of ingredients and the process of cooking Tomyum Kung is transmitted through generations within the family. Here, at Bang Ban community, Ayutthaya, women of two generations help to preserve the knowledge and strengthen the family bonding.
EN: At Taling Chan community in Bangkok, family members sit in a circle eating rice from the same pot and soup from the same bowl while sharing daily experiences and discussing family affairs, a common practice in Thai local communities.
EN: Knowledge transmission of Tomyum Kung in a Home Economics class of Asawittaya School, Samut Prakan, where students learn about the preparation of ingredients, the process of cooking and the nutritional values which inlude both theory and practice by oneself.
EN: Young cooking enthusiasts learn how to cook Tomyum Kung from a Thai celebrity chef, Phol Tantasathien. This is how Tomyum Kung is transmitted through non-formal education.
EN: Tomyum Kung is a "must-have" menu in every stall in the popular Bang Lamphu District, Bangkok, and it widely attracts both Thai and foreign customers. In Thailand, Tomyum Kung can be found everywhere at street food stalls and high-end restaurants.
EN: As a Thai favorite dish, Tomyum Kung has inspired and evolved into a wide range of food products, including snacks, instant noodles, instant tomyum paste, and seasoning powder, to make self cooking more convenient for the modern lifestyle.
