• Home
  • About Carol
  • About us

Luxury Travel Magazine

An unpretentious guide to luxury travel, culture and adventure

  • About Luxury travel
  • Destinations
  • Spas
    • The Spa and Spa Travel
    • Hot Springs Spas and Thermal Baths: Why You Should Visit One
    • Spa Towns in Europe – 8 Reasons You Should Visit
  • Popular Articles
    • Things to Do in Canada
    • Top European Destinations
    • Things to Do in the South of France
    • Travel and Art: Artistic Cities, Art Fairs and Painting Holidays
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
Luxury travel blog » Places » Asia » Thailand » The strangely fascinating world of Thai rice

The strangely fascinating world of Thai rice

April 15, 2019 by Carol Perehudoff 3 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links.

You will never think Thai rice is boring again. In Thailand, rice isn’t simply a food, it’s a symbol of bounty and fertility – and a key part of Thai culture. It’s also the root of some bizarre rituals the average tourist will never see. Here’s how you can delve into some fascinating rice customs, festivals and rice dishes in Thailand.

Table of Contents

  • Thailand Rice Culture and Its Rituals
  • Thai Rice Culture Explained
  • Different Types of Thai Rice
  • Where to Experience Rice Rituals and Festivals in Thailand
  • The Strange and Bizarre Dark Side of Rice Rituals
  • Thai Rice and Where to Eat It in Thailand
  • Rice Spa Treatments in Thailand
  • Rice as an Antioxident

Thailand Rice Culture and Its Rituals

The Royal Plowing Ceremony

I was standing in the centre of Bangkok, but instead of the usual traffic jams and shopping stalls I was staring at two sacred white bulls yoked to a plow handle, four celestial maidens toting golden baskets and one Lord of the Royal Plowing Ceremony tossing rice kernels onto the earth.

As the procession made its way around Sanam Luang Park just outside the Grand Palace, the ground was plowed by the oxen and the rice kernels were scattered.

Wandering Carol racing for rice, Touring Thailand on a bed of rice

Racing for rice

Touring Thailand Through Rice

Not only does this ritualistic Brahman ceremony mark the start of the rice season each year, it’s both deeply significant and fun.

At the end of the Royal Ploughing Ceremony, I joined the rush of local Thais racing to collect grains of rice from the ground. Racing in and out of the field in my tight skirt and flimsy sandals before the farmers could knock me over in their enthusiasm, I made off with my prize – six grains of auspicious rice from an event presided over by the Crown Prince of Thailand himself.

My curiosity piqued by this sacred ceremony in Bangkok, I decided to travel deeper into the rice culture of Thailand to connect with the country’s culinary roots.  Here’s how you can, too.

Looking for places to visit in Thailand? Read Best Resorts and Hotels in Thailand

Thai Rice Culture Explained

In Thailand, rice is more than a staple food; it’s something to revere. Thai meals almost always have rice as an accompaniment, and the words ‘to eat’ literally translate as ‘eat rice.’ It has been grown for more than 5,000 years here, and was first cultivated around 3500 BC.

Considering rice is Thailand’s most important crop, with 60% of Thai farmers cultivating it, it’s no surprise that rice is deeply ingrained in all aspects of Thai culture.

A key provider of sustenance and nutrition for Thai people, rice has inspired myths, rituals and superstitions, and a number of celebrations are devoted to the rice crop and to asking the gods for rain for good harvests.

Rice is also important to the country economically. Thailand is one of the biggest exporters of rice in the world, and Thai rice is known for its quality.

The Rice Goddess Mae Posop

Offerings are made to the rice mother goddess, Mae Posop (or Mae Phosop), to ask for a good rice harvest for the farmers. The life cycle of the rice goddess echoes the growing season. When the rice begins to seed, Mae Posop is considered to be pregnant. At this critical time in the season, farmers put offerings such as bananas, citrus fruits or cane sugar in bamboo baskets and hang them in their fields. When the rice is harvested, different offerings are made such as boiled duck eggs, sweets and fruit.

Different Types of Thai Rice

The main type of rice grown in Thailand is Hom Mali, a long-grained white jasmine rice that stands out for its sweet ‘popcorn’ fragrance, but there are actually more than 3,500 different varieties grown in the country. Some estimates go as high as 6,000.

Other popular rice varieties include plain white long-grained rice; sticky rice (khao neow); brown rice (hhao dum), which is slightly crunchy, and Thai red rice.

The latest superfood in the Thai rice industry is riceberry, which is a cross between purple rice and Thai jasmine rice. Developed in Thailand but making its way into supermarket shelves around the globe, this nutty-flavoured supergrain is said to be high in antioxidants and minerals.

Rice fields in northern Thailand

Where to Experience Rice Rituals and Festivals in Thailand

The Rocket Festival in Northern Thailand

You could travel the entire country on the theme of rice alone. In northern Thailand, where sticky (glutinous) rice, reigns supreme, the Rocket Festival, Bun Bang Fai, is a raucous celebration that uses an explosive combination of bamboo and gunpowder to fuel homemade rockets, which are set off to ask the sky to send rain for the new season of rice growing.

