A-han = food

Someone decided a few years back to poll people from all over the world and ask them to rank the cuisines they had tasted. It turns out that Thai food is number 3 in the world...

In the USA, we have a much diffferent approach to food than they do here in Thailand, and although everybody eats food, Thais eat some foods that are very different than what we Americans are used to...

Mango.
    We're either in hatred or in love with mango (unless you happen to be so ignorant as to not have tried mango!), which is reddish/yellowish on the outisde. The inner fruit must be cut off of the gigantic seed in the middle and it's soft and yellow with a sweet tropical flavor. But not in Pa Thed Thai! Sure, that kind of mango is available around May, but the most common type of mango are green mango or yellow mango. Both of which are hard, almost as hard as an apple, and are really sour as far as fruits go. This change was super disappointing for me, but....I'll wait until May.

Fish.
    Fish is this salmon or white colored meat that you can put salt, pepper, or various sauces on, correct? Well...in Thailand, it's the whole fish. I mean tail, head, eyes, skin, bones, the whole fish! Sadly, I don't like the super-salty taste of Thai fish skin, nor the crunchy and slightly painful experience of fish with all the bones still in the meat. Yeah, I haven't eaten much fish while I'm here, except in soup, where it's just the meat and really tasty.

Meats.
    As a general standard in US of A, animals such as chicken, cows, and pigs have certain parts which we enjoy eating; most of these parts are made up of muscle with a bit of fat. In Thailand, I have tried pig's brain. I have tried chicken fat. I have eaten skewers with the skins of chicken wrapped around a stick and dipped in peanut sauce. I really wish I could say that I've enjoyed eating these! I was informed of what they were afterward, which is the best way to get someone to eat something they otherwise might be hesitant to bite into. :)

Milk.
    Milk has something funny done to it here. I say that because Thais can let their milk sit out for a few weeks before they decide that it has to be either tossed or refrigerated. Hmm. Milk in USA would be utterly gross if we just plopped it on the counter for ten days... but the milk here is really creamy with a nice bold milk flavor. And the special milks are quite good, if you like chocolate milk, vanilla milk, strawberry milk, or orange juice milk, they've got plenty over here.

Dessert.
    Many desserts are baked goods, so I can't have them, just like everywhere else. Don't know what I was thinking, somehow bringing the expectation that because Thailand uses the number one amount of rice in the world they would skip wheat and use rice flour for baking things. :/ Oh well. There's delicious popcorn/puffed rice things, as well as cashew, peanuts, and fried bananas (the fried bananas are very bitter though, so I just like to eat "gu-ai" plain). Some desserts are eaten hot, like the steamed coconut milk with pieces of pumpkin, or the triangle-shaped sweet rice that has yellow or red bananas in the middle.

**side note** I found a chart of "World #1's" the other day. Turns out that Sweden has the most nuclear power, Germany has the most solar panels, Thailand has the most condoms, and U.S.A. has the most serial killers. o.o"

ทุกคนมีสนุก <-- "have fun everyone", แตงไทย (Clarissa) :)

p.s. Email me if you want links to pictures!