Thai food guide by Khanom Travel
Part 1
Food glorious food, in Thailand Gastronomy takes on new heights and here is our guide to Thai food.
The word spicy in Thai is Phet (Pet), I have rarely found tourist restaurant’s to make things like they do for locals. Sometimes even the tourist version of Thai dishes can be too much for some. Phrases like "Mai Phet" or "not spicy" are very quickly learned. Some phrases you may find yourself learning.
"Ao Phet" (rarely by a foreigner). In reply to being asked, do you, or can you eat spicy food, this indicates you can and if you are Thai they will not hold back on the chilli or the Naam Pla (Fish sauce).
"Mai Phet" = No I do not want/like it spicy.
"Phet nid noi" = I like it medium spicy or a little spicy but not over the top.
"Phet Mak mak" = I want it as spicy as you want to make it.
So now you know how to tone down or to spice up the taste buds. I will endeavour to give you a tip. Milk and not water will help suppress that first numb feeling, before the explosion of pain and the force of a grenade hits you in the mouth. Yes I am sometimes a coward and nip into 7/11 for a little school carton style milk in my pocket, once chillied twice burned. I once made the mistake of allowing a Thai friend to invite me to dinner with her staff after closing her restaurant. It is not one I will repeat, one spoonful of her Som tam and I could not eat for 24 hours. (Thanks Mon). Water will only spread the acids around the mouth, milk I have found to be my saviour, others have their own like yoghurt, I find milk easier to carry myself.
Katie who is Thai and myself who only thinks, he in some way understands Thailand often find ourselves arguing. She will find something bland whilst I find it killing me. Other times she will wonder why I can eat something so spicy and she is crying tears. Mostly though this is over Buffalo wings and not some exotic Thai dish. 😂
Let’s get on with showing you food from the exotic to the street-food.
1. Larb or Laab (Spicy Minced Pork Salad)
"Larb", originally deemed a Laotian dish Laab or Larb was and still is, almost the national dish of E-san, or Isan (Northeastern Thailand). Typically a meat dish it contains Lime, fish sauce, chilli, and often vegetables like shallot and culantro. It can contain any type of me at as an ingredient and is almost always minced. Thailand often uses minced meats although it is not a rule and many dishes can be made with whole and minced meat mixes. Served with sticky rice it is a type of salad and it comes in many variations. Note that not all variations will include fish sauce or even lime and may well use mix dried spices for flavour instead. Both Laos and Northern thailand versions will differ at almost every place that sells it. That is one of the great things about Thai food, the variations in taste can be wide between vendors. Finding a personal favourite takes some time as you savour the individualism of each seller. How spicy is this dish you will be asking, well like any dish it can be made to many tastes and that is when you start practicing a little Thai and seeing how spicy you can go before it all becomes a little too much.
:: Price ::
Street Vendors/ Local price ฿40-60
Thai Style Cafe/ Restaurant ฿80-120
Upper-end restaurant ฿120+
2. Kanom Jeen Nam Ya (Rice Noodle with curry)
Very popular amongst street food Thai's this is the very quick to make. Kanom Jeen (unlike the name khanom which means dessert) is a dish made from made from rice noodles. A fermented dough made from rice and water and occasionally salt is pressed into what becomes the product on the plate. Rice noodles are not native to Thailand and are used extensively throughout SE Asia. These have no need for importation and are often made fresh on the premises. The toppings and variations once again make this dish versatile, everything from green curry to fish is used and explored and as normal with these kinds of Thai dishes, green leaves and bean sprouts accompany it as well as vendors creating their variety of flavours. Often in the food blogs we do not see the local contenders that take pride of place and are often easily found, if it is Thai and local then it will not be too far away. A couple of variations of this does the Chinatown rounds with a crispy version fighting against a softer Noodle textured version.
:: Price ::
Street Vendors/ Local price ฿30-50
Thai Style Cafe/ Restaurant ฿50-100
3. Khao Kai Jeow (Rice with Omelette)
Fast, filling and found everywhere and on almost any menu from street to top end. This is one of my go to dishes when on the run and everyone makes this different. If we are looking in the healthy stakes be aware sometimes this contains more oil than a North sea tanker delivering to BP. My own personal favourite has added mince pork. Green onions, fish sauce and soy sauce all have their place in this dish, Some use all and some use either, a bed of rice or served alone this 5 minute dish really is a winner among everyone. For those who like spicy chilli can be added although normally I stick with the sweet chilli sauce served on the side or over the top as the condiment of choice. Simple but satisfying and one of the cheapest dishes on a menu. Eaten on the side with khapow instead of the fried egg western style lunch is taken care off.
:: Price ::
Street Vendors/ Local price ฿20-50
Thai Style Cafe/ Restaurant ฿40-80
Upper-end restaurant ฿80-140
4. Pad Krapaw Moo (Stir Fried Holy Basil with Minced Pork)
Another must-try dish when you are in Thailand. Pad Krapaw or Pad Krapao. It is considered one of the national dishes that is loved by all Thais and tourists alike, it has a taste of its own and is easy to cook. When you are in a hurry or can't think of anything to eat, Pad Krapaw is definitely the first one to come to mind. A good pad krapow served on top of fragrant steaming jasmine rice, and a perfectly cooked egg can easily fulfil that craving, this one goes well with a real cold beer. The aniseed aroma of the holy basil, the nose-tingling chillies and garlic can be extremely pungent when it is mixed in a pan, but this is a secret behind the tasty krapaw. Thais use all kind of meats but the most popular ones are minced pork, minced chicken, crispy pork and squid. The sauce used in this dish is oyster sauce, fish sauce and a little soy sauce. The heat level on this can hit gas mark 10. If you choose to go phet mak. It is best to tell them how spicy you want it unless you love a game of Russian Roulette.
:: Price ::
Street Vendors/ Local price: ฿40 - 60
Thai Style Cafe/ Restaurant: ฿80 -120
Upper-end restaurant: ฿120+
5. Tom Yum Goong (Spicy Tom Yum Soup with King Prawn)
Last on this blog is one of the most aromatic soups you will have. Goong means prawns in Thai often seen also as Kung, although this spelling is normally used as a person’s name. An all-time firm khanom favourite, the prawns are often substituted for chicken and even minced pork. This is a hot and sour soup with the word Tom meaning to boil. Lemon grass, Kaffir and Lime with copious amounts of fish sauce and crushed red chilli, this dish can get spiced to the max. It does not immediately hit you as you might think. There is subtlety in every spoonful you taste. These flavours come through individually layer after layer and only then does the fiery chilli come into its own. Small birds eye chillies are used in this dish and I have seen as many in here as I have in Som Tam. The ingredients are in the best soups hand crushed and pummelled from fresh market stalls that are everywhere in Thailand. A paste is created called "Nam Prik Pao". This is where the delicate flavours are mixed to perfection, there is nothing to match this in my own opinion. The 1997 financial crash was named the Tom Yam Kung crisis. Once again there are many variations some are made with coconut milk amply added. These have different names like Tom Kha Kathi, Tom kha khai is similar but made with Galanga -- but we will talk about it in part two.
So some off trail local foods that are substitutes for the tourist favourites, alongside one or two from the simply cooked to the aromatic hand pummelled spice soups like Tom Yam, Explore, eat and fill yourself full with our Khanom guide to Thai food.
:: Price ::
Street Vendors/ Local price: ฿80-120
Thai Style Cafe/ Restaurant: ฿120-180
Upper-end restaurant: ฿250-400
Author: Gary C.
Photo Credits: Envato Elements, Google Image
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