Vegetarian food

[Grienders2]

Vegetarian food

I'd like vegetation food

No meat

Is this vegetarian?

etc

How do I say that? Please write in Thai.

[robertthebruce]

Sorry I can't write Thai, but what to look for is a large Yellow sign which looks like a UK Pound sign upside down...

That's how I recognise a Vegetarian restaurant, throughout Thailand there is quite a few...

[KhunBENQ]

Very basic (without "I" [phom for male] and no "krap" at the end, add to your distinction).

Vegetarian food: อาหารเจ (aa hăan jay)

like: ชอบ (chôp)

want: ต้องการ (dtông gaan)

To be clear:

want vegetarian food: ต้องการอาหารเจ (dtông gaan aa hăan jay)

Don't want meat: ไม่ต้องการเนื้อสัตว์ ( mâi dtông gaan néua sàt)

Is this vegetarian food?: นี้เป็นอาหารเจมั้ย ( née bpen aa hăan jay máai)

[KhunBENQ]

Sorry I can't write Thai, but what to look for is a large Yellow sign which looks like a UK Pound sign upside down...

That's how I recognise a Vegetarian restaurant, throughout Thailand there is quite a few...

Well, sometimes it might looks like (if that is what you mean), but it seems not to be a uniform logo, just the Thai script เจ.

(as you can see in this font it does not resemble to a pound sign?)

As so often with Thai script, it can become totally "distorted":

[AyG]

Ahaan jae is much worst than vegetarian food. Not only no meat/seafood, there's no onions, no garlic, no spice, no dairy, no eggs. Dullest of the dull.

[Grienders2]

Very basic (without "I" [phom for male] and no "krap" at the end, add to your distinction).

Thanks. I just want to write down that in my phone and show it to the street food vendors, that's it. I don't want to learn it .

[Grienders2]

Sorry I can't write Thai, but what to look for is a large Yellow sign which looks like a UK Pound sign upside down...

That's how I recognise a Vegetarian restaurant, throughout Thailand there is quite a few...

And how about the street food?

[Richard W]

Well, sometimes it might looks like (if that is what you mean), but it seems not to be a uniform logo, just the Thai script เจ.

(as you can see in this font it does not resemble to a pound sign?)

I disagree. The cho chaan in that style looks like an upside down British pound sign (£). Of course, it looks nothing like an American pound sign (#).

[RickBradford]

Which is the stricter regime - มังสวิรัติ or เจ ?

[AyG]

My understanding is มังสวิรัติ (noun) is a generic term for vegetarian and covers all different shades of the affliction, from jae (certain vegetables excluded) to vegan (all vegetables acceptable) to lactovegetarian (milk permissible) and ovolactovegetarian (both eggs and milk permissible).

[Grienders2]

does ข้าวเหนียว mean sticky rice? When I showed it to them they seemed they didn't understand it.

[Pla shado]

Yes. ข้าวเหนียว = khao niao = sticky rice.

[AyG]

does ข้าวเหนียว mean sticky rice? When I showed it to them they seemed they didn't understand it.

You don't explain the circumstances, but sticky rice is only eaten with Isaan food. If a restaurant doesn't serve Isaan food it won't have sticky rice, perhaps hence the confusion.

[Deserted]

In my opinion its not enough to say 'aharn jay' especially if you eat on the street as the concept isn't strictly parallel to what we consider to be vegetarian. Many people with still serve you seafood, especially those small prawns that they often put in pad thais, and sometimes people give you white meat. You should expect the oil they cook in to be pork fat or whatever they are using also.

It is safer to describe yourself as 'mungsareerat', which (posters please correct me if I am wrong) is how monks are described and is strictly vegetarian, so you won't get dairy products thrown in either. Anything that comes from a living thing will be removed. It's close to what we would call vegan I guess. HOWEVER, if you want a specific thing like egg added to your food you can tell them that its okay to add that after telling them you are 'mungsareerat'. Some people become confused by this but not many.

Anyway, after living here for 15 years and being veggie for 25 years, I have found that the safest word is 'mungsareerat', you won't encounter seafood or occasional white meat by using that. They will usually wash the pan and change the oil also is the concept is clear.

