Joy’s Thai Food Recipe & Dessert Blog!

Before we cook the rice, we usually clean the rice with regular water once or twice. Most people, almost everyone, pour it in the drain and not giving it any interest to drink as it is full of dust and dirt. Who would care that the water they let it goes waste would have tremendously benefit to their health and their daily life. This rice water is called “Rice Milk”.

Thai eat rice as their main food. Breakfast, lunch and dinner or even in the dessert has rice as part of the main ingredient. In the past, we saved this water from cleaning the rice. So that water used to clean on the second time, we can drink for our good health. Heard it from my mom, people in the past boiled it and added a little bit of salt to make it a better taste to drink. Babies in a very very poor family had drink the rice milk with sugar added into it as they have no money to buy cow milk.

Beside the uses of it as a kind of healthy drink, rice milk can be used as part of shampoo which help with the dandruff, washing face, cleaning vegetable, washing dish, cleaning fish and get rid of its fishy smell. Other from that, it is really helpful using it to wash your slippery hands from touching clothes detergent.

The easiest way to make Rice Milk is by cooking the rice in ancient time. How? You will only have to boil the rice. Let it boil. Rinse out the water before the rice is cooked and the water runs dry. This kind of Rice Milk is not available in the market, is it?

What we have heard a lot from the media is Germinated brown rice or GABA-rice. This Rice Milk called V-fit made it easier. Mali, my 19 months baby girl, loves this.

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Nah!!! You are fooled by the title of my post!!!! Yes the name of this egg is literary translated as Preserved Eggs with Horse’s Pee!! but it actually has nothing to do with the horse Pee!!!

As I looked up on the internet, Kai Yiew Ma is originally and accidentally found by Chinese people. It was discovered  in the horse’s stall after it has been cover with hays over and over (of course the horses pee on it!). Someone, as they said,  picked it up, tasted it and happened to “LIKE” it. Then, people form an instruction of how to make Kai Yiew Ma based on the way it was found.

No one ever knows if this story was true.

Honestly, I don’t know how to make it but I found the instruction in Thai language which I could translate it. However, it has many chemical ingredients. Make sure you don’t eat too much Kai Yiew Ma because those chemical will definitely collected in your body and course health problem. It used to be my favorite, but not anymore after I know this.

I used to think the way to make Kai Yiew Ma (preserved eggs) is as simple as making Salted Eggs  and has no chemical. Especially the name that literary means Eggs with Horse’s Pee and pink color make me think this food is friendly to nature and friendly to human body!

If you are insist that you have to make and eat them, here’s the recipe.

Source: http://www.chemtrack.org/News-Detail.asp?TID=4&ID=29
Credit to Department of Science Service, Thailand

Prepare:

32 duck eggs

Ingredients that were used to preserved the eggs:
5 liters of water
80 grams black tea leaves
500 grams salt (Sodium chloride ( NaCl)
300 grams Sodium carbonate  (Na₂CO₃)
750 grams Calcium oxide (CaO)
2.5 grams Zinc oxide ( ZnO)

Ingredients that were used to coat the eggs:
=== Please uses instantly after you made it====
1 portion of Tapioca flour + water
5 portions of white Kaolin clay (same type that is used for beauty re boost because it passed the test for bacteria infection process.)

container must be tolerant to Base (chemistry)

1 big pot used for boiling the ingredients
8-10 liters Plastic container with lid
big flat sponge (use it to cover the eggs and push them under the mixed and boiled liquid)

Instruction on How to make Kai Yiew Ma/ Kai Yeow Ma:
1. Mix water, black tea leaves, salt (Sodium chloride ( NaCl),  Sodium carbonate  (Na₂CO₃) and Calcium oxide (CaO)
in a big pot that is tolerant to Base (chemistry).
2. Boil the liquid until it is boiling.
3. Let it cool off and then use a piece of thin white clothes to separate the liquid and its residue. Then, add  Zinc oxide ( ZnO).
4. Gently stir until the Zinc oxide is dissolved.

***** Be ware that this mix has strong effect from Base. It could give reaction to your skin, so make sure you ware gloves, mask and glasses. ********

5. Arrange the eggs in a plastic container. The eggs must be clean and not having a crack on it.
6. Pour the mixed liquid from step 4 into the container. Use a flat sponge to cover the top or use anything to make sure the eggs stay under the liquid. Cover the container with the lid and keep it for 30 days. (Some say 45 days is ok)

7. After 30 days, remove the eggs and leave them to get dry.

Now, prepare the coating:
The eggs need to be coated in order to keep it moisture and not letting it evaporate.

