EAT IN ASIA / Food destinations / Thailand - thai food
Thai style New Year Eve dining menu
Thailand celebrates New Year twice. Once as in other Western countries – at the end of December, and then they have their real Chinese New Year that is a big event. This traditional Thai or better to say Chinese New Year is usually in January and depends on the Lunar Calendar. That said, every year, dates change.
However, a regular New Year’s Eve and New Year in December and January are present. These days are good moments for extra parties, fireworks, musical shows and of course shopping and eating!
Thai people love gatherings, good food and having fun that is why any occasion to do that is a good one.
However, many families celebrate these days in a different way. They gather, chit-chat, have some fun and prepare different food. Usually, they choose these dishes that they do not eat on a daily basis or these which preparation is much more time consuming. But that are still traditional dishes including pork meat, seafood, vegetables and of course rice or noodles.
Once we had a unique possibility of participating in a Thai family meeting on the New Year’s Eve. It was a nice experience that allowed us to see it from another perspective. Just to see how it is in a regular home and outside main tourist places.
Well, you know, you can always go to a Western style restaurant or to have a party on Khao San Road where many tourists stroll and have a party, however that is nothing really special and interesting. Just like a regular party anywhere else around the world. For us, it is wonderful if we can see and try something that is very local, traditional and typical for the area.
That is why when we were invited to take part in such a celebration, we could not miss it. All other options were definitively less tempting as we could participate in similar all over the world.
Dining during the New Year’s Eve in a regular Thai home
As we mentioned it before, dishes that are served during that evening base on meats, seafood and vegetables. Well, actually that is what Thai people love the most apart from rice that comes to every single meal. That is why, on that day it could not be different. However, these dishes are more sophisticated and chosen in a special way. Usually, they prepare food that contains more ingredients and these of a higher quality. Apart from that, given the fact that they have a little bit more time, they prepare dishes that need more time. That is both in the sense of the cooking process and in the cleaning phase. For example, seafood needs time for cleaning, salads need time for cutting and meet needs time for marinating and softening.
Thai Tom Yum soup
Thai people love spicy food. Maybe not all of them but that flavor is characteristic for Thailand. Chilis' hotness combined with herbal aromas is something you can smell around the whole country. Lemongrass, Thai basil, ginger, coriander and chili peppers are added to many traditional dishes. Apart from that, coconut milk, water and flesh create a significant part in the Thai cuisine. Yellow, green or red curries are very popular in Thailand. Curries are very often served with different seafood like prawns, squids or octopus; for example in dishes like Stir-fried seafood in a yellow curry.
Given all that, a super aromatic Thai Tom Yum soup is one of many dishes you should not miss in Thailand. Although it is relatively spicy for many tourists you can always ask for preparing it slightly milder.
Actually, there are two versions of Tom Yum. One of them is a clear soup and the other is a delicate and creamy one. This clear Tom Yum soup is called Tom Yum goong nam sai (ต้มยำกุ้งน้ำใส) what means literally – Tom Yum with shrimps in a clear water. The second one, Tom Yum goong nam khon (ต้มยำกุ้งน้ำข้น), means Tom Yum with shrimp in a condensed water, in that case, in a condensed milk. Although many people believe that Tom Yum is with a coconut milk, traditionally it is not. The milk that is used for Tom Yum is a canned, unsweetened evaporated milk.
Other ingredients in Tom Yum are flavorful herbs and spices like galangal, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass and Thai chilis.
Sometimes, instead of a regular Thai chili, a roasted oily sauce is used to obtain a creamier texture.
Finally, Tom Yum cannot exist without shrimps and fish sauce. All in all, it is a super aromatic soup with Thai aromas and flavors.
The soup that the hosting family prepared with delicious. It was prepared with an oily chili paste and the evaporated milk. Inside were big prawns and small chunks of vegetables like mushrooms, Chinese cabbage, bamboo shoots, spices and kaffir lime leaves. It was flavorful with distinguishable notes of lemongrass, galangal and chili.
Crispy pork
Another set of dishes consisted of meats that were prepared in different ways. They opted for a pork meat in many variations. While most of them based on sausage like meat balls, cold-cuts and Korean sausages, one dish was full of crispy pork. This meat was prepared in an original way that based on curating meat in a salty crust that was making pork chops extremely soft and juicy.
Of course, it is enough to say that this crispy pork was also homemade and had a super crunchy skin.
Seafood
Another dish that we wanted to try were grilled tiger prawns. Big, nicely cleaned and with some grilling hints had a delicate flesh that was almost melting in mouth.
Som Tam (ส้มตำ) – glass noodles with raw papaya salad
One of the most popular and loved Thai salads is Som Tam. That is why it had to appear on the table too. Well, actually, it was a slight modification of. Different popular, raw vegetables were mixed with glass noodles. I love it! It is spicy, refreshing, salty and sour. Fresh lime juice, chilis and fish sauce combined with julienned green papaya, sliced tomatoes and cabbage create a unique composition of flavors. Add to that an optional seafood or some sausage slices and you will get a valuable light meal. Finally, roasted whole peanuts add an extra crunchiness.
This homemade version salad was richly sprinkled with fresh herbs and prepared with a lot of lime juice that was emphasizing the freshness of Som Tam. Apart of that it contained onions, garlic, carrots and of course, a super aromatic coriander.
Thailand is not the only country in Asia that makes a raw papaya salad. Vietnam, for example, has its own version of Som Tam called Gỏi Đu Đủ Tôm Thịt.
The supper was delicious. So Thai and so fresh. And what was the best in it was the fact that all these dishes were homemade and extremely Thai style.
Author: Beti – A passionate traveler and lover of Asian cuisine, especially Thai and Japanese dishes, Bernadeta brings her culinary and cultural experiences to life in her writing. Beyond her travels, she’s an avid technology enthusiast with a deep interest in data processing, merging her love for exploration with analytical insights.
Photographer: Adalbert – An aficionado of computers and photography, Adalbert captures the essence of diverse cuisines with a discerning eye. A connoisseur of rich flavors and particularly fond of meat-based dishes, he combines his technical skills with his passion for the culinary arts in every shot.
