If a perfectly balanced meal of different flavors is what you are looking for, then knowing how to eat Thai food is a must for you. When we talk about knowing how to eat Thai food, we not only mean how to eat the cuisine in the most pleasurable manner, but also how to order the right food in the right sequence and the right proportions, and such other important points that you necessarily need to keep in mind while enjoying a Thai dinner or lunch.

Sauces

Pastes and sauces form an integral part of almost all Thai dishes. The most common sauce is the Nam Pla, a strong flavored fish sauce. Pla Ra, made from fermented fish is another fish sauce that is widely used. The strong aroma and distinct flavor of the fish sauces give Thai cuisine a unique character. Other than these, soy sauce and oyster sauce are also widely used in Thai cuisine.

Pastes

Other than sauces, pastes are also widely used in Thai cuisine. One of the famous pastes is the Kapi (a shrimp paste) that is essentially used in the typical Thai red curry. There is also the well-known Nam Prik or the Thai chilly paste that is used in most of the Thai dishes. Nam Prik is a great dip that goes best with raw or blanched vegetables like cucumber, cabbage, etc. We also have the curry paste (called Phrik Kaeng Phet or Khrueang Kaeng Phet) that form a base of almost all Thai curries.

Rice and Noodles

Rice is the staple food for all Asian countries and Thailand is no exception. Jasmine rice, typically Thai rice is offered as part of the main course. This highly prized, sweet-smelling rice is widely cultivated in central parts of Thailand and is not likely to be found outside. Unlike the Chinese cuisine that excels in forms of fried rice, Thai cuisine being simple, offers steamed rice. The steamed rice is normally served with strong aromatic curries, stir fried vegetables and other dishes. The whole idea is that steamed rice (being non-flavored in itself) highlights the strong aroma of these additional dishes and this combo is what makes the Thai cuisine so special. At times, the rice and curries are served together as one single dish, known as Khao Rat Kaeng. Another form of rice eaten by the Thai is the sticky rice, known as Khao Niao. It is a staple of Laos.

Noodles are also popular in Thai cuisine. They are either served stir-fried (as a single dish) or as noodle soups. There are three kinds of noodles dominating the Thai cuisine – the Sen Yai (wide flat noodles), the Sen Lek (thin flat noodles) and Sen Mi (rice vermicelli).

Herbs

Herbs, spices and leaves that are typically found in Thailand are generously used in Thai cuisine. Bai Makrut, the kaffir lime leaves is widely used in all Thai soups and curries. Cha-Om, the young leaves of Acacia Pennata tree is also used in Thai cuisine, especially in omelets and soups. Banana leaves are also used to make spicy pate (made with fish and coconut milk).

It is the different herbs and spices used in Thai cuisine that give the rich aromatic favors to the Thai dishes. Fresh Thai basils, coriander and coriander roots, cilantro and cilantro roots and spearmint are commonly used. Other spices widely used are the “Phong Phalo” (a five-spice powder), “Phong Kari” (curry powder) and peppercorns (both fresh and dried).

Thus, Thai cuisine mainly stresses on a lightly-prepared but strongly aromatic dish. Variety and balance are the two main characteristics of Thai dishes. It is a balance of five fundamental taste senses – hot (spicy), sour, sweet, salty and bitter and it is this great balance that makes eating Thai so inexpressibly pleasurable.

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