Thai Food Culture: An Essential Guide

Food plays a vital role in many countries all over the world, including the Land of Smiles. Thailand is not only rich in culture but also Thai Food Culture. It is well-known for its food’s distinctive flavors, which is why a lot of foreigners visit this country to see the beautiful sceneries and most especially, try the different kinds of food it can offer to tourists.

This write-up will be talking about Thai Food Culture, so in case you plan on having your vacation in Thailand, you have an idea of the various Thai Food Culture.

Thai Cuisine

Before we continue, let’s discuss Thai cuisine. What is Thai cuisine? If this is your first time knowing about Thai Food Culture, I hope that this article would be helpful, and you would benefit from it to have an overview of how Thais prepare their food and the Thai Food Culture.

The preparation of each food in Thailand is very meticulous and in detail. Thais are very careful when getting ready for the ingredients they use in every dish. They have to make sure that the food has fresh ingredients.

What makes each platter satisfying and pleasing is its unique taste. There are five primary flavors in every dish you can taste. These are sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and spicy. The different flavors make the food savory and make your tastebuds feast. So if you love spicy food, it suits your palate. However, for those who are not fond of hot dishes, the food’s spiciness can be reduced. You just need to inform the server to lessen the spices or do not add chilies at all.

Thai Food Culture: Influence

Many influencers enter Thailand regarding Thai Food Culture. These countries, like India, Malaysia, and Indonesia, are neighboring countries of Thailand. A Thai monk writer named Venerable Buddhadasa mentioned that India influences Thailand in their cooking, especially in curry dishes. It is known that Indians are famous for their curry food, and Indians inspire Thailand’s curries. The only distinction between these two countries’ curry is the materials Thais use when making this food.

Other influencers in Thai Food Culture are the westerners. The most prominent Thai Food Culture that was introduced in Thailand is the chili peppers. Other vegetables such as pumpkin, tomato, cilantro, pineapple, corn, papaya, and eggplants are launched aside from the chilies.

Importance of Rice

Rice is vital in Thai Food Culture. Thais are rice eaters, so it is impossible not to have rice on their tables every time they have a meal. Since the locals also plant rice, it is already a part of their feed every day. The most delicious rice that they usually have is Jasmine rice. Because of its texture and taste, it is suitable to pair with any dish you will eat.

Some dishes even have rice in them called “rice toppings.” If you order one serving with rice, you can choose whether your rice is plain or stir-fried. Stir-fried rice is typical in Thai Food. The locals give high respect to the rice they eat, so they make sure to devour everything on their plate every time they have a meal. They believe that the god of rice looks upon the grain and doesn’t want the god to be furious when they waste just a single bean of the grain.

How Do Thais Eat Their Food?

A lot of foreigners have a misconception about how Thais eat their food. Since Thailand is an Asian country, many foreign nationals think that the people from the Land of Smiles use chopsticks when eating. It is why they usually ask for chopsticks when they have a meal at a restaurant or have street food.

But the fact is, in Thailand, the locals eat their food with a spoon and fork. The spoon is held in the right hand while the fork is on the left. The fork pushes the food into the spoon before it enters the mouth.

Another Thai Culture with food we need to remember is to use a serving spoon when getting food in a bowl. Since Thais like sharing food when having a meal, each plate has a serving ladle to avoid using your spoon to get your share from the container.

Each individual has a bowl of soup where they can enjoy it. When having the soup, it is rude to slurp it in front of your companions. Thais use the spoon to have their soup, and they do it silently!

These are just a few tips on Thai Food Culture, and suppose you want to try the various Thai cuisine near you (if you can’t travel to Thailand yet), always remember these points, and you will be enjoying Thai food like a natural.