Order Thai Food Like a Native

by Lindsay Damast, Posted May 20th 2010 @ 4:00PM

Have you ever sat down in a Thai restaurant and found yourself confused by the menu and so went with the most seemingly innocuous item? However adventurous or timid an eater you might be, there are certain cultural differences that once explained, would enlighten your ordering.

Pailin Chongchitnant, a culinary student and guest writer at the San Francisco Chronicle, first noticed the drastic differences between Thai and North American culture when she moved from Thailand to Canada. Having been hit with this culture shock, Pailin offers her personal guide to ordering Thai food, to enable you to venture beyond curry and partake in a more authentic Thai dining experience.

At the core of Pailin's advice is the notion that "four words are the key to ordering." Rather than the typical Western courses of appetizer, entree, and dessert, Thai food is served family-style and separated into "wet, dry, yum and spicy" categories. The wet course can be satisfied by a soup or curry, the dry dish would be a stir-fry (or anything not in a bowl), the "yum" refers to salad (specifically the light and acidic dressing that goes on it), and at least one dish should be spicy. In addition, there should be a balance of meat, seafood and vegetable-heavy plates.

Read more about the role that rice and noodles play in the meal, and the order that food should be eaten in, and then recreate a Thai dining experience in your own home by trying out Pailin's recipe for Tom Yum Goong, her favorite soup.

At the end of the day, Pailin reminds you of her number one rule: don't stress. "Let's face it -- it's just food," Pailin writes. "Order whatever makes you happy."

[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]

Filed Under: Newspapers, Food Politics, How To, Recipes
Tags: featured, restaurant etiquette, seattle post-intelligencer, thai food, thailand

Chew on This

Royal Wedding Cake Details Revealed! - YumSugar

Make Your Own Pop Tarts - CHOW
Denny's Introduces a Maple Bacon Sundae - Eater
Whole Foods Opening Bars in Stores - USA Today
Rules Of Bar Etiquette -- For The Bartender - HuffPost Food

Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

6-28-2010 @11:29AM best restaurant said... i like this blog .these photos are good and i think it is very delicious . thai food is very tasty and you do not forget it . A big percentage of Thais come from China. Chinese and Thai food have blended together.you can also add restaurant
for thai foods ..thanks.........................
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

6-28-2010 @11:34AM best restaurants said... I would like to say that some of the best restaurants are in USA & then in Dubai...
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

6-28-2010 @11:45AM best restaurants said... I need to know more about the best restaurant..
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

8-16-2010 @6:46AM susancg04 said... Very nice blog. I found it very informative about the restaurant. Keep up good work.
-susan cripllar
------------------------------------
Auto Parts Thai
Reply