As Northern Thai cuisine is a rarely-written subject in food writing, here are some resources I found that can point you in the right direction. Some of them concern food, and others concern the history of the cuisine and its traditions.

Journal Articles

Khun Tok Dinner: The transformation of a lanna eating style to a tourist attraction in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Porananond, Ploysri. “Khun Tok Dinner: The transformation of a lann eating style into a tourist attraction in Chiang Mai, Thailand.” International Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies, vol. 11, 2015, pg. 129-144.

 

The khun tok, a traditional low table Lanna people sat and ate at, single-handedly transformed the tourism industry of northern Thailand. The introduction of dances, upper-class dining, and “safe” dishes followed the popularity of the khun tok and made humble Lanna cuisine into a spectacular experience. In this article Porananond describes the increasing popularity of Northern Thai food and culture, as well as the fight against its monetization.

 

Too Hot to Handle: Food, Empire, and Race in Thai Los Angeles

Padoongpatt, Tanachai Mark. “Too Hot to Handle: Food, Empire, and Race in Thai Los Angeles.” Radical History Review, vol. 110, Spring 2011, pg. 83-108.

 

Padoongpatt uses the struggle of the Thai population in 1950s Los Angeles to pose an important question: can a race be defined by its food? He argues that although Thai cuisine is referred to as “exotic” and “foreign”, the Thai have distinguished themselves from other Southeast Asians through that same cuisine. The article is an interesting read on the importance of food to the first Thai in America and the measures they took to ensure its survival.

 

Food Culture in Southeast Asia

Van Esterik, Penny. Food Culture in Southeast Asia. 2008. Greenwood Press.

 

Though the text may remind the reader of old elementary-school-level fiction, this book provides a surprisingly in-depth analysis of the history, ceremonies, and food of Southeast Asia. Interspersed within the text are recipes relevant to the subject being discussed. These recipes are short and simple, and are good exercises for mastering Southeast Asian flavor.

 

Web Articles

The Essential Dishes of Northern Thai Cuisine

Coles, Terri. “The Essential Dishes of Northern Thai Cuisine.” Paste, www.pastemagazine.com, https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/04/the-essential-dishes-of-thai-cuisine.html, 16 Apr. 2015

 

Coles’s list covers four vital components to Northern Thai cuisine: sticky rice, kao soi, laap, and naam prik ong. It also offers a beginner’s guide to the cuisine and its history, as well as several cookbooks that I personally reviewed and found helpful. This is a good article to start with if you want to learn what constitutes a simple meal in Lanna culture.

 

Chiang Mai food paradise: ‘The best I’ve ever eaten’

Kapoor, Deepti. “Chiang Mai food paradise: ‘the best I’ve ever eaten.’ The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/feb/24/thai-street-food-chiang-mai-tour-thailand, 24 Feb. 2016

 

Novelist Deepti Kapoor helps us picture her food tour through the night markets of Chiang Mai, known for its delicious and cheap street food. She echoes my thoughts on the city’s food culture: a wild fusion of influences, a fine balance between local and chic. She also lists the four places that made strong impressions on her and led her to declare Chiang Mai a “food paradise”.

 

A coffee lover’s guide to Chiang Mai

Bradley, Elizabeth Kelsey. “A coffee lover’s guide to Chiang Mai.” Lonely Planet, https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thailand/chiang-mai-province/chiang-mai/travel-tips-and-articles/a-coffee-lovers-guide-to-chiang-mai/40625c8c-8a11-5710-a052-1479d2769336, Jun. 2017

 

In Thailand, I found myself drinking iced coffee on every road trip, even though I refuse to drink coffee here in America. Though this article focuses on the author’s experiences in hip and trendy shops (I got my caffeine from the locals), it highlights the growing coffee industry in northern Thailand—a source of national pride.

 

Cookbooks & Blogs

World Cuisine: Thailand (I)

Chalermkittichai, Ian. Phian-o-Pas, Tasanai. Thompson, David. World Cuisine: Thailand, vol. 1. 2005. Ciro Ediciones, Barcelona.

 

Though I found the recipes to be both Westernized and overly decorative, they are presented in a clean and easy-to-read manner. Each recipe is accompanied by a professional page-sized photo so you’ll know exactly how your dish should turn out. My mother uses the recipes in this cookbook to impress dinner guests and recommends it to anyone who wishes to bring that Thai punch to the table.

 

SheSimmers

Punyaratabandhu, Leela. SheSimmers, shesimmers.com

 

Leela Punyaratabandhu covers many easy-to-make Thai and Thai-American dishes in the recipe index of her blog. Though her area of focus is Bangkok, you can find many of these dishes in northern Thailand as well, namely: moo ping, kai nok, green curry, and nam ngio (referred to by the Thai community in America as “Thai spicy noodles”). The authentic Thai and non-authentic dishes are separated by Thai subtitles for the reader’s convenience. Be careful, as some recipes will take you to sites that lock their recipes behind a premium membership, as was the case with the nam ngio recipe.

 

Video

FARANG: The Andy Ricker Story

“FARANG: The Andy Ricker Story.” Munchies, Season 2, Episode 16, video.vice.com

 

Andy Ricker is the chef that brought Northern Thai food to the U.S.A. and has astonished both natives and foodies with his knowledge, despite being a farang, or a foreigner. In this hour-long video produced by Vice, Ricker and his fans describe the difficulty in establishing an authentic Thai restaurant—as Ricker did with Pok Pok in Portland. Ricker’s total obsession with Lanna food and culture drives him to seek traditional methods and ingredients, favoring the experience of the customer over his own. A warning: the video does contain explicit dialogue.

 

Also, if you have not done so, please check out Roman Paoletti’s articles and resources. He covers Thai cuisine more broadly, unlike my focus on Lanna, but the information he has put together is still very helpful.