How to Order Thai Food LIKE A THAI!

How you order Thai food in a restaurant can be the difference between a good meal and a GREAT meal. In this video I share a trick for choosing your dishes so you have a well balanced meal for maximum enjoyment!

Recipes of Dishes Mentioned:

CONNECT WITH ME!

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About Pai:

Pailin “Pai” Chongchitnant is the author of the Hot Thai Kitchen cookbook, co-host of a Canadian TV series One World Kitchen on Gusto TV, and creator and host of the YouTube channel Pailin's Kitchen.

Pai was born and raised in southern Thailand where she spent much of her "playtime" in the kitchen. She traveled to Canada to study Nutritional Sciences at the University of British Columbia, and was later trained as a chef at Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in San Francisco.

[codice_pin]

As a thai i’m so glad finally someone said it. I used to see a group of 5 friends come to a restaurant and ordered 5 big bowl of Tom Yum Kung for each individual. No rice that was super odd. They desperately needed help. The staff could have help them.

[baifern]

I am Thai and this is exactly what my family discussed when ordering a meal. And when I say 'exactly', it is EXACTLY....like every point.
We do this naturally...never thought this is a thing lol

[CHOCOLATIONZ]

Thai here. This is my mental checklist when ordering Thai food for sharing with friends and family.
1. Something meaty
2. Something veggies
3. Something soupy.

But in overall when we order food, all the dishes somehow match Pailin’s checklist perfectly!

[patcharac]

Please also be reminded that Thai Foods are supposed to eat with spoon and fork. It is also a Table Etiquette for Thai dining. Spoon is a dominant tool to scoop rice and food to your mouth (hold it in the right hand). Fork is supposed to help scooping rice and food into a spoon not a main dominant. Moreover, Pai has demonstrated many times through specific videos and throughout her channel. 😂😂

[pingpattpingpatt]

Another way to order Thai food is Tom (Soup), Pad (Stir fried), Gang (Curry), Tod (Deep fried) and sometime Yum (Salad).This combination would make the meal full of favours, different food textures and looks. Additionally, Thais would tend to order more food than less. The full table meal!. It is a must to leave the meal full and satisfied. :P

[ah]

As a Thai, i never realized this until now. This is the exact logic in my head when ordering food. So you’re right, we do this intuitively 😆

[debrankine]

Pai, I suspect the restaurant owners will consider this video a blessing and a curse, so informative and delicious people will come in droves and overwhelm the kitchen. Lol
Your brother does an amazing job capturing your Thailand adventures. Bravo!

[joshuag]

I love how almost every Asian culture eats this way and it's truly the best way to enjoy a meal because of the social aspect. In Singapore, we call it 'zi char' which literally just means 'cook and stir fry'. Every restaurant or stall has their own menu with classics and chef's specials. We will always order a variety of dishes with a variety of textures, flavours, and proteins, usually to be enjoyed with plain Jasmine rice. For example, we would rarely order two chicken dishes in the same meal. It would be preferably to go one chicken and one beef or pork. A typical order would be one or two vegetable dishes, several meat dishes (one each of chicken, pork and beef), a tofu dish, a seafood dish, and an egg dish. Soups are generally ordered at more expensive places and for special occasions because we like broths made with good ingredients over a long, slow fire.

[ifeelgood_fk]

เราต้องมีกับข้าวที่เป็น ต้ม ผัด แกง ทอด มีจืด มีเผ็ด และรสอื่นๆ มีเนื้อสัตว์ มีผัก ในมื้อ 1 ครบ แล้วต่อด้วยขนมหวาน เป็นไปเอง

[rubaiyachowdhury]

That’s how we Bengalis order too! Bengalis, Thai and Asians in general are collective in nature, so similarly, our meals are meant to be shared among a huge group of people. There is no ‘this is my order, this is yours.’ Which is whenever we are in Thailand, which is at least once a year, we love ordering!

We order a main ‘filler’ dish like rice or noodles and side dishes which, based on the number of people sharing, usually has one chicken dish and/or one beef dish, a couple of seafood dish (one whole fish and the other with shrimps and other seafood) and one vegetable. We also like to balance it out with dry and curried dishes!

[mariamysager]

This was a eye opener for me. Thank you for teaching us. I live in Europe and we always have soup as a starter. It makes so much sense how you do it. I am born Thai but adopted when baby. I am very curious about my Thai roots....learning to make thaifood and this is great to know. I am so hungre now...😂
Yes please a recipe for the doughnut like dessert.

[captmorgs]

I've been watching your channel for years now, and i have to say you're one of my biggest inspirations for food and cooking. My parents have dreams of travelling around asia after they retire (from owning a restaurant 😊) and one of my big dreams is to go to Thailand with them. We're white midwesterners, but we eat and make SO much asian food, and you've truly helped to bring Thailand right into our kitchen. I make your green curry, pad gaprao, maple/fish sauce brussel sprouts, and many more weekly, and im finally going to dive into Thai desserts (just got a big pack of frozen pandam leaves).
I just really wanted to share my thanks and gratitude for bringing so much joy through food to my family ❤ love from Minnesota

[lofiben]

It's interesting to see this thought process played out into a video form. Growing up in a Thai household, this is something we automatically do every meal we share family style, whether it's Thai or not.

[catherinetong]

Coming from a Chinese family its so intuitive to order based on variety. Example- always order several meat dishes, a chicken/pork/beef/seafood dish, then you must order a vegetable or vegetable/tofu/mixed dish, sometimes soup. We also like variety in terms of how its cooked and the flavor profile. Like one dish can be deep fried, but the others might be stir-fry, steamed, saucy, etc. So interesting that Thai food is similar but with the extra spice factor.

[toastrecon]

Fascinating. Mexicans also drink that tea (aka Hibiscus flower) and they call it Jamaica. You can get the dried flowers in your local Latin markets. Search for recipes for Jamaica aguas frescas.

Those Thai dishes look so amazing and perfect.

[dompy]

This was super informative and educational! What a fascinating and beautiful array of dishes! Honestly, it made me miss my Dad, who has passed on, and who was raised in rural Mexico. He had the most adventurous palate. He loved foods of all cultures, especially spicy foods and he was not afraid to try anything once. He would have relished a meal like this. Thank you for sharing this experience. If I'm ever lucky enough to visit Thailand, I would happily order everything you did here and enjoy it in honor of the memory of my father! ❤

[lynnesani]

I loved this! I’m watching right now in Chiang Mai. Have lived here for 10 years but never had anyone tell me how to eat Thai food correctly!!!!😅😊

[dansparce]

I love that their entire menu has pictures of what everything is. As someone who has trouble remembering the names of things, especially if I was served something ordered by someone else, this is so helpful in being able to find a specific dish.

[Marketsolo]

I miss Bangkok!! I was there 1967 to 1970 and although I was young- 11-13, I learned to love not just the people, but the food.

[Onitzukascorpion]

Roselle is Hibiscus :)
Delicious when making it into a hot or cold tea. But you can also find it candied or fried as a vegan alternative to meat.

Love your channel !