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On the Streets: Thai Street Food

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If you really want to get a taste of a country’s culture, it’s a must to try their local cuisine. And, it doesn’t get more local than a nation’s street food. Street food is cooked by the people for the people. Vendors aren’t trained chefs or culinary geniuses, but they know what the locals want and how a national dish is supposed to taste like.

Thailand is famous for its street food. Nearly all dishes that are associated with this country can be bought in sidewalks, from street vendors and are cooked right in front of you. Many tourists are afraid of getting food poisoning from eating street food. Don’t let this fear stop you from sampling these treats! Just be sure to bring your own water and watch out for suspicious seafood.

image by Greg

Pad Thai is a famous Thai noodle dish. It’s also a very common treat found in every street corner. It’s basically just fried noodles with shrimp and tofu, yet no self-respecting Thai restaurant would be without it on their menu. For the best Pad Thai, scour the streets of Bangkok and you’re surely going to come across 10 places to buy one. Don’t be hesitant to try the Som Tam, shredded papaya salad with a spicy twist. Khao kha moo, stewed pork leg on rice, is a simple and filling dish that can rival Pork Satay as a great dinner or lunch dish. For dessert, sample some tua dum saku biak (black beans and tapioca balls) or the super sweet sakay chuem (breadfruit in syrup).

One other great thing about street food is that they are budget friendly! Not only do you get to immerse yourself in Thai culture, you can do so without burning a hole through your wallet. So enjoy and indulge in all that Thai street food has to offer.


A Longtime Love for Pad Thai?

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I’ve been having gastronomic visions of Thai food lately and I’m drooling for some Thai street hawker food … Pad Thai! It’s fairly easy to make and it doesn’t call for anything too exotic that an average Asian home kitchen won’t have, and nothing too expensive to buy from the local grocery store. Whatever you can’t find in the supermarket, the recipe is pretty easy to tweak and still retains its genuine flavour.

Pad Thai is stir fried noodles.  Like most other Asian countries have their own version of stir fried noodles, Thai stir fried noodles uses rice glass noodles tossed in a combination of other simple ingredients, which makes it quite inexpensive to make.

I’m definitely on a mission to cook Pad Thai this weekend! Thankfully, my son likes it a lot! And my mom … well, I have to tweak a small portion for her, but it’s all too easy. Feel free to add other ingredients to this dish or omit others that you’re not so keen on or if you have certain allergies. If you like it a little more red than brown, just add ketchup. You can even mix in a bit of peanut butter for that distinct nutty flavor. And lastly, keep a stash of extra chili peppers, in case you like to bring out that Thai fire breathing dragon in you.

Here’s a fairly easy recipe for Pad Thai you might like to dig your chopsticks into.

Pad Thai

Ingredients:

  • 1 (12 ounce) package rice noodles
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • ½ kilo shrimps, shells peeled
  • 1 pack bean curd, fried and chopped in ½” cubes
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 3 tablespoons white sugar
  • 1/8 tablespoon crushed red pepper
  • 2 cups bean sprouts
  • 1/4 cup crushed peanuts
  • 3 green onions, chopped
  • 1 lime or lemon, cut into wedges
  • Cilantro/coriander, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp peanut butter

Instructions:

  • Toss the glass noodles for in boiling water and cook for 1 minute. Turn off the heat and let stand for 5 minutes in the hot water checking for tenderness. Make sure the noodles are al dente, else it will turn to bits and pieces when you sauté’ them later on.
  • Sauté’ chicken until brown and add in shrimps until they are pink and cooked through. Set aside.  Heat some oil in the pan/wok and then crack the eggs into it. Stir in chicken, shrimp and fried bean curd. Cook for about 5 minutes.
  • In a small bowl, mix together, vinegar, fish sauce, sugar, peanut butter and red pepper. Adjust all seasoning to your taste.
  • Add the bean sprouts into the pan and mix while cooking until noodles are tender to the bite for about 3 minutes.
  • Serve hot topped with coriander leaves, green onions, peanuts and more chilli pepper, if you must!

 

 

 

Photo Credit: matias dutto

Photo Credit: Mr T in DC

Photo Credit: ben reeichelt