What is Thai Food?

"Thai food" represents the majority of the dishes on the menu at Thai Evergreen, but what exactly is Thai food? Here's some info from around the Internet:

From Cuisinenet.com we read:

Americans usually don't realize that rice is the main course, not the side dish -- curries and other hot dishes are eaten by the Thai more as sauces than entrees, flavoring the cool rice. Meat is very expensive, and beef- or pork-based recipes often call for much less meat than would satisfy the average American carnivore. It is worth noting that the Thai eat with a spoon, fork and knife.

How true! When I was in Thailand we ate a lot of "khao" (rice) and only a little "gup" (short for "gup khao", which was the rest of the meal that went on the rice). Also, I was taught to hold a fork in my left and and use the back of the tines to push the food into the spoon (held in my right hand) and to eat in said manner. Chopsticks were rarely used!

About.com has some great info on the background of Thai food that includes the following:

Thai cuisine is also heavily influenced by Indian spices and flavours, which is evident in its famous green, red, and yellow curries. However, it would be nearly impossible to confuse an Indian curry with one from Thailand. Although Thai curry incorporates many Indian spices in its pastes, it still manages to maintain its own unique flavour with the addition of local spices and ingredients, such as Thai holy basil, lemongrass, and galangal (Thai ginger).

Personally, I'm not a fan of Indian curries, while I really enjoy Thai curries! If you haven't tried curry Thai-style, be sure to ask your food server about the spiciness of each dish. No reason to burn the house down with your first taste!

Finally, a word about a dessert treat that I thought I would never taste again outside of Thailand, but can be found seasonally on Thai Evergreen's menu: Mango on Sticky Rice. Sweet sticky rice (credit the coconut milk) and juicy, ripe mango are served primarily in the Thai "hot" season of April and May and is an amazing dish.

Of course, there is a lot more about Thai food that I'll cover in the future, as well as some of the Japanese and Chinese dishes that you can order at Thai Evergreen Oriental Noodle House.