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Cuisine in Thailand

For eating out, Thailand in general and Bangkok in particular, offer some of the greatest bargains available on this globe. This is the case for Thai cuisine as well as Western fare. The only exception is beer - not because restaurants charge an exceptionally high mark-up on drinks (even at stores beer is priced higher than in Europe); the reason is a heavy tax.

In simple restaurants, a small bottle of beer costs more than the meal itself. It’s a tax levied especially on foreigners in the kingdom, as Thais prefer the national beverage Mekong, a whiskey more reasonably priced than beer.

A unique fact in Thailand is the quality provided by street kitchens. For 10 to 30 Baht, one can get a full meal at a street kitchen, and while the food there is cheap, it is certainly not cheapish.

The most common dishes at street kitchens are soups. Curry (chicken, beef, or fish) with rice is also commonly served, or noodles with duck, chicken, beef balls or pork. Less common but available at specialised street kitchens are unique things like fried locusts.

One doesn’t need to speak Thai to order at street kitchens as what one sees is what one gets and it is enough just to point. Waiters in leading restaurants and at big hotels in Thailand have received formal training.

The service in these restaurants does not vary much from that in first-class restaurants anywhere in the world. But in native restaurants waiters are untrained and the server may be a family member. Then, service is not exactly proper but rather with little formality. Because of the local custom of social sharing, separate bills are uncommon in local restaurants and Thais never ask for it.

Sometimes a pair or group of foreigners will get just one bill even if separate bills have been requested. The easiest way for those who want to pay separately is to divide the costs later. In tourist-oriented restaurants, the staff is aware that farangs (literally French but used for all Westerners) usually go Dutch (even if they are French, German or American).

Better restaurants usually impose a 10% service charge. In hotel restaurants there is also an additional government tax. These surcharges are sometimes referred to as "Plus Plus". Only in tourist oriented better restaurants are tips generally expected and a matter of good manners even if there is already a 10% service charge on the bill. Sufficient tips are around 5% of the bill or less, especially if a service charge is indicated.

To give a tip, one just leaves the change on the table. The Western habits of saying, "keep the change" when paying in restaurants is not common here and will just create confusion. Generally, tips are pooled and shared by all employees.

Many restaurants permit a customer to bring a bottle of wine or spirits of his own, but some charge a cordage fee, which can be exorbitant in high-class restaurants or hotels. All drinks served in hotels are costly.

Most restaurants, especially those Thai and Chinese or those in hotels, are open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. Coffee shops of hotels are usually open 24 hours. Some European restaurants may be closed one day a week (usually on Sunday or Monday).

Table setting in first-class restaurants is the same as in Europe or America, with the addition of chopsticks and wide Chinese porcelain spoons. In Thailand, chopsticks, together with the porcelain spoon, are only used to eat soups. When a spoon and fork are used, the eating is with the spoon and the fork serves as a pusher.

In small restaurants those requiring a knife will have to ask for one, as they are not normally provided. Knives are not needed in native places as meats are usually chopped into bite size. In native places or homes one may notice diners polishing their table service with tissue.

It is a custom in Thailand and sometimes needed - but of course not only unnecessary but explicitly impolite in first-class restaurants. In first-class restaurants, common condiments on the table are salt and pepper. In native places, however, it’s instead soy sauce and nam pla, fermented fish oil, lighter in colour than soy sauce.

Except in first-class restaurants, bread and butter does not come with the meal and is generally not available. Breads are often too sweet for Western taste. Tomato ketchup or mustard is not common in native places. First-class restaurants observe the international sequence in serving dishes or the sequence typical for the particular cuisine of a country.

In native places, however, those who prefer food served in a certain sequence (e.g. first soup, then salad, then meat, then coffee) should order step by step, because sequence is generally not observed but all kinds of food are brought at the same time. Except in better restaurants, foods are often pricked and served at room temperature.

First-class establishments require guests to wear shoe (not neckties) and ban persons wearing shorts and/or sleeveless T-shirts. For groups one should always make reservations, and it is advisable to book or go early to the major hotels and restaurants on weekends when they are apt to be crowded. Drinks

It has already been mentioned that beer is priced in Thailand rather as a luxury. Drinking water of an excellent quality is found in Thailand. Of course we are not talking of tap water in hotels or homes.

Though it is alleged that faucet water in Bangkok is potable, there is widely available at very low prices bottled drinking water of the best quality. Bottled drinking water is sold anywhere in Thailand in small and large shops, by street vendors and in restaurants.

The price usually is 10 Baht for a plastic bottle of almost 1 liter (slightly more than 1 qt). Occasionally, there are bottles for sale containing just about half a liter.