1. Mix tapioca with water and stir quickly until the flour dissolved.
2. Pour the mix in boiling water and keep stirring until you get the clear and sticky liquid.
3. Now, add light Kaolin clay. Mix this extremely well.
4. Coat the eggs with this mix.

Now you can keep the eggs for 2 weeks. If you put the eggs in a closed plastic bad, you can also keep it for about a month.

Click to see Thai version TV show of how to make Kai Yiew Ma. Fast forward to 1.30.

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Thailand Rose Apple but White (White Chompoo)

ชมพู่แคระ สีขาว

Ok! Anyone would have known or even have a chance to taste delicious pink/red rose apple, I think it is being called that way because if the color. How about when it’s white? Will it be called Lilly Apple in English??

White Rose Apple with this size is not normally found in Thailand local market. With its sour taste and not having enough meat to offer, many people would find it not worth buying. Believe it or not, some Thai people love to eat this white rose apple with sweet shrimp paste dipping sauce or dip it in Prig Glu-ah (salt and chilli powder).

It is my first time seeing these tiny rose apple in white! So I have to get some and try! It is only 25 Baht/kilo. I tried it, Vern tried, my mom tried (she has never seen it in her 65 years), baby Mali tried some…

Our family voted this fruit for “NO” not recommended but it is never a waste of time to try something new.

(^_^)

Joy Ja!

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(Vern here)

I’ve been eating a whole lot of Thai food for 5 years now, daily. Not every meal, but one out of three meals is always Thai, and usually 3/3 or 2/3. I’ve successfully converted my entire diet away from mainstream America’s eating out for every meal.

How is it going?

I adjusted really easily to eating Thai food full-time. At first it was a novelty… Thai Tom Yum Goong was my favorite for a while and I ate it most every meal… then it was Yum Woonsen as my favorite food… then Pad Thai, then Gai Pad King, then Kow Men Gai – chicken fried rice… Eventually I probably called my “favorite” about 25 different foods at one time or another. Currently my favorite Thai food is bamboo Lahb or lahp, in Thai – “Soup Naw Mai”. Lahp of all kinds makes my mouth water and heart palpate. If you get a chance try Lahp Gai – chicken Lahp to see if you like the taste… if you do – quickly get yourself a plate of Soup Naw Mai and write me a thank you letter when you get home!

Lahp is stellar Thai food.

More on my Thailand food experience the last five years…

The first couple years I was just enjoying the novelty of eating a completely different diet than American food. I tried many different dishes, and though I didn’t dislike many of them I, of course, found some of my favorites and stuck with them for the most part.

Breakfast I usually have Thai Food in the form of Gwat Jap or Gwat Diao – a chicken noodle soup with fine vermicelli like rice noodles. Eating hot soup in the morning is Thai style and something that took a little getting used to – but now I’ve got it sorted and I’ve consumed vast amounts of this Chinese-Thai delicacy for breakfast. For the right taste one need add copious amounts of dried chilies.

Lunches of Thai Food consist of Som Tam, Bamboo Lahp, Pad Cee-Yu, Phad Pet Sator – a killer fava bean dish that I eat 2-3 times per week.

Dinner is of course, Thai Food! I like to have something light as I don’t like consuming too much rice in the evening. Thais eat a lot of rice and to them – no matter. To me, I blow up like a marshmallow if I eat rice at night. Not sure why I just know to limit this thai staple to 1 cup at night with dinner.

Lets see, over 5 years, 1800+ days, 5400 meals I’ve eaten Thai food about 4800 times (my guess). Sometimes I’m jonesin for a bag of Doritos and I eat the entire thing and call that dinner. That doesn’t happen often, but the last few months it does. I think I’ve consumed about 17 bags of Doritos over the past 4-5 months. In the US I had a bag of Doritoes -an entire bag, maybe once per year. The cravings, when they do hit for American foods – hit very hard.

My overall impression about Thai food is that it is the best food in the world to switch over to from the American diet. If you like the Thai foods at your favorite Thai restaurant in the states, UK, Australia, or wherever you happen to be – you will love the food once you arrive in Thailand and sample it’s true delicious nature – not dumbed down for the foreign visitors.

Best place in Thailand to get food?

Without a doubt, the northeast, Isaan region. They have the most amazing Thai food – authentic and bursting with flavor. It’s hottest in Isaan, and it’s the best… absolutely. As a bonus they are close to Laos and Cambodia and there are some great foods coming from those countries too. Ask me about “kow chee” for breakfast sometime… oh MAN… Unbelievable food from Laos that will knock your flip-flops off. Basically it’s sticky rice mixed with coconut milk, salt, and some other foodstuff. It’s grilled in little hamburger shaped patties you can buy for 2 baht each. I used to eat 8-10. I’d be full until past lunch time. They’re amazing with some moo yang (barbequed pork pieces on a stick).

