Thai Food

The Thai cuisine can be ranked among the worlds best with an enourmous diversity in dishes. Rice is of course the main ingredient but western food is also widely available. When you just arrived in Thailand you will have to adjust to the Thai food, trust me don't go eating the most spicy curries straight away but gradually get used to them. Careful as it is a habit in Thailand to put entire chillies in the food, these are not for eating and remember: The smaller the chili the louder it will make you scream. Eating in Thailand is a social event, Thais therefore never order individual dishes but order a bunch of them and all share so if you don't like a certain dish you can safely switch.

Despite the fear by some people to eat at the foodstalls you find on every corner they are generally safe. Just make sure your food is prepared on the spot and heated sufficiently. Eating at the foodstalls is cheap with meals like fried rice or Phat Thai at around 20 bath. Here you'll get a real impression of the Thai cuisine and its definetely woth giving a try. No English spoken though and if there is a menu it will be in Thai (unless you are in a major tourist area). Don't worry though just remember how to say some of the standard dishes and even if you forget them just point to what you want. A strange habit the Thais have is that they can eat virtually everywhere and any time of the day. Most of these foodstalls are open 24 hours a day and don't be surprised by people eating right on a 4 lane street packed with traffic that we don't perceive as particularly appetizing. One thing you have to be careful of is the ice served in your drinks, make sure there is a hole in your ice cube since this means that it is made in a factory and it's not tap water. I've never seen a place where they serve bad ice but just in case.

So what are we eating? The list of Thai dishes is so eleborate that you need years to figure them all out, below are the most commen and most famous dishes, simply delicious. Remember that you eat with the fork in your left hand and the spoon in your right hand!!!

Fried rice with Chicken/Pork/Shrimp (Khao phat muu/kai/kung): The cornerstone of the Thai cuisine, this is the most simple dish that is on every menu. The concept is quite simple, put some meat in a pan, add some vegetables and rice, stir it up and add some herbs. You can adjust the flavor with some fish sauce (salty), vinegar or curry powder.

Phad Thai: Probably the most famous Thai dish, it consists of thin rice noodles fried with tofu, vegetables, egg and shrimp. It's also possible to order it with chicken, order Phat Thai Kai, it's really tasty and the best Phat Thai can be found on the street.

Tom Yam Goong: If Phat Thai is the most famous dish than Tom Yam Goong is the most famous soup, you won't believe how they manage to put so may things in one soup. Shrimps are one of the main ingredients and be careful as this soup can be spicy as hell. Not all the thing that are in there are made for consumption, give it a bite first before swallowing to find out if it's eatable. It's often served in a hot pot meaning that you get it in a big bowl with a fire underneath to keep it hot, a good idea as eating this stuff to fast might seriously injure you. They even made a movie named Tom Yam Goong which was a huge success.

Massaman Curry: My personal favorite, a mild curry with potato, unions, peanuts and your choice of meat. Usually it looks a little bit orange/red and comes in a bowl.

Red Curry with chicken/beef/pork (Kaeng Phet Kai/Neua/muu): These curries come in all sorts and tastes, a red curry in one place can be totally different from another but in general they are spicy and contain bamboo shoots together with some herbs.

Green Curry (Kaeng khiaw waan): The most spicy of all the curries, as the word might suggest it looks green and usually has some vegetables in it that look like small green tomatoes, these you can eat but don't eat the green peas in this curry as they are extremely bitter. I still don't know why they keep adding these things as they are really disgusting but the curry itself is excellent.

This is just a selection of dishes and the best thing you can do is just experiment with them a little bit. Another great thing in Thailand is that you can buy fresh food on every corner like pineapple and mango, for 10 bath you enjoy a fresh piece of pineapple. If you like banana's you just have to try the banana pancakes, well actually it's a roti but it's sooo good.

Drinks:

All major soft drink brands are available in Thailand and cheap, a can of coke is around 20 Bath. Furthermore Thais like their own kind of drinks, all sorts of sweet fluids are sold on the street and often you drink them from a bag with a straw. Pay attention as fruit juices are often mixed with salt, probably a habit from history as they tried to put as many nutrients in a drink as possible and salt is important in their hot climate.
Water (Naam Plao) cannot be drunk straight from the sink, buy bottles of purified water in the supermarket with choices ranging from ozonated water to mineral water.

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