My dad used to import ingredients for the chefs he brought over from southern China provinces. In the 70's he refurbished strip centers and all of them had a Chinese food anchor, when he passed we had majority ownership of 31 restaurants. Locally grown onions, spices, teas, oils, dried flowers and whatever could withstand the time in shipping crates to resale in NYC Chinatown meant good eats for me cuz every place we stopped wanted to make something special
To this day if I go to a restaurant owned by a family dad brought over we are not given a menu. Liu still makes me sizzling rice soup even though it's been off his menu for 25 years.
Growing up 'allergic to wheat, tomatoes, strawberries and chocolate (now correctly diagnosed as an inflammatory autoimmune) meant an Asian diet. The recipes you had in Thailand, are very similar to the staples I grew up on and still resort to during flares to avoid gluten. I no longer use opiates but still stop by pain docs to get tea & ingredients her family imports or direct ships. Not many people know about steaming seasoned fish wrapped in seaweed in a kraftpaper bag