Thai Cuisine - Paradises

Thai food pays a lot of attention to detail, taste, color and texture. It is intricate, has good flavor and uses ingredients with medicinal properties. The Thai are not only concerned about how the food tastes, they are also interested in how it smells, how it looks and how it fits in with other food.

Most Thai dishes require light preparation, have strong aroma and are quite spicy. Seven Thai dishes have made the list of 50 most delicious foods from around the world (by CNN International). These dishes are Pad Thai, Tom Yam Goong, Massaman Curry, Som Tam, Thai fried rice, moo nam tok and green curry.

Thai cuisine is four regional cuisines rolled into one. They are central Thai, Northern Thai, Isan and Southern Thai. Rice is staple in most diets. In fact, the word khao means both rice and food. Rice is made into congee, noodles, vermicelli and even rice flour.

Herbs, vegetables and a variety of spices are a big part of Thai food. Fish and other sea food are commonly eaten in Thailand. Most Thai meals will finish off with a sweet dish (can be fruit also), containing rice, coconut milk, banana and fruits.

The Thai also eat fried insects especially in the North where they are quite popular. Crickets, silkworm, termites, ant eggs, bee larve, grasshoppers are commonly fried and eaten. Thai street food is also renowned around the world (Thailand is called the world’s street food capital). Most Thai are non-vegetarians, so finding exclusive vegetarian food in Thailand can be quite difficult. Don’t forget to try the local beers – Singha (called Sing by the locals) and Chang. Other popular beverages in Thailand are Thai Ice tea and Thai coffee. Krating Deang is a popular energy drink in the region (Red Bull was derived from this drink).

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