Nam water
Nam plao a glass of water
nam yen cold water
Nam khaeng ice
Nam khaeng plao a glass of crushed ice
Nam cha tea
Nam khaeng sai nam cha a glass of crushed ice filled with Chinese tea
Nam ron hot water
Cha chin ron plain hot Chinese tea
Cha yen iced tea (while cha yen literally only means cold tea, there is a likelihood that it will be served with milk)
Cha dam yen iced black tea (with sugar)
Cha dam ron hot black tea (usually sugared)
Ka fae ron hot coffee (if ordered like that, it will usually be served with milk)
Ka fae dam coffee served black (with sugar)
Ka fae dam mai sai nam tan hot black coffee without sugar
Ka fae yen iced coffee (usually with milk)
O wan tin ovaltine
Ko ko chocolate drink
Nom milk The Food

Thai Cuisine is in a class of its own. It does not really resemble any other cuisine of the world, though if it is to be described by being compared to the cuisine of other countries one could say that it is somehow a blend between Chinese and Indian.

A feature shared with Chinese cuisine is the staple foods, rice and noodles. A similarity to Indian cuisine is curries though Thai curries often are prepared without coconut milk. The spices used are also a mixture of Chinese and Indian influences. Like in Chinese cuisine, a lot of soy sauce is used; and similar to the Indian cuisine, there is lots of chilli around. However, chilli in Thai cuisine is not as finely ground as in Indian cuisine, and in Thai curry spices, other ingredients than chilli are more noticeable. Nevertheless, Thai cuisine classifies several kinds of chilli.

Phrik lueng is the hottest chilli around despite its lovely yellow-orange colour, phrik khi nu is not so potent and phrik yuak and phrik chi fa are relatively mild. Phrik Thai (pepper) is a common flavouring.

Aside from black pepper, green pepper corns are widely available. However, green pepper is probably rather suited for European than Thai cuisine as in hot dishes the fine flavour of green pepper is not noticeable. There are several other important spices.

Coriander leaf is sprinkled on everything; coriander root is combined with garlic and pepper to flavour meats. In southern Thailand, turmeric is much used, while many forms of ginger are used throughout Thailand with meats, vegetables and soups.

Other highly popular spices include lemon grass, used extensively in Thai soups and certain salads, which are also often seasoned with vinegar. Then, too, there are mint, basil, cardamom and pandanus.

A number of basic sauces accompany most meals; these include fish sauce (the essential Thai salt substitute) and tamarind sauces, which can make the blandest food, taste simply astonishing.

As many Thai dishes are spicy hot it might be well to note that a hot beverage, especially tea, with the meal would help cut the heat. Water or cold drinks only increase the intensity of the spices.

It is well to know a few words of Thai to regulate the amount of spices. Phet nit noi is a little bit hot, mai phet is not hot and spicy hot is phet. The extensive use of monosodium glutamate, known in the West as meat tenderiser, can be criticised in Thai cuisine as it has been suspected of causing side effects.

Monosodium glutamate is not a spice in itself as it is basically tasteless. However, it does contribute to blend and enhance flavours.

In Thai street kitchens it is not unusual to see a teaspoon full of monosodium glutamate added to just one bowl of soup. To what extent monosodium glutamate is harmful to health has been a world-wide debate over the years.

The fact is that anywhere in Asia, it is used to blend tastes, not just in Thailand. And it’s also a fact that noticeable effects are hard to establish, at least as long as it is not consumed in immense amounts. Used in overdoses, monosodium glutamate is alleged to cause problems of disorientation.

Khao rice
Nua beef
Mu pork
Kai chicken
Khai egg
Pet duck
Pla fish
Kung shrimp
Pu crab meat
Phak vegetables Curries

Kaeng curry
Kaeng mat sa man a rich beef curry with peanuts, not spicy
Kaeng ka ri a mild flavoured Indian type curry made with potatoes and most commonly chicken though sometimes other meats are used
Kaeng kai chicken curry
Kaeng nua beef curry
Kaeng pla duk catfish curry
Kaeng som fish and vegetable curry Soups