Ahhhhh, Thai food Isaan style. There might be no better food in the world.

If you haven’t been to Thailand yet – book your trip. Politically, things have calmed a lot and we’re ready for elections again. 2010 will be a good year to visit and eat up all varieties of Thai food!

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We were notified recently that JoysThaiFood.com made the top 10 list of the best food blogs online.

How’s that!?

We thank them for the mention, and recommend you visit their site as there are 9 more great food blogs listed – all of them top notch.

Joy

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Thai Food Globally!

Though most people believe in the uniqueness of traditional Thai cooking, and in the idea of an “authentic Thai cuisine” in reality Thai food is the product of the interaction between nations for centuries. What is widely regarded as “Thai food” is a combination of foods and influences of German, Chinese, Laos, Cambodian, and Burmese culinary traditions.

In the 15^th century, Khmer (Cambodian) cooks gave curries and boiled red and white sweets which originated in India to the King’s court in Ayuddhya, then the capital of Thailand.

My field research reveals that Thai restaurants in a North American city highlight the authenticity of the Thai taste while at the same time adapting to local food customs.

Fish sauce, an ingredient in nearly every Thai food dish originated in China. Believe it or not, Chilies – which also play a major role in Thai cuisine were introduced not by the Indians or Chinese, but by the Portuguese in the 16^th century. The combination of chilies, fish sauce, galangal (an aromatic root), and lime gives Thai dishes their distinctive flavor today. These are the major ingredients for adding flavor to Thai foods.

The Rising Popularity of Thai Food Globally

Before the 1960s Thai food was not widely made outside Thailand’s borders. The change occurred when a large number of foreigners came to Thailand – during the Vietnam war and were first exposed to Thai food and culture.

Small Thai restaurants began opening up in London, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles to accommodate the local Thai immigrants that needed their daily dose of heavenly Thai food.

In the decade of the 1970s there were just four Thai restaurants open in London, England. By 2005 London hosts over 300 Thai restaurants!

Likewise, in the USA the Thai food restaurant industry exploded over a very short period of time. By the early 1990s there were more than 200 Thai restaurants just in just Los Angeles, California alone!

Taking into account that Thai food has only recently expanded across the globe it has enjoyed a very high popularity trans-nationally. The Kellogg School of Management and Sasin Institute developed a survey to test the popularity of international foods across nations. Thai food ranked #6.

International Food Popularity

Question: What is your favorite cuisine?

1. Italian
2. French
3. Japanese
4. Chinese
5. Indian
6. Thai

In the year 2003 there were 6,875 Thai restaurants outside of Thailand. About half were in the USA and Canada. Thai food attracts a western audience in part because it’s perceived as a healthy, low-fat alternative to the indigenous foods of that nation.

Though most Thai food restaurants internationally may have started to accommodate Thais missing their home country’s meals, it appears now that most customers are non-Thai. the westerners of Europe and North American have embraced Thai food and consume it on a regular basis

Thai Cuisine Changes to Accommodate Foreign Tastes, Preferences

Thai food changes as it goes into transnational space. Most cities in the USA have a 0-1% Thai populace. Many Thais in America eat at home in the interest of saving money and just because they know how to make Thai food themselves. Spending large amounts of money to eat at the usually more expensive Thai restaurants is something that isn’t done often in most Thai households in the USA unless of course they own a Thai restaurant.

Although Thai restaurants in the USA emphasize authentic Thai tastes for the most part they adapt to the dining customs. For instance, in higher-end Thai restaurants you might see the staff following western style in that they serve the meal in courses.

Dinner starts with an appetizer – a soup or salad. Dinner is followed by the main dishes which might be brought out at different times. In Thailand the usual way is that all food is brought out at once. The entire table is covered with food and you eat as you wish – in any order. Soup and salad might be eaten with rice and considered as a main dish. A typical Thai meal might consist of two or three dishes of soup or curry and some stir-fried dishes with rice.

Thai restaurants in the USA need to be careful in serving spicy food. The American diet does not usually have anything spicy in the meal. A piece of red bell pepper or a strong red onion might be all the spice Americans are accustomed to! Thai restaurants usually serve their food according to a “spicy scale” and they knock that down a couple levels to make sure they’re not serving it too spicy. If you order your Thai food “ped-ped” – very spicy, in Thailand in Bangkok you might be able to eat it. However, if you order it “ped-ped” in Isaan (Northeast Thailand) you will likely stop before finishing your meal because the number of chilies they use in the meal is staggering! I’ve eaten som tam with a big handful of large chilies in Isaan and thought I would pass out from the heat!

