| Like other Southeast Asian countries, food stalls | | | | up from a heap of vibrantly coloured roosters or |
| are everywhere in the streets, markets and | | | | chickens tied together at the feet - a Thai |
| festivals of Thailand, providing an endless | | | | rooster's plumage is extraordinarily beautiful; |
| smorgasbord of aromas, color, sounds and flavors | | | | plastic tubs and buckets just full enough of murky |
| - food in Thailand is a feast for all of the | | | | grey water to keep the fish, frogs or turtles alive |
| senses.Picture a barbecue hotdog stand outside a | | | | until a sale was clinched; mounds and mounds of |
| North American sports stadium. Now, instead of | | | | green and red, and purple and orange; the |
| hotdogs and buns sizzling on a grill, the food cart | | | | pleasant stench of durian and jackfruit - pleasant |
| is laden with fresh bananas, which are slathered in | | | | because I was just so thrilled and in awe of it all!I |
| batter and deep-fried to golden in a giant wok, | | | | tried deep-fried grasshoppers at a carnival in |
| then scooped into a paper bag like a super-size | | | | Kanchanaburi during a sound and light show of |
| order of extra thick homecut french fries. That | | | | "The Bridge On The River Kwai" that ended with |
| was my first breakfast in Thailand while I | | | | a fabulous fireworks display recreating the Allied |
| watched hundreds of beautifully costumed | | | | bombing campaign that destroyed the bridges of |
| elephants play soccer and tug-of-war in an annual | | | | the Death Railway in 1945. I tried a few tiny |
| Elephant Round-up in Surin, in the far northeast of | | | | roasted wood worms offered by a very thin host |
| the country!The next 'hotdog stand' does have a | | | | in a northern hill-tribe village near the Myanmar |
| grill, placed over a large bin of charcoal, with | | | | border, and feared that I was eating his family |
| flattened chicken quarters sizzling on sticks that | | | | out of house and home. I discovered countless |
| you eat like a popsicle; next door to that is yet | | | | traditional dishes I had never tasted and savoured |
| another steel cart heaped with fresh, ripe | | | | authentic versions of some I had had in Toronto's |
| pineapple, mango and papaya, and sporting a huge | | | | newly arrived Thai restaurants. As often as I |
| mortar and pestle for transforming the greener | | | | could, I watched their creation so that I could try |
| papayas into a crunchy, sweet-sour-spicy salad | | | | to replicate them when I got home and got a |
| with morsels of shrimp or squid, chiles, garlic and | | | | kitchen again.Many people are alarmed at how |
| sugar.What makes Thai food so delicious and | | | | daring I was with my stomach. During two years |
| distinctive among other Southeast Asian food is | | | | of round-the-world travel, including six months in |
| this unique blending of fresh herbs, spices and | | | | Southeast Asia, I only had one tiny bout of |
| other ingredients that combine for a perfect | | | | queasiness over a couple of days on Sumatra in |
| balance of sweet, sour, salt and heat that leaves | | | | Indonesia. In fact, I had never eaten so well or |
| your mouth feeling clean and your tastebuds | | | | felt so healthy in my life. I must have found the |
| popping in the afterglow.Fresh fruit, salads and | | | | perfect balance of common sense and adventure, |
| even soups and noodles are ladled into plastic | | | | or, some might argue, I was just lucky.I don't |
| bags with a skewer, fork, spoon or straw for | | | | recommend trying everything, and I do |
| eating on the go or perched on a folding chair at a | | | | recommend a few common sense tips for |
| nearby metal card table in the market.Thai buses | | | | sampling the full range of the food on offer |
| and trains become moving picnic grounds, with | | | | throughout your travels: |
| everyone chatting, eating and sharing the fare | | | | at street and market stalls, do watch the |
| hawked through the vehicles' windows at roadside | | | | cooking for awhile to ensure that the ingredients |
| stops and terminals: Gai Yang, the flattened | | | | are fresh and the food is being cooked |
| barbecue chicken on a stick, skewered meat and | | | | thoroughly; if you have any doubts, move on to |
| fish balls and sticky rice wrapped in banana | | | | the next vendor |
| leaves.Carnivals and markets feature huge woks | | | | choose vendors that have a good steady flow |
| at knee-height, bubbling with deep-fried critters of | | | | of customers - not only is the food probably very |
| all sorts, many unidentifiable. Are they | | | | good, but the turnover means fresher food |
| grasshoppers? crickets? spiders? baby birds? small | | | | ask your guesthouse host and any other |
| frogs? -- my mouth and eyes were constantly | | | | residents you meet for their favourite places to |
| wide open in wonder and amazement!I spent an | | | | eat, and for recommendations on dishes to order |
| inordinate amount of time in the fresh produce | | | | follow the other safe eating tips you find in travel |
| and night food markets -- exuberantly fascinated | | | | guides, like recommendations about water, ice |
| and often visibly discombobulated, to the great | | | | cubes, and peeling fruit and vegetablesOf course, |
| amusement of the vendors and shoppers.After | | | | you will find an endless selection of sit-down |
| traveling every aisle of food carts and woks on | | | | restaurants where you can savour some of the |
| my mission to find the freshest, most interesting | | | | more familiar Thai dishes now found in restaurants |
| and tasty-looking dishes, I was often met with | | | | around the world: green curry with chicken, red |
| earnestly shaking heads or "No, you don't want | | | | curry with beef, pad Thai and other noodle dishes, |
| that - that's Thai food!" by English speaking cooks | | | | and wonderfully aromatic sweet basil |
| or bystanders when I pointed and gestured and | | | | dishes.Whether you plan to sample the fabulous |
| tried to ask for a meal I knew I truly wanted. On | | | | foods from the street vendors and markets or |
| my first such adventure, I did not know that the | | | | stick to what you know, learn a few tips on |
| custom was for the cook to show the ladle with | | | | deciphering a menu or asking for a type of dish |
| the amount of the garlic and chili for you to | | | | with a few Thai Food Terms.Many supermarkets |
| indicate how much you wanted: thinking she was | | | | are now carrying a range of prepared sauces, |
| simply asking if I wanted those Thai ingredients, I | | | | curries and other Asian products, but if you enjoy |
| nodded vigorously at the heaped display, and in it | | | | adventure and creativity in your own kitchen, |
| all went! Yes, it was Thai food, and I enjoyed | | | | many Thai recipes are fairly easy to create once |
| every sizzling touch to my lips under the watchful, | | | | you've mastered a few essentials. Gai Yang, after |
| laughing eyes of the vendors and bystanders who | | | | all, is really just barbequed chicken with a Thai |
| had gathered.I spent as much time learning about, | | | | twist! A good food reference guide or cookbook |
| admiring and experiencing the food as I did with | | | | with a glossary of Asian ingredients will help you |
| major tourist attractions, often spending hours | | | | gain that perfect balance of sour, sweet, salt and |
| strolling through streets and markets taking in the | | | | heat that is unique to Thai cuisine. |
| sights and smells and sounds: quiet clucking rising | | | | |