Five food lessons I learned in Thailand

Our family recently took a trip to Thailand, and like most vacations, the food was a major highlight. When we returned, someone asked if we had eaten pad Thai every day. We looked at one another and shrugged. With all the offerings on display, it never crossed our mind to order it once. 

Pad Thai may feel like a staple in the U.S., but in Thailand itself, cuisine is packed with exotic options. Fom hand-pulled noodles in curry to fried millipedes, there was so much flavor and so little time.

Our culinary adventures opened us up to new flavors. The mark of a good vacation sees us scurrying to the market to buy new spices. Asian countries in close proximity tend to have overlaps in cuisine. Tokyo and South Korea have but a puddle between them, and the cultural similarities are vast. Karaoke, ramen, pop music, mochi, etc. 

We found that Thailand has a lot of overlap with India. Both cultures love a good curry, wrap themselves in gold-threaded saris, and build elaborate temples to Buddha, dripping with marigolds. 

We ate all of the things. Literally, per my husband pictured above with a fried scorpion. The tails are poisonous but vendors keep them on anyway, because it "looks cool." The flavor? Per my husband and son, it tastes like greasy fried pork. 

Here are five food lessons I learned in Thailand:

Coconut water: Keep it simple

Every single day, whenever we got parched, we'd pick up a coconut. The vendors keep them ice cold and would pop a straw in it. But beyond that, the flavor was pure. It even felt hydrating going down.

These days we can drop serious coin on plastic packaged coconut water that's been tampered with additives, preservatives - even nutrients that corporations sprinkle in to charge us more. We should be shipping more whole coconuts around the world, preserved in their shells, and serving them fresh, cold, and raw. I get that the packaging is round and awkward and can't be as easily stacked into shipping containers. But end users aren't concerned with profit margins as much as a fresh interaction with the world's coolest fruit. 

Keffir lime leaves: A flavor we didn't know we needed

One night we ordered fried chicken wings, and they were served with a sprinkling of deep-fried, dark green leaves. They didn't seem to be a garnish, as they were diced in with the chicken, so I sampled it. The crunch gave way to a citrusy, aromatic flavor. It was also sweet, and lightly reminiscent of Fruity Pebbles. 

Keffir lime leaves are so special, they can overpower subtler flavors. It should be used in moderation. Whether adding to a simmering sauce, (much like bay leaves)  or sitting it in a bottle of hot sauce to add new flavor notes, it's certainly a delight we are not taking full advantage of.

Fish sauce: We aren't being creative enough 

Anyone who delves deep enough into Vietnamese cuisine (my very favorite) is bound to pick up a bottle of fish sauce. The name isn't immediately appetizing and doesn't reflect the tangy notes, which people can never decipher as vinegar or lemon. Others may scoff that the fish for this condiment is anchovy, but anchovies are much more than the least popular pizza topping. They are responsible for the bite in Caesar salad dressing and the garlicky wonder of Gardetto's snack mix.

The salty versatility of this condiment is a must for dipping sauces and Vietnamese bun, where fish sauce is mixed with water, sugar, and fresh-squeezed lemon and poured over the cold noodle dish.

But in Thai cuisine, they use dashes of fish sauce in pan-seared dishes with meat and veggies. They add it to some of our favorite noodle dishes here in the states too. Our favorite application is for a simple yet addictive hot sauce made in Thailand. You start with chopped Thai chili peppers, salt, and lemon, then sprinkle dashes of fish sauce in the jar, to add a deeper flavor profile. 

Roti: The underrated carb

Perhaps roti is not underrated as much as it is unfamiliar. Because people who know that roti is sold in frozen stacks at Asian grocery stores tend to always have a stash in the freezer.

Think of roti as a pancake, but buttery and glistening and dense like a smashed croissant. Instead of sweet, it's salty. It often features diced scallions or chives in the batter. While in the U.S. it's sold pre-formed in stacks, it starts as a batter poured onto a round skillet on the streets on Thailand. A salty crepe they stuff with mango or coconut jam, or salty options. Other times, they cook it plain to soak up sauces and curries. 

Night markets: More please sir

It's one thing to have a food ruck rally, where the high price points see people having to choose between one truck or another. It's like a food court, only not in a mall. Why not take the delicious offerings from these food trucks, make them snack-sized, and allow people to sample a little of this and a little of that?

Variety is the spice of life, and the night markets are mysterious, cavernous, and winding. You can sample a scorpion on a stick, and a tiny bowl of fried squid. You can pick up a boba and a Korean-fried hot dog. The low price points and snack-size portions allow people to explore, and share. It becomes even more of an interactive experience when they open tents and tables and folding chairs, drape up stringed lighting and play music. It's chaos, but a chaos filled with sweet-smelling smoke and laughter all around. 

If you can't take a trip to Thailand anytime soon, try these tips to bring you a little closer to the flavors of this diverse culture. You'll be packing your bags sooner that you think!