After living in Thailand for just over two years, I have picked up some very valuable life lessons. As an American, Thai culture can often times feel like everything is upside down. However, living in a different culture allows you to reflect on yourself and your own culture in a very unique way. These are some Thai ways of life that I want to continue to incorporate in my life.
Two years is a long time. It’s also not enough time. When you are staring down the barrel of a two-year commitment, it’s daunting and difficult to imagine. On the back end, you start wishing for more time and thinking of all the things you didn’t get to do. So I present to you, a list of six things that I didn’t get a chance to do in Thailand, that I hope I will have the chance to return to do.
This week is Peace Corps Week and in honor of 54 years of Peace Corps, the Office of Third Goal put out a call for current and returned volunteers to make a video highlighting their “Host Country Hero.” Being my last month in Thailand, I knew I had to participate, if only to make something to show my appreciation of my co-teacher and best friend in Thailand, Kruu Ning. The videos were relegated to two minutes, which is not actually a lot of time, and so I wanted to tell the full story here.
I recently made a video highlighting Kruu Ning as my Host Country Hero. This was my submission to Peace Corps annual video contest to mark Peace Corps Week. I was chosen as a finalist, and there are so many other amazing heroes around the world. Here’s the video playlist of all the finalists!
Way back, two years ago, when I found out I was going to be spending my service in Northeastern Thailand, my host family from training took me out to a ส้มตำ (som dtam) restaurant and ordered a couple different kinds of this spicy papaya salad and told me, “People in Isaan eat this a lot.”
They were right (it’s on the lunch table at school every day), and they introduced me to one of my favorite Thai foods. Som dtam is a spicy salad made with shredded, green papaya. It literally means “sour pounded,” which makes sense considering the unripe papaya is kind of sour and to make it, you pound up all the ingredients with a pestle and mortar.
There are so many different kinds of som dtam, with a variety of regional specialties (Isaan-style includes fermented fish and rice-paddy crabs) and even one made with a bunch of different kinds of fruit. I’m going to share a recipe on how to make my favorite version: som dtam Thai.
Despite what is pushed as a singular Thai identity, Thailand is full of diversity, which becomes even more pronounced when looking at the various regional dishes.
One dish that is specific to Northern Thailand is ข้าวซอย (khao soi), which is like a noodle-soup with curried broth that also includes coconut milk and is topped with deep fried egg noodles. Khao soi is similar to a dish that is featured in the cuisine of the Shan people of Burma and is also eaten in Northern Laos. Khao soi literally means “cut rice,” referring to the way the noodles are prepared – by steaming a large sheet of rice noodle and then cutting with scissors.
This dish is not typically served at Thai restaurants outside of Thailand, so if you are looking for a flavor of Thailand that you may have never had before, click inside for a recipe.
Way back in Pre-Service Training, two years ago, I was interviewed about what I wanted from my site placement. The only thing that I was adamant about was that I wanted to work with a co-teacher who wanted me there. It didn’t matter to me if I was in a rural place far from other people. I wanted to work with someone who was willing to work with me.
With Kruu Ning, that is exactly what I got. She filled out the application for a Peace Corps volunteer. She’s been there for me when I struggled and shared my successes. She has been so amazing. Which is why she’s my Host County Hero. Watch the video to learn more.
ก๋วยเตี๋ยว (guoi dtiao) is one of the most ubiquitous street foods in Thailand and is a kind of noodle soup. It’s probably one of the most customizable Thai dishes out there, from start to finish. You get to choose the noodle size, whether you want broth or not, the kind of broth and the meat. Plus, at the table you can add flavorings to your bowl as you like it.
Guoi dtiao is a dish that is Chinese influenced, as so it is one of the rare things in Thailand that you eat with chopsticks (there’s also an Asian-style spoon for the broth). This dish is pretty strictly eaten at street stands, and so rather than give you a recipe for guoi dtiao, I’ll give you the steps to ordering your own bowl.
This dish is one that is found in nearly every restaurant in Thailand, is simple and filling. It’s called ผัดกะเพรา (pad ga-prao), and literally means stir fried basil. It’s made with any variety of available meat – usually chicken or pork – but I’ve personally had it made with tofu and fried egg as well.
The basil is not your ordinary Western basil, but rather, Thai holy basil. There are quite a few varieties of basil in Thailand (holy basil, hairy basil, sweet basil), and Thai holy basil can be kind of difficult to find outside of Thailand, so sometimes Thai sweet basil is substituted instead, but it doesn’t quite have the same flavor. Click inside to learn how to make your own ผัดกะเพรา.
Thai is not an easy language for a native English speaker to learn. First, it’s a tonal language, which means that if you change your inflection you change the word. Second, Thai uses its own unique writing system. This system is not particularly intuitive and, as this video argues, may be the most complicated in the world.