Thai Food Pet Peeves

[F K Thornbury]

****Thread is not intended to include hygiene concerns****

My opinion: Thai food rules, the BKK dining scene is exciting, and the food culture here is delightful.

My peeves:

• Skins not removed from garlic/shallots before cooking
• Tom Yum’s inedible herbs/aromatics not removed before serving
• Small bags of munchies sealed with tiny staples
• Bag sealed by a rubber band that has made 87 revolutions

What else?

~FKT

[Costas2008]

Dear Sir,

Your peeves are my peeves also.

Especially the 4th one.

I opened a thread sometime ago and members told me to go and get a life.

Please read

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/768318-elastic-bandsa-curse/

[HooHaa]

costas, perhaps you should take the members advice to heart.

on another note, rubber bands are generally tied so they can be easily removed.

just learn how.

as for the rest, they are just part and parcel of the thai food experience.

[tolsti]

Not removing the skins from garlic and shallots ensures that they remains whole while going deliciously sweet while cooking. Not removing the herbs from Tom Yum makes sure that as you work down through the soup you get deeper and deeper into the flavours.

Staple?.... I hate the fockim things... My laundry lady did the same until suitably advised.

Rubber bands.... Yup, pain in the ass but easily bypassed with a knife blade.

If this is all that upsets your day then..... Be grateful.

[lust]

I don't like the skin left on chicken because it looks like nut sack.

[NickJ]

When the shrimp still have only the tails still on......When the rice comes last irks me as well or twenty min before the other courses.......

[Rod Wallop]

#1 peeve. Service the final dish after you ask for check bin

[dragonfly94]

Almost everything has meat and fish in it, too much deep fried muck in palm oil.

[smokie36]

Fatty pork in my krapow moo sap is my ONLY complaint.

If that happens I never darken their door again....its cheap enough <deleted>!

[Jingthing]

From a culinary POV, I think you are completely wrong on your comments about not peeling the Thai garlic or the Tom Yum herbs being left in the soup.

Thai garlic is not the same as western garlic ... it works very well unpeeled.

Leaving the herbs in Tom Yum lets the flavor continue to soak and also adds soul to the eating experience.

The other stuff about packaging ... different area.

[SoiBiker]

The only peeve I have about Thai food is I can't eat as much of it as I'd like to without getting fat.

[Jingthing]

The only peeve I have about Thai food is I can't eat as much of it as I'd like to without getting fat.

Yeah there are definitely some issues with modern Thai food.

All that coconut milk, deep fried stuff, palm oil, and SUGAR.

[SoiBiker]

All that coconut milk, deep fried stuff, palm oil, and SUGAR.

Stop it. You're making me hungry.

[mikebell]

Som Tum on ladies. A real passion-killer.

[Ace of Pop]

All Of It,

[ChrisB87]

Sugar and MSG added to everything!

If you ask for vegetarian, you often still get meat.

Something which Thais call tofu is actually a pork ball.

Too much meat in everything.

Yes, the elastic band thing. I fear i will never figure it out.

White rice...WHITE RICE!!

When service ranges from non-existent to clearing the table while you are still chewing your last mouthful and refilling you beer with each sip you take.

Though, i am not sure there is anything bad about palm oil, to be honest.

Edited April 23, 2015 by ChrisB87

[Gonsalviz]

I only have1 complaint.

Changing Thai food for farang.

[xen]

Sugar - and in particular the hidden sugar . I have just crossed the border into being diabetic and it is even difficult to plan a diet even with home cooked meals because of the supermarket incrediants that contain sugar in excess .

Plus i have never been a big fan of sugar anyway but the amount of sugar in some products makes it so inedible that i need to rinse my mouth out to remove the sugar taste .I had a drink of milk the otherday and i swear it too contained sugar and a friend of mine was telling me that some honey contains added sugar. Bread that tastes a sweet as Tea Cake. The list is endless. Is it any wonder that diabetes is so prevalent in Thailand .

