Thai Food in Thailand

When Thais think of eating, rice is normally the first thing that comes to mind. Rice is such an important part of Thai food that many people eat rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

How Thais Eat

When Thais eat, they put a few dishes in the middle of the table together with a pot of rice. The dishes are shared by everyone, using serving spoons. Then, they help themselves to rice and put whatever food they like on top. Thais eat rice with a spoon and a fork.

The rice is usually cooked in an electronic rice cooker. Thais don't add salt or any other seasoning when preparing rice because Thai food is already well-seasoned. The main flavors in Thai cooking are sweet, sour and salty while the dominant ingredients in the Thai cuisine are pungent Thai herbs and hot chili.

How To Combine Thai Dishes

When Thais eat, they normally have 3-5 dishes on the table. They like to combine a spicy dish with a mild one and a sauce that's served with fresh and boiled vegetables.

Spicy Dishes

The most popular spicy dish, that you're probably already familiar with, is spicy soup with lemon grass called tom yum. Other hot dishes may be green curry with chicken or chopped pork with sweet basil and chili. Deep-fried fish with spicy sauce is also popular.

Mild Dishes

Both vegetables and meat dishes can be mild. It could be fried pork with garlic and black pepper, fried chicken with ginger, vegetable soup with chopped pork, omelet and stir-fried mixed vegetables.

Sauces Served With Vegetables

There are many kinds of sauces in Thailand, but the main ones are either shrimp paste based or coconut milk based. Shrimp paste based sauce is one of the most popular dishes among Thais and it's served with fried mackerels. The sauce is normally really spicy since fresh chilies are crushed and mixed with the other ingredients. Thais eat the dish with lots of vegetables, both fresh and boiled.

Coconut milk based sauces vary depending on the main ingredients. Prawns, salty fish, pickled crab and fermented soybeans are the most common. Most of the time it's topped with chopped chilies. If you don't like spicy food, you could always ask the cook to put the chilies on a side dish. Thais eat the sauce with fresh vegetables such as cucumbers, round Thai egg plants, string beans and lettuce.

Thais normally finish off their meals with dessert and fruits. The desserts are known to be really sweet because of the added sugar. Many types of desserts also have fruits. One of the most popular desserts is sticky rice with mango. Since every meal is a combination of a few different dishes, fruits and dessert, Thais quite naturally get all the important nutrients.

Enjoy your next Thai meal!

How to Be Careful With Super Hot Spicy Thai Food When Traveling in Thailand!

My one piece of advice for travelers who are vacationing in Thailand and want to savior the Thai foods is simple - ask if the food is hot (as in 'spicy' hot) before you put it in your mouth!

Of course you also need to realize that what food is hot (and probably normal) for a Thai may be super hot, eye watering and physically punishing for a foreigner. Just because the food attendant says "it's not hot" doesn't mean it won't be hot for YOU. So keep that in mind, unless you want to be crying all the way home!

The thing is, down in the south of Thailand at least, eating rice with the addition of spicy 'prik' or spicy peppers is an everyday occurrence. You can often choose if you want your food hot or not, but sometimes it's best to say "not hot please" just in case. Another thing to do is cast your eyes over the food - you'll usually have a strong feeling if it's spicy or not. Your eyes will water and your stomach will tell you!

Although some foreigners can 'fire eat' the spicy food without a worry in the world, others get an uncomfortable fire in the belly from super hot food. If this happens to you (it's common to suddenly find spices or spicy peppers included in a Thai dish), eat the sliced cucumbers that will come served with every meal as they'll have a cooling effect and take away some of the fire. (Or make sure the restaurant has them available!)

In a nutshell, when you come to Thailand, it's inevitable that sooner or later you'll get served spicy Thai food and other Thai delicacies. (Especially if you travel down to the southern regions). Definitely give it a try - just make sure to have those sliced cucumbers handy!