Thai Ingredients 101

I am sure that we all love going to Thai Restaurant for delicious Thai dishes, but we most likely order the same one over and over, because we are really not sure which others on the menu we would like. It most likely is because of the names of the dishes that baffle us and do not know what they mean.

For example, do you know what Tom Kaa Gai means or Gaeng Daeng means? If you do, then you have probably ordered it already, or know what the actual words mean, which sets you apart from most of us.

Here is a list of the most basic Thai food ingredients for your comparison that you can take along with at the next Thai restaurants near me excursion or possibly you received news about the great Thai London restaurant deals.

Rice & Noodles

A thick rice noodle is “Sen Yai” where a thin clear rice noodle is “Sen me”. With rice, it is about the same normal rice is “Kow”, black sticky rice is “Kow niao dum”, sticky rice is “Kow niao” and steamed rice or “Kow niao nung”.

Meats & Sea Food

Fish equates to on your normal Thai menu to “Pla or Bla” and shrimp is “Goong” whereas squid is “Pla Muek”. Beef is “New-uh or Neu-uh” and chicken is normally “Gai” and pork is “Moo”. Keep in mind that almost all dishes on a menu are going to be combined together.

Salads & Spices

A normal salad is usually simply salad or “salat” and a spicy salad equates to “yum”. Coconut milk is “Gati”, regular milk is “Nom or nom nom” and coconut is “Mapraw”. Spices are plenty in Thai dishes, especially when they are used to make a great Massaman curry or “Kaeng masan” or sometimes curry is “Gang”.

Normal spices are ginger “King”, chili peppers “Prig” and morning glory is “Boong”. Other could be egg is “Ky or kai”, bean sprouts are “Tua ngoh”, banana is “Gluay”, apple is “Appun” and orange is “Sum”. Some other things you may see are onion is “Hom”, corn is “Kowl pod”, a mushroom is “Hed” and mango is “Mumuang”.

Hot & Cold

We all know that spice is life when it comes to Thai food and here are the top few that you should know when ordering according to spicy desires. Normal spicy is “pet or ped”, really spicy is “ped-ped” and super spicy to blow your head off is “Ped silop si ly”. For sweet you have “Wan”, sour “Prio”, bitter “Kom” and salty is “Kem”.

If you want water simply order “nam”, but if you want ice ask for “Nam kaang”. If you desire a hot beverage say “Ron” and cold “Yen”.

It may look daunting but is not really, once you understand what you are asking for. So if you desire Kaeng Masan or Massaman curry, ask for it by name. The next time you get one of the great Thai London restaurant deals or if you are often asking what’s on the menu at the Thai restaurants near me, hope this helps. Get your Thai on!