Thailand: Allison Grund (Food in Bangkok)
The food in Bangkok was my favorite aspect about Thailand by far. Living in a major city, you can miss out the local foods in more of the northern and southern regions, but Bangkok serves as a hub for all different types and styles of food available. It’s also a source of Asian food influence not only for Thai food. When the other students and I had the opportunity to travel to a few other regions during our weekends, we took as many opportunities as we had to try the different dishes specific to each area. It was interesting to learn about the different influences, such as Laos and China, in Thai food, as well as learn about the regional spices and herbs that are not commonly found in the U.S.
Street food is one of the most well-known Thai foods in the country. And for good reason! In almost any district in Bangkok, there will be a street market nearby where I could purchase drinks, meals, desserts, and more. Where I was living in Bangkok, there was a food market about a 10-minute walk down the street that I would visit once or twice a week if I ever finished late at my internship. Commonly, the food options have some form of protein with either noodles or rice. I would say pork, chicken, and fish are the most common proteins I would see, but others such as sausages and seafood are also available. There were so many different options, I still never had the chance to try all of them with the time I had there.
I tried to buy a new dish each time I would visit the market, but my favorite was this sweet lady who served fried chicken over rice. I would watch her make each meal in front of me fresh. She would toss the fried chicken in a mix of carrot, cilantro, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and chili flakes before pouring it over the bed of rice. The dish tasted so fresh, had so much flavor, and always had just enough spice for me to handle.
As for more traditional street foods, I’d walk past the tents and view a variety of items. A traditional Thai appetizer that could be found at any restaurant or street food venders is called “som tam,” or Papaya salad. This was one of my top three favorite dishes in Thailand. The classic salad is very refreshing, while also being one of the spiciest dishes I had during my time there. It combines fish sauce, lime juice, long bean, and Thai chiles in a mortar and pestle for flavor and then mixes in tomato, shredded carrot, and shredded green papaya as the salad base. Peanuts are added on top for a hint of salt and crunch. My mouth was on fire every time.
Another common street food item found at every single street market is called “moo ping” or grilled pork skewers. These skewers of meat are available all day long and eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They typically are marinated in some type of glaze or sauce and are sold with the option of sticky rice on the side. They are extremely affordable, at most being sold for 20 baht or $0.60 per skewer. These would be an easy snack to grab in the morning on the way to work, or something easy to grab during the day if I didn’t have a lot of time between lab experiments. Many of the venders also sell chicken as another protein option along with the pork.
Beyond street food, one of the more common Thai dishes that are heard of more worldwide is the range of Thai curries. In Bangkok, almost all styles of curries are accessible, but the more traditional versions are found as you move either to the north or south of Thailand. Reflecting on my months spent in Thailand, I’d say my favorite curry by far would be khao soi. Many of the Thai curries contain a coconut milk base, but what makes this curry different is that it is served with Thai egg noodle, both soft and deep-fried. The spice level of curries is usually mellow in the north of the country and increases as you venture south. Khao soi has a sweet creamy flavor, and the other students and I had the chance to try a couple different styles of the dish.
Other Thai curries more well-known around the world include both red and green curry. When I had the opportunity to take a Thai cooking class, we learned that many of the curry pastes have the same ingredients and only a few substitutions are made to change between each curry. For example. red and green curry pastes share the same ingredients, except one uses red Thai chilies while the other uses green. They also share interchangeable vegetables, but green curry contains Thai eggplant whereas red curry typically does not. Green curry is the spicier curry of the two, simply because green chilies are a hotter chili than red. I was able to make the green curry myself during the cooking class, and I would say I prefer it out of the two. It was a lot of fun!
Allison Grund
Hometown: Janesville, Wisconsin
Major: Microbiology
Program: UW Biological Sciences Research Internships in Thailand
I am eager to travel to Thailand for this internship to enhance my scientific laboratory skills while gaining international academic experience, building global connections, and immersing myself in a culture. I chose this program specifically because it offered international scientific research experience in a field that correlates with both my major and certificate studies. As a microbiology major working towards a certificate in global health, this programs offers both the microbiology and global experience I was looking for. I am most looking forward to experiencing the 24 hour food culture in Bangkok. I’ve heard that many of the traditional Thai foods vary in each region, but that many can be found in the capital city. I do not have many expectations entering this internship, so I am excited to see what it has to offer!