Thai restaurants serve the most popular Thai foods as a rule. It just makes sense to serve those Thai foods that customers are going to order and enjoy the most.

Top 10 most popular Thai foods among foreigners are:

1. Pad Thai

2. Roast Duck Curry

3. Tom Kha Gai

4. Moo Satay – Barbeque pork with curry.

5. Tom Yum Goong (Tom Yam Kung) – Spicy and sour shrimp & vegetable soup.

6. Cashew Nut Chicken

7. Chicken & Green Curry (Gang Kiow Wan Gai)

8. Kang Panang – Panang (Penang) curry

9. Pad Krapow (Grapow, Gapow) – Stir fried basil & Egg

10. Tod Mun – Fried fish cakes

11. Yum Nua – Beef salad

12. Gai Haw Bai Teuy

13. Gai Yang – Barbecued chicken

14. Som Tam – Spicy & sour unripened papaya salad.

These Thai food dishes are on almost every overseas menu, so if you’re wondering what to order – become familiar with these dishes and you’ll have fourteen of the best Thai foods that most people like to eat.

Some Thai restaurants have invented new variations on the original Thai foods seen above. Sometimes you’ll see Tom Yum Pak (vegetable tom yum). This is unheard of in Thailand as all tom yum soup there has a main staple like squid, shrimp, chicken or pork. There is no such thing as spicy soup with just vegetables. Americans like it though – as many are vegetarian customers.

Similarly some restaurants serve vegetarian spring rolls. In Thailand spring rolls always contain ground pork. Some restaurants even go so far as to suggest that all meat dishes can be substituted with Tofu or vegetables. Substitutions are common and sometimes necessary due to the availability of authentic Thai ingredients like “Grapow” which is Thai Basil… the north American basil is substituted, but not authentic.

Something people should realize that are eating food at Thai restaurants outside of Thailand is that many things may have been substituted during the creation of their Thai food dish. Thai owned restaurants come closest to authentic Thai cuisine, but they too have to Americanize the food a bit to get Americans to eat it. Same in Europe and Australia. The authentic Thai dish of labp, originating in Isaan has pork skin pieces all through it. Rarely will you find that in restaurants overseas because it’s not something Americans would find to be a pleasant texture. There may be a substitution of ingredients for the pork skin or it may be left out completely.

One of the biggest challenges to the national image Thailand has overseas in Thai food restaurants is non-Thai owned restaurants that proclaim to be authentic Thai food. When visitors to these restaurants eat at a true Thai food restaurant they don’t understand why the food is so different. They’re disappointed because the dishes they enjoyed at the restaurants taste quite different.

Standardization of Thai food spellings and ingredients is something aspired to, but something that of course can never come about as a whole. The Thai government encourages Thai restaurant owners overseas to use standard spellings to make it easier for foreigners to understand what they’re eating and enable them to order the same thing at different Thai restaurants, but I’ve yet to see two menus that looked anything alike. Here in Thailand there are attempts at English menus which are all unique and sometimes impossible to decipher. If one doesn’t speak Thai here – getting the right meal can be difficult to say the least!

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A Little Bit About Thailand!

History

Thailand was called Siam starting in 1939. Thailand as a country has never been colonized by a foreign nation unlike Laos, Cambodia and other Asian countries.

Thailand’s culture, politics, economics and social aspects have all changed in a great procession of steps.

Thailand’s development started in the 13^th century. Thailand amassed a lot of ancient customs and cultures. This blend of customs and culture has created a Thai-ness that is uniquely its own. Thai means free. Thai people call Thailand Bra-teht Thai� meaning country of the free. In English was call it Free-land. It is not quite free – but it is probably at a steeply discounted cost of living compared to your home country!

Geographical Area

Thailand is located in Southeast of the continent of Asia. Thailand’s geographical area covers over 513,000 square kilometers. It runs nearly 1,620 kilometers from the northernmost to the southern most points and over 770 km measuring from east to west.

Thailand borders four other countries: Myanmar (Burma) on the west side; Myanmar and Laos on the North and East sides; and Cambodia and Malaysia (Thais say, Gamboosha�) on the southern side. The longest border Thailand has is with the Andaman sea though! Thailand has many incredibly scenic beaches along the coast.