The biggest Rocket Festival takes place in the town of Yasothon at the beginning of the wet season in mid May, and is a lively three-day event with dancers, parades and music – and plenty of alcohol to fuel the fun.

The Cat Procession in Central Thailand

An intriguing rain ceremony is the Cat Procession in the central region of Thailand, Hae Nang Maew.

A centuries-old tradition that only occurs in times of severe drought, the Cat Procession harkens back to Thailand’s animistic roots. Stemming from the belief that a crying cat can bring rain, the ritual consists of a female cat being paraded around in a basket while villagers throw water at it.

One theory is that the cat represents ‘dryness’ and soaking it chased the dryness away. Another theory is that when the cat gets wet, it yowls, which is seen as a plea to the rain deity for rain.

The Strange and Bizarre Dark Side of Rice Rituals

The rice rituals of Thailand get deeper and more mysterious. If you didn’t think rice had a dark erotic edge, think again. According to the Thai Rice Foundation, rain-making ceremonies asking for fertile rice crops can “involve strange and bizarre methods not seen in everyday life, and some have parts involving sex, seeing that it is a symbol of fertility.”

Wow. Who knew that exploring Thailand culture through its rice customs could be so fascinating?

Now where do I get tickets for that? (Actually, when I first wrote about Thai rice rituals for the Toronto Star, someone did contact me inviting me to one of these mysterious rituals, but sadly (or maybe thankfully) I’d left Thailand by then.

Thailand rice display with purple rice and flowers

Thai Rice and Where to Eat It in Thailand

You’d be hard pressed to find a restaurant that didn’t serve rice in Thailand, but here are some standouts when it comes to the restaurant scene. Note: Menus change all the time so these particular rice dishes at these recommended restaurants were available at the time of writing.

Bangkok Restaurants for Thai Rice

Siam Wisdom Restaurant

At the Michelin-starred Chim by Siam Wisdom in Bangkok, you can add an order of Organic steamed riceberry cooked in coconut juice, or a Steamed Thai jasmine rice with jasmine flower in a clay pot to your meal. Check out their lunch specials for some good deals.

Siam Wisdom is at 66 soi Sukhumvit 31 (Sawadee), Yak 4, Klongtoey-Nua, Wattana, Bankok, Thailand 10110. Telephone +6 622 607811

Err Restaurant

At Err near Ta Tien Pier you can get urban rustic Thai cuisine that has deep cultural traditions. The restaurant works with local farmers and artisanal producers to source its fresh ingredients, and has perfected the art of in-house fermentation.

A rice dish to try here is Steamed sticky rice or Egg-coated grilled sticky rice, or maybe a preserved Grilled northern style garlic and sticky rice cured pork.

Err is at 394/35 Maharaj Road, Tatien, Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang, Phranakorn, Bangkok  10200. Telephone: 02 622 2292

Saneh Jaan Restaurant

For fine dining in Bangkok, the Michelin-starred Saneh Jaan is a restaurant in the modern steel and glass Glasshouse Building in the financial district.

This chic eatery combines contemporary tastes with traditional Thai ingredients such as holy basil, garlic vine and rosella flowers. Along with rice accompaniments to any meal it offers starters of Crispy rice crust and pineapple with sweet curried fish or a Rice cracker with minced pork and shrimp dip.

Saneh Jaan is located at 130-132 Wireless Road, Lumpini, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand. Telephone: 02 263 2500

Boonsap Thai Desserts

Hugely popular is the Mango Sticky Rice Dessert at Boonsap Thai Desserts. Opened in the 1940s, this long-standing dessert shop specializes in the iconic Thai dessert, Sweet Mango sticky rice, which is a combo of coconut milk, glutinous rice and mango. Yum.

Another rice-based dessert to try is their Black Rice Flour Pudding made by pulverizing burnt coconut fibre.

Boonsap Thai Desserts is located at 1478 Charoen Krung Rd, Khwaeng Bang Rak, Khet Bang Rak, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10500, Thailand. Telephone: +66 2 234 4086.

Eating Rice in Phuket

On Thailand’s biggest island, Phuket, the very hip and pricy Sri panwa resort is a hit with Asian celebrities and the ‘It’ pack.

At the resort’s Baba Soul Food, where many of the produce is sourced from The King’s Royal Project organic farms of Northern Thailand, you can try a dessert of Crispy Khao Mao made from shredded rice grain and caramel coconut with warm milk.

Beach in Phuket

Phuket photo credit Tourism Authority of Thailand

Rice Spa Treatments in Thailand

After a few sweltering days touring rural Thailand in search of rice rituals, then eating far too many rice dishes, you might want to relax and detox at one of Thailand’s top spas, where the exfoliating properties of rice have been harnessed into a range of exotic spa treatments.