[AyG]

In my opinion its not enough to say 'aharn jay' especially if you eat on the street as the concept isn't strictly parallel to what we consider to be vegetarian. Many people with still serve you seafood, especially those small prawns that they often put in pad thais, and sometimes people give you white meat. You should expect the oil they cook in to be pork fat or whatever they are using also.

It is safer to describe yourself as 'mungsareerat', which (posters please correct me if I am wrong) is how monks are described and is strictly vegetarian, so you won't get dairy products thrown in either. Anything that comes from a living thing will be removed. It's close to what we would call vegan I guess. HOWEVER, if you want a specific thing like egg added to your food you can tell them that its okay to add that after telling them you are 'mungsareerat'. Some people become confused by this but not many.

Anyway, after living here for 15 years and being veggie for 25 years, I have found that the safest word is 'mungsareerat', you won't encounter seafood or occasional white meat by using that. They will usually wash the pan and change the oil also is the concept is clear.

Sorry, but there's so much wrong with what you've posted.

Jae is extremely strict, and no one serving jae food will include seafood or meat of any kind. They also won't include fish sauce and other hidden sources of animal products.

These days pork fat is rarely used for cooking. Palm and soya oils are much cheaper, so are used by pretty much everywhere.

Mungsarirat is, as I've mentioned before, a generic term for all kinds of vegetarian, and can include milk and egg products. It's no guarantee of strict vegan or similar food.

Monks in Thailand are not vegetarian at all and are not described as such. Most will quite happily eat meat and fish, provided it's cut into small pieces. (There's religious proscription of larger pieces of flesh.)

(Jae is specifically a Chinese religious form of vegetarianism, so you wouldn't expect Thai monks to use such a term, even if they were vegetarian.)

Incidentally, with jae food, there's no issue of washing the pan and changing the oil: jae food can only be cooked in pans dedicated solely to that kind of food.

[robertthebruce]

Hope you have some luck when you order your food.

Just to let you know "Vegetarian Food" in Thailand, like most of Thia food, is heavily salted and also loaded with Sugar....also Soy sauce, which is just liquid salt....

There is a few Healthy option Cafes going around, might be worth tracking them down, if you are into healthy Veggie food...

[KhunBENQ]

does ข้าวเหนียว mean sticky rice? When I showed it to them they seemed they didn't understand it.

Though sticky rice might be a Lao/Isan thing, it is quite ignorant for any Thai not to know what it is.

[Deserted]

In my opinion its not enough to say 'aharn jay' especially if you eat on the street as the concept isn't strictly parallel to what we consider to be vegetarian. Many people with still serve you seafood, especially those small prawns that they often put in pad thais, and sometimes people give you white meat. You should expect the oil they cook in to be pork fat or whatever they are using also.

It is safer to describe yourself as 'mungsareerat', which (posters please correct me if I am wrong) is how monks are described and is strictly vegetarian, so you won't get dairy products thrown in either. Anything that comes from a living thing will be removed. It's close to what we would call vegan I guess. HOWEVER, if you want a specific thing like egg added to your food you can tell them that its okay to add that after telling them you are 'mungsareerat'. Some people become confused by this but not many.

Anyway, after living here for 15 years and being veggie for 25 years, I have found that the safest word is 'mungsareerat', you won't encounter seafood or occasional white meat by using that. They will usually wash the pan and change the oil also is the concept is clear.

Sorry, but there's so much wrong with what you've posted.

Jae is extremely strict, and no one serving jae food will include seafood or meat of any kind. They also won't include fish sauce and other hidden sources of animal products.

These days pork fat is rarely used for cooking. Palm and soya oils are much cheaper, so are used by pretty much everywhere.

Mungsarirat is, as I've mentioned before, a generic term for all kinds of vegetarian, and can include milk and egg products. It's no guarantee of strict vegan or similar food.

Monks in Thailand are not vegetarian at all and are not described as such. Most will quite happily eat meat and fish, provided it's cut into small pieces. (There's religious proscription of larger pieces of flesh.)