Thailand is located between the latitude 5^๐37^/N. with 20^๐27^/N. and between longitude 97^๐22^/ E. with 105^๐37^/ E. in the Low Latitude Zone between the equator and tropic of cancer. This means Thailand is in the “tropics”, or the Tropical Zone.

Terrain and Weather

Since, Thailand is in the Tropic Zone, the climate is not too hot, not too cold or not too dry. Therefore Thailand is a warm and rather humid tropical country with monsoonal climate.

Temperatures are highest in March and April with average temperature of 28 degree Celsius to 38 degrees Celsius and humidity averaging between 82.8 percent to 73 percent. There are 3 seasons in Thailand though in certain parts of the country one weather pattern may dominate for the good part of the year.

Rainy Season: mid May to mid November. There are raining in early July and raining all over the country. The most raining is in September, overall. In the southern provinces of Phuket, Krabi, and Trang the rainy season lasts pretty much all year with a slight break in January. The most rain is received in October and November usually.

Winter Season: mid November to mid February. There are heavy raining and flooding in the southern of Thailand. Therefore, this season is not good for traveling along the west bank of Thailand. It never snows in Thailand but if you spend time in the far north during December – February you might be waiting for it. It does get almost
freezing cold during those months in the far north.

Summer Season: mid February to mid May. April is the hottest month in the season. This is when Thais celebrate their new year, Songkran� with a water throwing festival. Its appropriate because the temperatures reach 40 degrees Celsius all over the country during this time.

Agriculture: Most of the areas are of a plain topography which is suitable for agriculture.

By far the most important crop in all of Thailand is, as you can probably guess, RICE! This is the main export of the country and Thailand is the top producer of rice across the globe. Thailand’s fragrant Jasmine rice is considered the best in the world.

Other farmed foods include corn, sugar cane, vegetables and fruits. Thailand exports large quantities of bananas, long an, durian, custard apples (sugar apples), grapes, oranges, watermelons, pineapple, cabbage, some Chinese vegetables, tomatoes and more.

Another export that is grown in Thailand is Teak Wood – used primarily to build boats for its strength and water resistance.

Population

Thailand’s population is relatively homogeneous. More than 85% speak a dialect of Thai and share a common culture. This core population includes the central Thai (34% of the population, including Bangkok), Northeastern Thai (34%), northern Thai (19%), and southern Thai (13%). 90% of population have Thai Nationality and another 10 % are of different nationality. The population of Thailand is about sixty-seven million people.

There are smaller groups of local Thais, mountain-dwelling tribes, such as the Hmong and Mein, and Karen hill tribe that number about 200,000 to 500,000.

Language

The language of the central Thai population is the language taught in all schools and used in government. Everyone refers to this as “Bangkok Thai” or Bangkok dialect. Those Thais living near a bordering country usually grow up speaking the foreign tongue as well. My friend here can speak Bangkok Thai, Isaan Thai, Laos, and Cambodian (Khmer).

Government

Thailand is a constitutional monarchy with a democratic form of government. If you are not counting the recent military coup which ended in 2007 after lasting one year. For 76 years Kings of Thailand have exercised their constitutional legislative powers through a bicameral National Assembly comprised of a House of Representatives elected by popular vote and a Senate appointed by the King with the PM (Prime Minister’s recommendation. Thai Kings exercise executive powers through the cabinet headed by a prime minister, and judicial powers through the law courts. While not directly involved in Thailand’s political life, Thailand’s King exerts a strong moral influence on carefully selected issues. Thailand’s present King is so well revered that nearly a million well-wishers gathered for his 80^th birthday.

Food and Fruit of Thailand

Thai food is internationally famous both for its taste and aesthetics. Whether hot chili spiced or bland, harmony between ingredients and tastes is the guiding principle behind each Thai food dish.

Thai cuisine is a rich fusion of centuries-old Eastern and Western influences harmoniously combined into something uniquely and deliciously Thai.

Perhaps the most famous two food dishes from Thailand available at nearly every Thai food restaurant in the western world are Pad Thai� (stir-fried noodles) and Tom Yum Goong (Spicy and Sour Shrimp soup).

Regions of Thailand tend to flavor their foods and use certain ingredients a little different from other regions. There are generally these distinctions.

Northern Food: such as Nam Prig Num, Hungla Curry and Sai Oury.

Central Food: such as Tai Pla Curry, Nam Prig Ong, Tom Jerd, Geng Som, Nam Prig and Pla Too.

