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I want to introduce Thai food to my friends. What should I do?


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Posted

I sincerely apologize to the moderators in this forum for my previous post, but I still hope I can get some advices from people here with regards to Thai food.

I want to introduce Thai cuisine to my friends, but among them there are some who can't take spicy and they have this perception that Thai food is very spicy compared to their local dishes, which makes them think twice about trying Thai food. What should I do?

What are the non-spicy Thai food that I can recommend to my friends, and is it common to find non-spicy Thai food?

Posted

There are many non spicy Thai foods. Go to any noodle shop and the noodle dish is not spicy, unless you order tom . You add the spices to your liking after it is served. One of the best fish dishes is barbecued flat head and great if served with steamed eggplant. The sauces are spicy but the one with fish sauce, soy sauce and shallots is delicious and is not spicy. Then there's khao moo daeng, pork with red sauce, or khao ka moo, pork leg, that are great. The list goes on and on.

Posted (edited)

Would they be eating in Thailand itself or Thai restaurants in your home country ?

If its the former, you can always ask for "less spicy"; if the latter, chances are the spiciness levels are already toned down.

Edited by Plotholes
Posted

Would they be eating in Thailand itself or Thai restaurants in your home country ?

If its the former, you can always ask for "less spicy"; if the latter, chances are the spiciness levels are already toned down.

Hello! Yes I'll be bringing them to Thai restaurants first in my home country, which I believe it's less spicy compared to food in Thailand itself.

I am planning to travel to Thailand for a holiday at the end of the year together with them. I've not been to Thailand before, but this will be my first (And i'll put to use my Thai Language that I've been learning for the past few months hahah!).

Because based on my own experience after tasting Thai dishes (in my country) and looking at their menu, most of it are spicy. Requesting for phet nit noy doesn't seem to make much difference? Maybe it does, but it's still relatively spicy hahah. Or I might have to request for evennnn less spicy.

I might just need some advices in looking out for non-spicy food, preferably those with little or no chilli at all? So I can keep a lookout for it and prove to my friends (hey see! not all thai food are spicy) Also, how common are they in Thailand itself?

Posted (edited)

Would they be eating in Thailand itself or Thai restaurants in your home country ?

If its the former, you can always ask for "less spicy"; if the latter, chances are the spiciness levels are already toned down.

Hello! Yes I'll be bringing them to Thai restaurants first in my home country, which I believe it's less spicy compared to food in Thailand itself.

I am planning to travel to Thailand for a holiday at the end of the year together with them. I've not been to Thailand before, but this will be my first (And i'll put to use my Thai Language that I've been learning for the past few months hahah!).

Because based on my own experience after tasting Thai dishes (in my country) and looking at their menu, most of it are spicy. Requesting for phet nit noy doesn't seem to make much difference? Maybe it does, but it's still relatively spicy hahah. Or I might have to request for evennnn less spicy.

I might just need some advices in looking out for non-spicy food, preferably those with little or no chilli at all? So I can keep a lookout for it and prove to my friends (hey see! not all thai food are spicy) Also, how common are they in Thailand itself?

If you want to have absolutely no chilli, maybe you can say "mai sai phet" (don't add chilli); personally, I think that might make some dishes less flavorful.

Note: The oft-used "phet nit noy" actually can mean "slightly more spicy", but usually the server would understand it from a foreigner's context to mean "less spicy".

Off the top of my head, dishes that do not have chill mixed in.

  • chicken rice
  • pork trotters rice
  • fried/grilled chicken
  • mango sticky rice
  • bbq pork rice
  • finger food like fish/prawn cakes, spring rolls etc where the sauce is served on the side

You can do a google using key words " non spicy thai food", quite an extensive list for you to select from.

http://www.faafood.net/2012/03/tips-to-avoid-spicy-food-in-thailand.html

http://waysofwanderers.com/thai-food-for-the-unadventurous/

Edited by Plotholes
Posted

Thai-Chinese dishes are often not spicy. (That's pretty much anything that's deep fried or contains noodles here.)

For genuine Thai food, Thai people often use kaeng matsaman (Massaman curry) as a "starter curry" for children. That would be a good place to start. kaeng hang-lae is also not particularly spicy.

Alternatively, go for Thai food in a tourist-y location. You can be pretty sure it'll be over sweetened and under spiced.

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

first explain to your friends that anything that you (or others) may introduce does not represent the authentic cuisine...that authentic thai cuisine is so hot and nasty that only a seasoned palate could endure the onslaught...

meanwhile...carry on with the thai-chinese dishes as suggested by AyG...the wife always refers to this as 'chinese food' to distinguish it from the real stuff...introduce the usual ingredients and their preparation in a gentle way so that your friends have a good understanding of the basics...

later you can haul out the gaeng som, the stinkier the better...fermented shrimp paste all over the shop...etc...pig guts, chicken feet and raw pork larb so hot that the top of yer head comes off...little canal fishes that stink and are nothing but bones (my wife's favorite comfort food, she once brought over to Bahrain about 2 kilos in her luggage wrapped in newspaper and her and her pals went to heaven...)

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