Kaeng chut a mild flavoured soup made of vegetables and/or shrimp, chicken and pork
Kaeng chut wun sen the same as kaeng chut but with shredded jelly
Kaeng liang a typical Thai style vegetable soup
Tom yam chilli hot and sour soup made with pork, shrimp, beef, chicken or fish
Tom indicating that a dish is boiled
Khao tom mu a mild rice soup flavoured with pork
Khao tom pla a mild rice soup flavoured with fish
Khao tom kung a mild rice soup flavoured with shrimp
Tom khlong salted fish boiled with tamarind and onions
Pet tun steamed duck soup
Khao phot corn soup
Hu cha lam sai pu shark fin soup with crab meat
Khai egg
Khai luak soft boiled egg
Khai tom hard boiled egg
Khai dao fried egg
Khai tot omelette
Khai tot sai mu omelette filled with pork
Khai yat sai omelette filled with meat, onions and sugar peas
Po pia an egg roll containing bean sprouts, pork and crab meat (not fried)
Po pia tot an egg roll containing bean sprouts, pork, crab meat (fried)

Fried Dishes

Khao rice
Khao phat fried rice
Pla tot fried fish
Kai tot fried chicken
Kai phat phrik fried chicken and chillies
Kai yang roasted chicken
Kung tot krob crisp fried prawns
Priao wan sweet and sour pork with vegetables
Phak kung phat Thai fried vegetables made with morning glory stems and leaves
Hae kun thin slices of shrimp eaten with a side order of Chinese syrup
Mi klob crisp thin noodles (vermicelli) with bits of meat, shrimp and egg and sweet and sour sauce
Nua phat nam man hoi fried beef with oyster-flavoured sauce and green onion Dok kalam phat mu (kung, kai, nua) fried pork (shrimp, chicken, beef) with cauliflower

Miscellaneous

Pla prieo wan sweet and sour fried fish
Kam pu tot fried crab claws
Kam pu nung steamed crab claws
Salad nua san roast beef salad
Pla nam khao stewed fish in white sauce

Rice Dishes

Khao rice
Rat khao any dish served over rice; ordinary Thai restaurants sell their dishes either in portions big enough for several eaters or as rat khao, a serving over rice portioned for one person
Khao man kai sliced chicken served with plain rice
Khao na pet sliced roast duck with plain rice
Khao na kai sliced chicken with bamboo shoots and spring onions in a gravy over plain rice
Khao mu daeng sliced cooked pork with egg and gravy over plain rice
Khao mu tot sliced fried pork over plain rice (can be ordered with khai, egg, added on top)
Khao rat na nua fried vegetables and beef in a gravy over plain rice

Noodle Dishes

Nam literally meaning water, is used to indicate a soup dish
Haeng literally just meaning dry, is used to indicate that a dish is without broth
Kuai tiao rice noodles
Ba mi wheat and egg noodles
Kuai tiao lat na wide white noodles with meat, vegetables and gravy placed on top
Kuai tiao haeng white noodles flavoured with a small amount of meat, vegetables (preferably bean sprouts) and spices
Kuai tiao nam same as above, but with a broth added
Kuai tiao phat Thai thin white noodles fried with bean sprouts and a small quantity of many other ingredients including meats
Kuai tiao phat si iu sai khai noodles fried with Chinese sauce, meat, vegetables and egg
Ba mi nam boiled wheat and egg noodles with broth
Ba mi haeng same as above but without broth
Ba mi na mu (nua, kai, kung, pu) fried yellow noodles with pork (beef, chicken, shrimp, crab meat)
Ba mi na phak same as above, but with vegetables
Ba mi krob rat na kung crisp fried yellow noodles with shrimp
Ba mi krob rat na mu same as above but with pork
Ba mi krob rat na kai same as above, but with chicken
Kieo nam wanton (meat ball) soup
Kieo haeng wanton with bits of vegetables and spices

Thai Sweets

Eggs, mungo beans, rice flour, glutinous rice, lotus seeds, palm sugar, cassava roots and coconuts are common ingredients of Thai sweets. The Thais prefer their desserts to have fragrance. Accordingly, they soak Jasmine and other aromatic flowers in water and use resultant scented water to make a syrup.

Bland seeds or beans are cooked in the syrup to make liquid sweets. Aromatic candles are often burned next to cakes or cookies in closed containers to impart scents, or desserts are placed next to fragrant flowers overnight. Cookies are sometimes garnished with slivers of gold leaf.

Sang kha ya custard
Sang kha ya kha nun jackfruit custard
Ma phrao sang kha ya coconut custard
Fak thong sang kha ya squash custard
Thong yib sweet egg petals
Thong yot sweet egg drops
Foi thong sweet egg shred
Lot chong nam ka thi rice drops in sweet coconut sauce
Kluai buat chi banana in sweet and salty coconut cream
Luk tan chuam palm seeds cooked in syrup
Wun whan sweet jelly
Wun nam chuam jellied syrup
Ta ko gelatin topped with coconut cream
Khao nieo kaeo glutinous rice cooked in coconut cream and sugar