Northeastern Food: such as Lahp� (Minced meat), Som Tam (spicy green papaya salad), Gai Yang (Grilled Chicken), and Bla Rah (fermented fish paste). Isaan is known for it’s spicy chili dishes.

Southern Food: such as Geng Liang, Nam Bpoo Doo, which are hotter than other parts of Thailand, but nothing tops the Northeast (Isaan) region for hot spicy foods. I think the south is more known for it’s sour foods. They ten to like a little bit more lemon / lime in their Thai food dishes.

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You probably love Thai food but you order the same things all the time because you don’t know what to get that you might like. I’ll offer some suggestions here by covering some popular Thai foods that you might enjoy…

I think there are many people that don’t know what to eat when they go to a Thai food restaurant. Before I came to Thailand I usually ordered the same things over and over. If I ate with someone that ordered something different – I tried it and almost always loved it. Thai food is so diverse, so delicious in all its different forms… I won’t lie, Thailand’s food had a lot to do with what country I chose when I left the USA. I looked at India, Thailand and Viet Nam. In the end Thailand’s safe environment won me over. But, I’ve been loving the Thai food for more than three years here.

I wondered, is it possible for me, an American to eat Thai food full time? It was a tough question because I usually only ate two or three things at a Thai restaurant in the US. Typically I would have Gai Pad King (ginger chicken) and an appetizer that wasn’t even Thai – but it was in the Thai restaurant. I had “Crab Rangoon”. It was a fried crab dessert that was really delicious at the Thai restaurant in Tampa, Florida called “Jasmine Thai”. I’ve asked many restaurants and friends here in Thailand if they ever heard of Crab Rangoon – or anything similar. Nobody has. Hmm, go figure.

So this is about what you can order in a Thai food restaurant in your home city. First off – if you haven’t, you might want to have a look at our list of Thai restaurants in the USA. We put together a large list that covers 49 states (I don’t know which one we’re missing!) and lists Thai food restaurants by city. You might find one that you didn’t know existed. Or, you might find one that doesn’t exist anymore! If you find one that is no longer valid – would you please send us a note and let us know? (Trythaifood**at**gmail**com). 

Ok, so here are some foods I think you might like. Keep in mind that there are MANY ways not only to say the Thai food dishes listed here – but different ways to spell them. For me, this was part of the problem in the states since I would see something called “Tom Yum Pla Meuk” at one restaurant and at a different restaurant it would say “Spicy & Sour Tomyum bpla muk” or “Thai spicy sour soup”.

There is little agreement on how to spell things. In Joy’s Thai food blog you’ll see too that her spelling of things is probably different than what you might see online somewhere else. It differs from cookbooks and Thai restaurant menus in your home town too. Try to figure out the major sounds and you’ll have an easier time than if you study the spellings!

Here are some variations in spelling for common Thai foods…

Rice: Kow, kowl, cow, cowl
Sticky Rice: Kow Niao, kowl niao, kow neeow, kowl neow
Steamed Rice: Kow niao nung, kowl neow neung
Black Sticky Rice: Kow niao dum, kowl neeow dum

Thin glass (clear) Rice Noodles: Sen mee, sen me
Thick Rice Noodles: Sen yai, sen yi, sen yay

Pork: Moo, mu, muu, mew
Beef: New-uh, neu-uh, noo-uh, noouh
Chicken: Gai, gy, guy, kai, ky, kuy, gi
Squid: Pla Meuk, bpla meuk, bpla muk, pla muk, pla muhk, bpla muhk
Shrimp: Goong, gung, guung, koong, kung, kuung
Fish: Pla, bla, bpla, blah

Salad: Salad, salat
Spicy Salad: Yum
Fermented Fish Sauce (not sure you’ll find this in USA): Bla rah, pla ra, bpla ra, bla la, blah lah, bpla rah
Curry: Gang, gaeng, geng, gehng

Milk: Nam nom, nom, nome, noam
Coconut Milk: Gati, gadi, gadhi
Coconut: Mapraw, ma prow, mah praw
Ginger: King
Egg: Ky, kai, gy, kye
Morning Glory: Boong, bung, boohng, buung
Chili Peppers: Prig, prik, prihg, prigk
Bean sprouts: Tua ngoh, dtua ngaw, too-uh goh
Mushroom: Hed, head, het
Onion: Hom, hawm
Corn: Kowl pod, kow pod, pood
Carrot:
Mango: Mamuang, ma muang, ma mooung, ma moouhng
Orange: Som, Sawm
Apple: Appun, Apun, Apon
Banana: Gluay, glooay, glooai
Papaya: Ma lagaw, malaga
Pineapple: Sapparad, sapparat
Lemon/Lime: Minao, minow

Dessert: Khanom, kanom, kanawm

Sweet: Wan, Waan, Wahn, Won, Wohn
Sour: Prio, priow, preeow, pri-ow, pree-ow, preow
Bitter: Kom, Kohm
Salty: Kem, Kehm
Spicy (hot, chili pepper spicy): pet, ped, pedt, phet, phed
Really Spicy: Ped-Ped
Spicy so much that you go into a coma: Ped Silop Silai (ped silop si ly). If you say this they might look shocked, but it’s a funny phrase here!

