Thai Cultural Differences - Food

So I just came back from a week exchange at a Thai boarding school, so sorry for the delay. But I got to it eventually as you can see. I think this post is probably my most favorite of the series thus far. Mainly because it's interesting and I have pictures! Anyway, as the title suggests, I'll be talking about food and how different it is from American tastes. Since this is a really broad topic however, I'll simply give you a basic outline of how Thais like to eat.

In general, Thai people love extreme flavors. If the dish is going to be sweet, it'll be loaded with plenty of sugar. If it's spicy, expect there to be a lot of chilies. If it's sour, your lips will be puckered to their limit. In fact, Thai people are so used to the extreme tastes, they find some American foods, like potato chips and pasta to be too bland.

That pretty much outlines the general concept. However, something I also notice about Thai food is that they're not too afraid of cooking and eating just about anything. Therefore, I have complied a list of strange foods I have actually eaten here in Thailand. Enjoy!~

Papaya Salad

This dish is made with shredded, non-ripe papaya, lots of chilies, nuts, lemon, tomato, garlic, and whatever protein topping the customer wants. In the picture, the topping is crab. This is known as the spiciest Thai dish in the whole country. I even tried ordering it with the least amount of spicy possible, and it was still burning my mouth. But despite the pain, I absolutely love it. I can't explain why. Perhaps it's because the spicy amazes my mouth. But either way, it's definitely worth a taste.

Whole Fish



Usually it's fried, but I've also eaten it where the fish is boiled. The process to make this isn't complicated. You fill a pan with oil and drop a whole fish in until it's cooked. Then put whatever toppings you want and serve. I added this because Americans don't usually eat the fish whole. But in Thailand, they eat the cooked flesh right off the bone. Also with the smaller fish, I sometimes crack open the skull and eat the cheek, eyes, and brain. Yummy!

Chicken Feet



I'm not sure how to make this, but the result tastes pretty good. The only problem I have it that there's not much meat of the bones so it's hard to get a satisfying meal out of them.

Boiled Pork Intestines



This is probably my favorite food here in Thailand! The taste of digestive organ might make some people want to throw up, but I can't get enough of the stuff. The meat is very tender and there isn't any bones to crunch down on. Plus, you can make some great curries with it.

Pork Lung Soup



I have recently learned this is actually a Chinese dish, but a lot of Chinese families make it here, so I count it anyway. Much like the intestines, lung is absolutely delicious. I especially love it when there's a soup with both lung and intestine!~

Fried Oyster Omelet



Just thought it was a strange thing to fry in your scrambled eggs. It's really tasty though.

Field Crab



I'm trying to figure out who a long way ago thought these little crabs looked good to eat. Usually these little buggers are added to dishes like the Papaya Salad from earlier. They are a bit of a challenge to eat at first. I eventually figured out that you're supposed to rip off their legs and use your teeth to push out the meat. I think they're great because they absorb the taste of whatever food they go with, but if you eat them alone they kind of taste like dirt.

Rice Pourage



I actually thought this would taste disgusting before I tried it. Mainly because it looked like puke to me. But as it turns out, I was wrong. It's perfect stuff for breakfast as it warms you up and is easy to digest. You usually get egg in it as well.

Dried Squid



You can probably imagine Thailand has a variety of fish varieties. But I never expected to see this for sale. Dried squid tastes like of like a salted piece of leather. Hard to chew, however it's still a nice snack to eat.

Plain Sticky Rice



I hate this stuff! Just thought I should put that out there right now. Seriously, one taste of this and I started gagging. Although, I am fine with the sweet sticky rice and mango, so don't call me a criminal just yet. Anyway, it's basically rice a tad undercooked so it has a sticky consistency. Apparently they also put some other ingredient in there that tastes like vinegar, which makes me not like it. It's usually served at picnics because you can eat it with just your fingers.

Fermented Fish



Not a fan of this one either, as it smells about as bad as it tastes. Like the field crab, it's usually added to other dishes and I wonder who thought this would look good to eat.

Durian Fruit



Ever see those cartoons where the characters would talk about the horrible smell of durian? Well it exists, folks! Personally, I try to avoid the smelly fruit themselves. But I love the dried durian chips they sell here. For me, the issue with these is the smell. Let's just say if grass could pass gas, it would smell exactly like the durians do.

Rambutan



Question time! Does this fruit look edible? If you answered yes, you'd be correct! And it's actually really good too. Apparently we also have it in the U.S.A, but I've never seen it...

Frog Curry



The mention of this dish gets even the Thais going "ew". However, I love frog. It's like chicken and fish put together. Though, it has the same problem as chicken feet. There's not much meat on it. So it doesn't beat pork organs, but it's close.

Quail Eggs



I often eat these after school before my host parents pick me up. They are like mini breakfast eggs!

Fried Banana



These are probably the most unhealthy tasting things I've ever eaten, but they are so delicious. Granted there is the potassium rich banana at the center of all the fried dough and sugar, but I you can't really taste it at times unfortunately. It's a guilty pleasure of mine.

Pork Blood Noodles



Some people are grossed out by this, but you really don't taste the blood. It just tastes like a salty broth. There is usually pork liver and meat added to it as well.

Fried Pork Skin



This stuff is good! 8D Actually, I had no idea it was pork skin for a good three months after I started eating it daily. And then my host mom mentions what it is. But I still kept eating it. It's a lovely snack. Movie popcorn for Thailand.

Salted Egg



Thais only seem to like the yolk. I personally think the yolk tastes the same as the white, but I'm a Westerner, what do I know? I really have no idea how these are made, but I guess they put them in buckets of salt and let them sit for a long time.

And that's the end of the list. I probably forgot a whole bunch of strange food, but this should be enough for now. I hope I satisfied your curiosity for knowledge. Until next post, see you later~