Thai Food without spice is not Thai food.

 

One of the many worries while traveling abroad in un-charted territories such as Thailand is what am I going to eat when it comes to Thai food. Don’t get worried, they have everything, and when I say everything I mean it. You have watched various dining abroad shows by now, and yes Crickets, Cockroaches, and various Spiders are all included in the cuisine department out here. Tourist’s eat this stuff as a dare or gag, but the menu options are plentiful. However, a true Thai dish and your ability to skillfully order for your date and her three friends is the true challenge.

Thai people love their food, like Americans love their steak and eggs. I think they have a higher level of pride for their cuisine however, as they all can cook it up at any moments notice, and often do. You can not go wrong with Papaya Salad for your date. It’s very spicy, and a Thai staple for Thai women as far as Thai food is concerned. It is often called Green papaya salad and is eaten with sticky rice, a beef dish and bamboo salad. The salad itself usually has dried shrimp or crab with peanuts and is called som tum their Very spicy, so watch out. Don’t be brave and order spicy, as there is nothing better than watching a farang foam at the mouth in pain from spicy Thai food. I myself think this is ok, but my Thai girlfriend feels sick to the stomach in America if she does not get her share of this, it brings her back home in Thailand.

 

Food to the Thai people is everything, it brings about the Thai way of sharing. Thai people share everything, and do so naturally, not for the benefit of some response or future return on investment which is so common in the Western world. Not eating Thai food on your date is shooting yourself in the foot. All plates are eaten at one time and shared amongst the whole table. You do not simply order for yourself, so be prepared for forks and knives to dive right in to your favorite dish of Thai food that you just ordered. Seafood, Beef and Pork are the main dishes usually served up with a heaping amount of spicy hotness, so be prepared to have a bottle of Pepto available.

 

 

If you are off the beaten path drink bottled water without ice, as you are not ready for the revenge that will approach you within the next 3 to 4 hours. The top 2 meals for foreigners introducing themselves to Thai food is Pad See You beef/chicken or Chicken Pad Thai. These dishes are excellent, and closely related to cuisine in America. Pad See You beef is beef strips with a mild sauce (not spicy) with asparagus, and it is awesome. Chicken pad Thai, has Thai noodles and chicken with crushed nuts on top and a spicy sauce with a side of lime to squeeze on the top. I will say this, as much as I love these two dishes, please, in Thailand try something else, as you will truly impress your Thai date when doing so. If she has gone out with white guys in the past, you will blend in with the group if you try the “Farang” specials Pad See You and Chicken Pad Thai. Why not go for Som Tum, just bring your Pepto.