[F K Thornbury]

From a culinary POV, I think you are completely wrong on your comments about not peeling the Thai garlic or the Tom Yum herbs being left in the soup.

Thai garlic is not the same as western garlic ... it works very well unpeeled.

Leaving the herbs in Tom Yum lets the flavor continue to soak and also adds soul to the eating experience.

The other stuff about packaging ... different area.

This is false. The unchewable skin doesn't "work well" in any situation. It's like eating wood shavings.

As for the other poster's assertion that leaving the skins on makes the garlic and shallots sweet, that is also rubbish, particularly in the case of quick cooking like stir fried dishes. In cases where one does benefit from leaving the skins on, such as in roasting, the skins should still ultimately be removed before serving.

With regards to the herbs in tom yum, leaving them in for the 10 minutes you are going to eat the dish adds nothing in terms of flavor that hasn't already been added in the hours that soup had cooked and set.

I'll be sure to start a separate "packaging" thread next time. How old are you?

[SoiBiker]

I cook with thai garlic with the skin on. Doesn't bother me at all.

[Jingthing]

OP.

Take a Thai cooking class.

Yes. I did.

You don't peel Thai garlic.

You leave the herbs in soup.

Maybe you just don't like Thai food.

Next ...

[sensei]

Food unnecessarily handled with bare hands when serving utensils can be used.

I once bought kao man gai hoping the seller would at least use plastic gloves.
He manhandled the boiled chicken. scooped it up with the large knife while covering it with the palm of his hand. He placed it onto the rice and pressed it down with the other side (the back) of the same hand. He then wrapped it up and took my money, put it into his apron and dug out the correct change using the same hand.

I was just watching in awe...

It went straight to the nearest bin.

[attrayant]

Little bits of rubbery skin, fat, gristle and bone in the food. It's gotten to the point where I tell some places that I want the dish served meatless.

[maderaroja]

My peeve is that you cannot get the Thais to prepare food the way that you like it, regardless of the expense that you are willing to expend. They have one way, only. That's it! I have pretty much quit eating Thai food, as a consequence.

[nuakmuaynina]

Too much meat/ meat products in everything.

White rice

Sugar, sugar, sugar, I thought the UK/Usa was bad but here it's added to literally everything.

Finally everything cooked in pools of oil.

I think the elastic band thing is fine, shame about all the plastic bags though.

Bad stuff aside I love Thai food, even if the above applies...

Fruit is also much better tasting here.

[natway09]

The pigs cheeks & ears are a delicy, best eaten outside

[F K Thornbury]

OP.

Take a Thai cooking class.

Yes. I did.

You don't peel Thai garlic.

You leave the herbs in soup.

Maybe you just don't like Thai food.

Next ...

lol

how old are you?

[Shiver]

Chicken skin, gristle, oil. Over reliance on rice to bulk up the meal where vegetables would be preferred (I'd pay much more if they would do that rather than just smile when asked).

The worst one though is when I find a new street vendor that makes an exceptional version of one of the standard meals, they don't seem to stay in business too long. I'd have thought they'd thrive compared to the also rans.

Edited April 23, 2015 by Shiver

[Jingthing]

OP.

Take a Thai cooking class.

Yes. I did.

You don't peel Thai garlic.

You leave the herbs in soup.

Maybe you just don't like Thai food.

Next ...

lol

how old are you?

Irrelevant.

Don't ask again.

Twice is more than enough.

[F K Thornbury]

Chicken skin, gristle, oil. Over reliance on rice to bulk up the meal where vegetables would be preferred (I'd pay much more if they would do that rather than just smile when asked).

The worst one though is when I find a new street vendor that makes an exceptional version of one of the standard meals, they don't seem to stay in business too long. I'd have thought they'd thrive compared to the also rans.

+1 about the rice... sometimes "piset" means extra good stuff, sometimes it apparently means extra rice/noodles only. I wonder if I need to clarify.