Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Staples & Specialities
Rice & Noodles
In Thailand, to eat is to eat rice, and for most of the country, a meal is not acceptable
without this staple. Rice is customarily served alongside main dishes such as curries, stir-
fries or soups, which are lumped together as
gàp kôw
(with rice). When you order plain rice
in a restaurant you use the term
kôw Ъlòw
('plain rice') or
kôw sŏo·ay
('beautiful rice').
You'll find four basic kinds of noodle in Thailand. Hardly surprising, given the Thai fix-
ation on rice, is the overwhelming popularity of
sên gŏo·ay đĕe·o,
noodles made from rice
flour mixed with water to form a paste, which is then steamed to form wide, flat sheets.
The sheets are folded and sliced into various widths.
Also made from rice,
kà·nŏm jeen
is produced by pushing rice-flour paste through a
sieve into boiling water, much the way Italian-style pasta is made.
Kà·nŏm jeen
is a popular
morning market meal that is eaten doused with various spicy curries and topped with a self-
selection of fresh and pickled vegetables and herbs.
Maintained by a Thai woman living in the US, She Simmers (
www.shesimmers.com
)
is a good source of
recipes for those making Thai food outside Thailand.
The third kind of noodle,
bà·mèe,
is made from wheat flour and egg. It's yellowish in
colour and sold only in fresh bundles.
Finally there's
wún·sên,
an almost clear noodle made from mung-bean starch and water.
Often sold in dried bunches,
wún·sên
(literally 'jelly thread') is prepared by soaking in hot
water for a few minutes. The most common use of the noodle is in
yam wún sên,
a hot and
tangy salad made with lime juice, fresh sliced
prík kêe nŏo
(tiny chillies), shrimp, ground
pork and various seasonings.
