Eating Like A Thai

Eating Like A Thai

Posted on 14. Feb, 2009 by April in Thai Culture, Thailand, Video, food

It’s no secret.  Jason and I love going out for different ethnic foods!  We also make a lot of stir-frys or other “Asian-influenced” dishes at home.  Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Thai- all delicious, and all opportunities to use our mad chopsticks skills (because eating with chopsticks is just more fun!).

Jason in Korea

However, it turns out that most Thai food is NOT eaten with chopsticks.  Really, it’s only the “Chinese” dishes that are eaten that way (although it sounds like there are plenty of Chinese noodle places to be found).  Instead, you use a fork and spoon.  All the food is cut into small enough pieces that a knife is unnecessary (like, what you’d associate with stir-fry, or chopstick food).  The fork is used to push food onto the spoon, and the spoon carries the food to your mouth.  When I was in Indonesia I learned to do it this way as well.

For some reason we just assumed Thai food should be eaten with chopsticks.  Maybe because we always ask for chopsticks at the Thai restaurant and they always give them to us.  Or maybe we just stereotyped all of Eastern Asia.  Or, most likely, it’s because it’s way more fun to use chopsticks!

If you don’t know how to use chopsticks, Chloe would be happy to teach you!


How to use Chopsticks from Jason Ruggles on Vimeo.

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6 Responses to “Eating Like A Thai”

  1. themisfit

    16. Feb, 2009

    Not sure is you know, but while eating thai, the fork is actually used as a knife and the spoon is the main utensil.

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  2. Brad Ruggles

    18. Feb, 2009

    I agree, food is so much more fun to eat with chopsticks. Stinks that Thai food isn’t much into the use of chopsticks. Make you can start a chopstick revolution while you’re there!

    Brad Ruggles´s last blog post..An Open Letter To The New President

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  3. Sara Sarver

    08. Apr, 2009

    That has to be the BEST chopsticks instructional video I have ever seen… granted, it’s the only one I have ever seen, but I know it would beat all others I view from this moment forward. How stinkin cute!

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  4. Thai Restaurant - Pam

    09. Jun, 2009

    So right, chopsticks are not used much in Thailand. Here in the US, we provide chopsticks to our customers that ask for them in the restaurant, but most dishes are eaten with a fork and spoon.

    For the noodle soups, we do bring chopsticks to the table. Its much easier to eat the noodles in the soup with chopsticks.

    The chopstick trainer is adorable!

    Pam
    Rachada Thai Cuisine

    Thai Restaurant - Pam´s last blog post..Thai Curry - The Taste of Thai

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    • Jason

      10. Jun, 2009

      Thanks for the comment Pam! We wrote this before we moved to Thailand. We now know the RIGHT way to eat Thai food! :-) Be sure to check out our other food posts! Thanks for stopping by!

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  5. chloe

    14. Oct, 2009

    I am soooooooooooo adorable!

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