Cold: Yen
Hot: Ron, lon
Ice: Nam Kaang, Nam Kang
Sugar: Nam taan, Num Tan
Water: Nam, Naam, Nom

Skin (of pork, chicken, whatever…): Nung, nuhng
Fat: Mun

I hope that list helps you figure some things out. Print it and take it to the restaurant, don’t be shy! Especially in a place where the waitresses (and nobody) speaks English well enough to help you decide what is good to eat. I have been in a few of those restaurants and usually I just resort to my default Tom Yum soup which is always good, though sometimes spicy spicy! (Pet-pet).

Here are some typical Thai dishes that you might find in America or in your home country. Try them!

Tom Yum: Spicy and sour soup. Can be with shrimp (tom yum goong); with chicken (tom yum gai); with squid (tom yum pla muk); seafood (tom yum talay); or with fish (tom yum pla). Tom yum is a really nice soup. There are usually tomatoes, straw mushrooms, and onions to eat along with shrimp or whatever type you ordered. Thais eat it with their rice, mixing it on the same spoon or eating separately. Thais LOVE tom yum soup. (me too)  For some reason Thai food is the hottest when the food you’re eating it with is really wet. Soup is wet. Tom yum soup can be blistering hot – and that’s the way we like it here – but you may find it overwhelming. If you don’t want it spicy tell the waitress / waiter: “Mai Ped” (my ped) It means, ‘not spicy’. Still, the soup might be a little spicy because they make tom yum all at once in some restaurants. They make it a minimum level of spicy – but once the peppers are in the soup – can’t take the spice out. Tip for spicy food – eat lots of rice with it – it takes away the hotness from your mouth. So does cucumber and other vegetables. If you can stand it, the best way to stop your hot mouth from erupting is by drinking as hot as you can stand – water, tea, coffee. It will hurt a LOT, but then the spice goes away. Really!

Gai Pad King (Ginger Chicken): Chicken, shredded ginger, mushrooms, onions, small corn, scallions and sometimes sweet pepper (bell pepper). This one is really delicous. They serve it over rice most often.

Pad Thai (Stir Fried thin noodles with oyster sauce, tamarind sauce, scrambled egg, shrimp, scallions – fresh on side)
You probably already know about Pad Thai. We get more people going to Joy’s blog to see the Pad Thai recipe than anything else. Apparently this is very popular in America, Canada and the UK. I never had it in the states! I didn’t know it existed. Now that I’ve had it in Thailand if I ever return to the USA I’ll order it a lot. It’s very delicious, so simple, but delicious.

Lab Moo: (Spicy ground pork salad, Isaan style). This is a great dish – especially if you don’t mind spicy. If you don’t want spicy, again, just say, “my ped” and they can make it like that. This comes from Isaan (northeast Thailand) and is one of our favorites. You can have with pork, duck (lab phed), chicken (lab gai), fish (lab pla), beef (lab neu-uh). Originally it has pork skin in it – which I dont’ think you’ll find in restaurants outside Thailand  but if you want to make sure you don’t get any you can say, “my sy nung”. It means ‘no skin’. If you want to be polite you can say, “my sy nung kup” if you are a man, and “my sy nung ka” if you are a woman. Women say “ka” after everything to be very polite. Men say “kup” after everything. In reality nobody says it all the time as it is too much. I say as much as I remember – about 60% of the time.

Yum Woon Sen: (Spicy Glass Noodle Salad)  This one I was introduced to right before I came to Thailand. I ate this about 5 times per week for the last month before I left for Bangkok and I ate it about the first six months I was here in Thailand. I’ve not had it for about the last year though and Joy decided to make it for lunch for me today since she starts work late today. I’m excited – it’s really good and she makes it so spicy that I cry. That’s good food!  Yum woon sen has: Thin glass noodles, tomatoes, scallions, onion, squid (usually, can be shrimp or pork instead), chili peppers of course, lime, and thin ear type mushrooms. This is a wet dish and it can get VERY spicy. You might want to say “my ped” or “ped nid noy” which is a little bit spicy. This dish is hardly ever without any spice since the name of it is “Spicy glass noodle salad”. It wouldn’t be the same without any spice!

