AB Level 1.25: Thai Food

Focus: Vocabulary for Methods of Food Preparation and Classifiers for Ordering Food.

• When ordering food, the most common classifiers used are จาน (jaan), meaning "plate" or "dish," and ชาม (chaam), meaning "bowl."

• Often though, when ordering one of any dish, you don't use a number and instead you simply say the name of the dish you want.

  • เอาแกงเขียวหวาน (ao gaaeng-khǐiao-wǎan)

    ➤ "I'll have some green curry."

• Usually, you only need to include a number if you want to indicate that you want more than one of some order.

  • เอาปอเปี๊ยะทอดสองจานao (bpaaw-bpía-thâawt sǎawng jaan.)

    ➤ "I'll have two plates of fried spring rolls."

• The names of most dishes indicate the way in which they are cooked or prepared.

  • ผัด (phàt) means "stir-fried."

  • You can see it at both the beginning of a food name, such as ผัดผักรวม (phàt-phàk-ruuam), meaning "fried mixed vegetables," or at the end of a food name, such as ข้าวผัด (khâao-phàt), meaning "fried rice."

  • Other cooking methods that become part of food names are ทอด (thâawt) "deep-fried," ย่าง (yâang) "grilled," and อบ (òp) "baked."

  • Examples of these are:

    • ปอเปี๊ยะทอด (bpaaw-bpía-thâawt) ➤ "deep-fried spring rolls"

    • ไก่ย่าง (gài-yâang) ➤ "grilled chicken"

    • มันฝรั่งอบ (man-fà-ràng-òp) ➤ "baked potato"

• Another word that we use in the name of many Thai dishes is ยำ (yam), which means "salad." Another example is ยำทะเล (yam-thá-lee), which means "seafood salad."

• There are also two words that we use for the names of soups and curries. ต้ม (dtôm) means "boiled."

  • We use it in the names of many soups or soupy dishes, such as:

    • ต้มยำกุ้ง (dtôm-yam-gûng) ➤ "spicy shrimp soup"

    • ข้าวต้ม (khâao-dtôm) ➤ "rice porridge"

• Finally, there is the word แกง (gaaeng), which can mean either "a soup" or "a soupy curry."

  • Probably the most famous Thai curry is แกงเขียวหวาน (gaaeng-khǐiao-wǎan), the "green curry."

• Here is a list of some common Thai dishes.

Vocabulary & Phrases

• แล้วก็ (láaeo gâaw)

  • This is a phrase that means "and also" or "then also."

  • แล้ว (láaeo) means "and then" when it begins a statement.

  • ก็ (gâaw) has many uses, but its main meaning is "also."

  • We use แล้วก็ (láaeo gâaw) to link two statements together.

  • But it is possible for the statements to be separated in time.

  • Examples:

    • แล้วก็ เอา ปอเปี๊ยะทอดครับ

      • (láaeo gâaw ao bpaaw-bpía-thâawt khráp.)

        ➤ "And I'll also have some deep-fried spring rolls."

    • พรุ่งนี้ดิฉันต้องไปธนาคารแล้วก็จะไปตลาด

      • (phrûng-níi dì-chǎn dtâwng bpai thá-naa-khaan láaeo gâaw jà bpai dtà-làat.)

        ➤ "I have to go to the bank tomorrow, and then I'll go to the market."

• ทั้งวัน (tháng wan)

  • This phrase means "all day long."

  • ทั้ง (tháng) is an adjective that means "whole" or "entire."

  • We can also combine it with คืน (khuuen), which means "night," to make the phrase ทั้งคืน (tháng khuuen), which means "all night long."

  • There is one more phrase that we can make by combining both of these together.

    • ทั้งวันทั้งคืน (tháng wan tháng khuuen)

      ➤ "around the clock" or "all day and night."

    • ทุกๆวันเสาร์เขาดูหนังทั้งวันt (húk-thúk wan-sǎo khǎo duu nǎng tháng wan.)

      ➤ "Every Saturday he watches movies all day long."

Popular Thai Foods

• The Thai expression กินข้าว (gin khâao) literally means "to eat rice," but it generally refers to "having a meal."

• Rice is a fundamental component of Thai cuisine and is typically consumed for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

  • Thailand does not have many specific breakfast dishes, so it is common for families to have leftover meat and vegetables from dinner along with rice, or a simple curry or Thai-style omelette.

  • Alternatively, they may prepare a rice porridge or buy Chinese-style doughnuts and hot soy milk from the market.

• For lunch, working individuals often eat a single dish with rice, such as curry or stir-fried pork with holy basil. Fried or soup noodles are another fast lunch option.

  • In addition to the well-known Pad Thai, other popular fried noodle dishes are ผัดซีิอิ๊ว (phàt-sii-íu) "noodles fried in soy sauce" and ผัดขี้เมา (phàt-khîi-mao) "stir friend drunken noodles."

• Dinner is usually enjoyed in a group, with rice and various shared dishes, including a couple of meat or fish dishes, a vegetable dish, a salad, a curry, and a soup, followed by a sweet dessert.

  • Alternatively, families or groups of friends may opt for "grilled pork on a special round sloping pan," called หมูกะทะ (mǔu-gà-thá,).

  • สุกี้ยากี้ (sù-gîi-yaa-gîi) or สุกี้ (sù-gîi) a Japanese-style hotpot featuring various meats, vegetables, and tofu in a pot of broth in the center of the table.

  • Thai-style suki is distinct from the Japanese version due to its dipping sauce based on fermented soybeans, chili, and garlic.

• Snacking between meals is widespread in Thailand, known as กินเล่น (gin-lên), meaning "playful eating." Fresh fruit and bread are typical snacks, along with various fried foods, including everything from cashews to insects.