Thais have several ways of adding flavour to dishes. Even simple dishes like kai jiao (omelette) and kai dow (fried egg) can be seasoned with condiments like ketchup, chilli sauce, soy or fish sauce.
Organised by the Creative Economy Agency (CEA), the exhibition “Thai Local Sauce: Aroi Ho, Aroi Yo (Delicious And Drizzled)” revealed that Thai sauces are one of the most popular export products.
The top five countries that imported Thai sauces in 2024 were the US (4.7 billion baht), Australia (2.7 billion baht), Japan (2.6 billion baht), the Philippines (2.4 billion baht) and the Netherlands (2.3 billion baht). Among several kinds of sauces, the three most popular were chilli sauce (7.1 billion baht), fish sauce (2.9 billion baht) and soy sauce (2 billion baht).
Monnapa Panichkriangkrai, exhibition curator and senior knowledge management officer at CEA, explained that Thai sauces are popular export products because they are the most convenient way to bring out the taste of Thai cuisine.
“Thai Local Sauce: Aroi Ho, Aroi Yo” informs visitors that Thai sauces are not only condiments in a kitchen. Their sale can drive growth of Thailand’s creative economy which includes food, tourism and design industries. The exhibition is divided into three main sections — Saucetalgia; Sauce, Source: Born Of Plenty, Made To Season; Sauce Power; and an other special section called Cooked To Order Food.
Saucetalgia refers to sauces that remind people of childhood comfort food. The props in this section replicate a kitchen and a video on the “kitchen counter” displays how a mother or a grandmother cooks her signature dish for their loved ones.
“The kitchen prop gives the vibe of inviting friends to our home. It is a section dedicated to the nostalgia of childhood comfort food since it is where people’s culinary tastes develop. People in the video are not chefs but mothers or grandmothers of the exhibition staff, so visitors can see home cooking,” explained Monnapa.
“An audio in the background provides information about the sauces for their recipes. This was inspired from those times we call our mother to ask what she puts in her cooking that makes it so delicious, because we want to eat it again.”
Sauce, Source: Born Of Plenty, Made To Season provides a history of sauces and showcases 60 local products. For this section, the research team visited communities to learn about their sauces, including fish sauce, fermented fish sauce, vinegar, Siracha chilli sauce, dark soy sauce, sweet soy sauce and nam pu (made from rich black rice crab).
“Each sauce has a unique flavour and texture. Some people may assume that soy sauce tastes salty, but our team discovered that it is not. The 60 local sauces which were selected for display at the exhibition are brands available to the public,” explained Monnapa.
“In Thailand, two main ingredients used in making seasoning sauces are fish and soy bean. Different processes will lead to different sauces. For example, fish entrails are mixed with salt and fermented for one month to become tai pla. When fish is mixed with salt and fermented for over one year to one and half year, it becomes budu sauce. After mixing fish with salt for a year and filtering out the meat, the result is pure fish sauce.”
After working on the exhibition, Monnapa discovered there are many sauces in Thailand she was not familiar with.
“Most people are familiar with light soy sauce and dark soy sauce. In Thailand, there is red soy sauce which is local to Phetchaburi. Despite its name, its colour is not red, but more of a reddish brown colour, and it is commonly added to noodles. This red soy sauce portrays differences in culinary traditions across regions. In Nakhon Sawan, people eat khao moo daeng [rice topped with red pork] with local chilli paste while in Phetchaburi, people like to add their local chilli sauce to noodle,” Monnapa explained.
“These seasonings were initially made based on seasons. Pla ra, fermented fish sauce, was originally made in Isan during summer when water sources began to dry up. As fish became scarce, fermenting them helped to preserve food. The rainy season is the season for making nam pak sathorn in the North. Since I am a Bangkokian, I had never heard of nam pak sathorn. It is not just vegetable juice but like another ingredient that can be added to any dish to make it taste good.”
There is also a replica refrigerator that displays sauces labelled as “the legendary flavour”. Monnapa explained that local seasoning brands in the refrigerator are reaching the end, because there is no successor to continue their production.
“Since the clock is ticking, we would like to introduce these unique brands through the exhibition and hope that people will support them.”
The third section, Sauce Power, displays a map of Thailand that marks where each sauce is available. When visitors scan the QR code on the board, they will be taken to Google Maps which helps them find sauces.
In addition to the food industry, seasoning sauces can drive Thailand’s creative economy which includes gastronomy tourism and packaging design industries. The exhibition tells the stories behind logos and names of some brands. Some brands focus on logos that bring luck, such as a dragonfly which refers to abundance, and a chubby baby which refers to being healthy and well-fed. Many brands are also named after their owners, such as Mae Boonlam and Na Naun.
After learning about local brands, visitors have the opportunity to purchase products and try unique ice cream flavours inspired by sauces in the special section, which is located in the “Neighbourmart” store.
If visitors are not sure what kind of condiments they should purchase, they can take a personality test called MBTI: My Bottle Type Is to find a compatible product. For example, a question might ask what food gives you a real energy boost? Choices for your answer include a comfort dish from your childhood or something new and exciting.
Produced by Baan Pat and Jeannie, the ice creams are available in four flavours — dark caramel soy sauce with almond praline; Chinese cheese with marmalade; nipa palm vinegar sorbet; and brown butter banana fish sauce. Ice creams are usually sweet, but these flavours are salty, except for the vinegar sorbet.
Although the exhibition aims to promote sauces, Monnapa insists that the CEA does not intend to encourage people to consume more salty products.
“This exhibition does not encourage visitors to consume salty food or a lot of sauces. In addition to the exhibition on the 1st floor, there is an extended exhibition on the 5th floor which showcases ready-to-use sauces and healthy options for children and patients with kidney disease. Consumers can choose what is right for them.”