Bpoo Pad Pongaree: Stir fried crab with curry powder. This one is really delicious, and not spicy from chili peppers and just a little bit from the curry. I think you’ll love this if you can find it in your Thai food restaurant.

Tom Kha Gai: Chicken in Coconut milk with Galingale. Anything with coconut milk (gati) should not be missed! Yes, it’s fattening – but you’re eating Thai food as a treat, not as part of your diet – right?

Gai Pad Met Mamuang: Chicken and cashew nut stir fry. This also has small corn cobs, shredded carrots… A good choice.

Pad Pak Boong: Stir Fried morning glory. This is a nice side order. They usually make it with fresh garlic and it’s delicious! Eat this along with your rice. Everything gets eaten along with Thai Jasmine rice I guess that goes without saying.

Pad Pak Loo-um: Mixed vegetables stir fry. This is good to get as a side-order with anything. You can specify which vegetables you want or just order like this and they’ll give you a mix of all they have.

Kow Niao Mamuang: Sticky rice with sweet mango. MMMMMM. This one is probably my favorite Thai dessert.

Sung Kaya Fuhk Thong: Sweet egg custard with pumpkin. MMMMM. This one is probably my 2nd favorite Thai dessert.

Lawt Chong: Noodles in coconut milk with jackfruit (if they have – or some other fruit as a substitute). This too is an awesome Thai dessert.

Gluay Buad Chee: Ripe, uncooked banana in Coconut milk. Again… delicious.

I think that’s a good start to help you choose some new Thai food you might not have tried before. There is so much variety and to me, all of it is good. Literally I loved everything Joy made for the year plus she was cooking everyday. It was like eating in a five-star restaurant for over a year. YES, I gained weight. I’ve since lost it, but if she starts cooking again the smart thing to do is eat it all and pay for it in a little weight-gain. What’s a guy to do?

You should be able to find the foods mentioned here at a Thai food restaurant in your home country. I think you’ll find most or all of these (or some variation) at a nice Thai restaurant. Keep in mind that there are regional differences in Thai cooking. In the north of Thailand the Thai food tends to be sweeter. In the northeast it tends to be spicier in every way, hotness and flavor – they use more chilis, salt, lemon, and herbs. In the south foods tend to be a little more sour and not very spicy, though they have more curries here in the south. Bangkok has a mix of everything.

If you have some time have a look at some of Joy’s Thai food by typing a search word into the box in the upper left hand side. If you like coconut milk – type it in and see what recipes she has that includes it. You might be surprised and find something you haven’t tried and you can ask for the next time you go to a restaurant for Thai food!

Sawasdee Krup,

Vern

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ผัดเปรี้ยวหวาน Pad Priao Wan

(Sour and Sweet Stir Fry)

ผัดเปรี้ยวหวาน
Pad Priao Wan
(Sour and Sweet Stir-Fry)

Prepare:

5 tomatoes (cut 4 times each one)
10 big shrimps (peeled, de-veined, cleaned and cooked)
1/4 cup cut onion
1/4 cup cut sweet peppers (yellow, green and red)
1/4 cup sliced pineapple
10-12 partridge eggs (boiled and peeled)
1 tbsp. minced garlic
2 tbsp. oyster sauce
3 tbsp. ketchup (or as much as you like)
1 tbsp. fish sauce
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. Thai pepper powder
1 tbsp. olive oil

Cooking Instructions:

1. Heat the pan and add olive oil.

2. When the pan is hot, add minced garlic and fry until it has aromatic smell.

3. Put sweet peppers, tomatoes, onion and then stir for 2 minutes.

4. After that, add shrimps, pineapple, oyster sauce, fish sauce, sugar, ketchup and thai pepper powder.

5. Add water if the sauce gets too thick.

6. The taste should be sweet, sour and a salty.

7. If you like the partridge eggs, add it in the pan and mix well before you turn off the fire.

8. Serve with jasmine rice.

Pad Priao Wan (Sour and Sweet Stir-Fry) is another colorful Thai food recipe for the children and everyone that loves sweet and sour food. It is also good for any of you who is on diet program. Just skip the shrimps and add less oil in the food. Broccoli and carrot can be added if you love more vegetables. I love to put a lot of fresh tomatoes in my Pad Priao Wan because it helps provide me a nice, fresh, radiant and smooth skin!!

In Thai restaurants you may find this food but they would cook it with crispy fried fish.

Joy^^

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