In fact, rice is considered so beneficial and is such a popular exfoliant in body scrubs, you could make a tour of Thailand’s top spas indulging only in rice. Here’s where to experience them:

Jasmine Rice Scrub in Koh Samui

In the posh surroundings and lush jungle locale of the Four Seasons Koh Samui Resort on the southern island of Samui you can opt for a Coconut Oil & Jasmine Rice Scrub to hydrate and nourish.

Rice Bran Body Polish in Phuket

In Phuket you can indulge with a Jasmine Rice Scrub at the upscale Andara Resort.

In the very luxe and uniquely-designed Keemala Resort, you can opt for a Siam Botanticals Body Polish with Rosemary and Rice Bran Powder that balances, calms and exfoliates.

Rice Wine Body Soak in Bangkok

Most luxury spas in Thailand’s capital are to be found in Bangkok’s best hotels, but there are exceptions. At Divana Spa, you can try a Phikat Bua Prakob Remedy that includes a rice wine body soak.

At the swanky Banyan Tree Spa you can buy Jasmine Rice Facial Collection skin products that contain vitamin E, jasmine extracts and rice ferment filtrate, a fermented product that is supposed to moisturize, detoxify and soothe.

Touring Thailand on a bed of rice, local girl

Rice as an Antioxident

Rice in Thailand may be part of its ancient food culture, but what’s old is new, and rice is gaining more momentum in the health department.

Scientific studies about rice have shown that brown rice may have anti-diabetic, anti-cholesterol, heart protective and antioxidant properties, and that rice bran, the brown outer layer of the rice kernel, contains more than 100 antioxidant compounds.

The most powerful antioxidant in rice is gamma oryzanol, a plant sterol that promises to lower cholesterol, reduce menopausal symptoms and is poised to be the new “it” weapon in our anti-aging tool kit.

Just keep in mind that to get the most benefits from rice you’re going to have to opt for something other than Thailand’s delicious jasmine white rice. Sigh. But it’s also possible to get brown jasmine rice.

Don’t worry, there are plenty of other colours to choose from: yellow rice, green rice, blue and even purple rice.

Purple rice, for example, which gets its colour from the pigment in the husk, has long been used as a traditional herbal remedy and is said to reduce cholesterol and atherosclerosis.

Thai Rice Culture Wrap Up

The benefits seems clear. Whether you eat rice, exfoliate your body with it or conduct some mysterious bizarre rice rituals of your own, think of Thai rice as a journey deep into the roots of Siamese culture, and thank the rice goddess, Mae Posop for providing such a bounty.

Read more: For more travel ideas about Thailand, visit my Things to do in Thailand page or read more about Luxury Travel in Asia.

Filed Under: Culinary Tourism, Thailand

About Carol Perehudoff

A former freelance travel columnist for the Toronto Star, Carol has won more than 20 writing and blogging awards and honours. A spa and luxury travel expert, she's written for top travel publications around the globe.

Comments

  1. Carol Perehudoff says

    May 1, 2019 at 8:39 am

    I thought the same thing when I first attempted to write an entire article about Thai rice and travel, Agness. I laughed when I read your comment.

  2. Rebecca Minton says

    April 17, 2019 at 11:57 am

    That was very interesting!

  3. Agness | the Adventure Traveler says

    April 16, 2019 at 4:27 am

    I was very curious about the title when I first saw it. I was like, really? There’s an entire blog out of Thai rice? Very interesting! Rice is so good!

Talk to me! Leave a comment Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Search

Subscribe and you won't miss an article!

About Wandering Carol

circle profileIn my 10+ years as a travel writer and columnist I've seen the best of what the world has to offer and written for some top publications around the globe - and now my goal is to bring this expertise to you. For more blah blah blah, visit my
About page.

Connect with me online

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
Carol Perehudoff published in top media, logos for newspapers and magazines

Categories

How to use this adventure and luxury travel site

  • Click on the ‘DESTINATIONS TO TRAVEL TO’ tab on the menu bar to go to my destinations page.
  • The CATEGORIES drop down menu above will point you to locations and travel themes such as hotels, outdoor adventure and tours.
  • SUBSCRIBE to keep up with the latest articles and get tips to make your next journey inspiring.

Recent Posts

  • A (Lost) Love for Travel on Valentine’s Day
  • Best Beach Resorts in South Africa: Top 9 Luxury Stays for 2021
  • A Chocolate Christmas in Switzerland
  • Best Place to Live in South Africa | Cheapest, Safest and Best on Offer
  • Romantic Budapest

Recent Comments

  • Carol Perehudoff on A Tropical Island Cocktail Cure at Paradisus Palma Real
  • chrisrochfort on Who worked at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel?
  • brittshedhappens on My shamanic healing in the Amazon, Peru
  • Christa McKinney on A Tropical Island Cocktail Cure at Paradisus Palma Real
  • Ruth Reynolds on Bad Kreuznach – the German Spa Town You Probably Never Heard of

Terms of Use

Terms of Use

Copyright @2020 WanderingCarol.com Luxury Travel Blog