(Jae is specifically a Chinese religious form of vegetarianism, so you wouldn't expect Thai monks to use such a term, even if they were vegetarian.)

Incidentally, with jae food, there's no issue of washing the pan and changing the oil: jae food can only be cooked in pans dedicated solely to that kind of food.

Think whatever you like. I have lost count of the number of times I have ordered jay food and had issues over the oil used and what I was served. I should add that I stopped using the term 'jay' to avoid that problem and also stopped eating off the street. I'm not saying I am right or wrong, I am saying that's how it happened.

[AyG]

does ข้าวเหนียว mean sticky rice? When I showed it to them they seemed they didn't understand it.

Though sticky rice might be a Lao/Isan thing, it is quite ignorant for any Thai not to know what it is.

I very much doubt it's a case of ignorance; I think if one went to a vegetarian restaurant and asked for a steak the staff might be a bit nonplussed too.

[Grienders2]

There is a few Healthy option Cafes going around, might be worth tracking them down, if you are into healthy Veggie food...

By the way, do they usually put Е578 (or what's it called? Churot?) in Som Tam salad?

[KhunBENQ]

I think if one went to a vegetarian restaurant and asked for a steak the staff might be a bit nonplussed too.

Don't really understand this comparison?

(sticky rice is the "steak" compared to fragrant rice???)

I can't rememer ever saying a Thai he does not know sticky rice.

Where it is not part of everyday food, it is at last known as part of sweets.

Guess it was simply a "no hab" reaction.

[AyG]

I think if one went to a vegetarian restaurant and asked for a steak the staff might be a bit nonplussed too.

Don't really understand this comparison?

The point was that in asking for sticky rice in a regular Thai restaurant that doesn't serve Isaan food is stupid/ignorant and will confuse the staff. Ditto asking for steak in a vegetarian restaurant, stupid, ignorant, confusing.

[AyG]

There is a few Healthy option Cafes going around, might be worth tracking them down, if you are into healthy Veggie food...

By the way, do they usually put Е578 (or what's it called? Churot?) in Som Tam salad?

E578 is Calcium gluconate, and I'm pretty they don't add it to somtam.

Did you mean E621 (monosodium glutamate)? If so, the answer again is they don't. The dried shrimp are sufficient to give the umami taste.

[robertthebruce]

There is a few Healthy option Cafes going around, might be worth tracking them down, if you are into healthy Veggie food...

By the way, do they usually put Е578 (or what's it called? Churot?) in Som Tam salad?

Not sure, never asked.....I always get my Partner to say Strict Vegetarian no salt no sugar no soy sauce...,

[Pla shado]

Did you mean E621 (monosodium glutamate)? If so, the answer again is they don't. The dried shrimp are sufficient to give the umami taste.

This also can be regional. In Isaan, dried shrimp may or may not be an ingredient. Often not. MSG may or may not be added. Often added. Something that may very well be included in Isaan somtam is pla ra (ปลาร้า) as well the nam pla (น้ำปลา).

I'd think that as long as you are ordering somtam from resturants in Central Thailand or perhaps the coastal areas, AyG's comments should pretty much hold true.

[AyG]

Did you mean E621 (monosodium glutamate)? If so, the answer again is they don't. The dried shrimp are sufficient to give the umami taste.

This also can be regional. In Isaan, dried shrimp may or may not be an ingredient. Often not. MSG may or may not be added. Often added. Something that may very well be included in Isaan somtam is pla ra (ปลาร้า) as well the nam pla (น้ำปลา).

I'd think that as long as you are ordering somtam from resturants in Central Thailand or perhaps the coastal areas, AyG's comments should pretty much hold true.

Good point. I was thinking of somtam Thai with the dried shrimp comment. The use of plaa raa and of fermented crab in other types of somtam provides the glutamate/umami taste.

Some forms of somtam don't have much natural glutamate as far as I know - somtam phonlamay (fruit), somtam khao phot (sweetcorn) and somtam khai khem (salted egg) spring to mind.

I must say though, personally I've never noticed MSG being added to somtam (and far more rarely added to other Thai dishes than some posters here seem to think).