By Josh Butterworth. Josh is our Thailand Program Coordinator, and lives in Thailand.
Welcome to a new series where I delve into Thai culture as a Westerner who has lived in the Kingdom for almost two years now. But before I get into it, let me please preface my words by saying I am in no way a representative of UK or Western culture as a whole, nor have I experienced Thai culture in its entirety. I am simply a man has who spent most of his life in one place, who has now started a new one in another. I have met many people in my twenty-eight years on this planet, and have had both meaningful and insignificant relationships in both the UK and Thailand, it is those experiences I will be drawing from to give you some insight into how two cultures halfway across the world differ from one another.
I’d always believed that food was an important part of all cultures, and of course it is, but in Thailand it plays a far more significant role in people’s daily lives than it does in the UK. That is what I will be exploring in this article.
I must first address something you may not be aware of if you have not spent much time outside of the UK, or whichever Western country you call home. Everyone knows delicious Thai dishes such as green curry and pad Thai, and you’ll find Thai restaurants in every town and city across the UK. But I’ve got bad news, we’ve been fed a lie, literally. In the UK, Thai food has been tweaked to suit British palettes, notably a reduction in spiciness and an increase in sweetness. Chinese and Indian food have also suffered a similar fate.
Thai food in Thailand is far more delicious, varied, and usually follows a simple but enticing combination of flavours. The five principles of Thai cuisine are spicy, sour, sweet, salty, and bitter. Every dish combines at least two of these tastes, sometimes up to four, perfectly balanced and utterly scrumptious.
One major difference between Thailand’s relationship with food verses that found in the UK is a sense of identity. In my experience, British food is British food. There are some regional specialties such as the Cornish Pasty and Lancashire hotpot, but they’re all very similar. They may be more authentic and a bit tastier when eaten in the location they were created, but the flavours and ingredients do not vary greatly.
In Thailand however, people are proud of their food heritage and there’s such variety due to the great mixing of people from across the country and region. Northern Thai food focusses mainly on meat and uses a lot of herbs, whereas Southern Thai food often contains seafood and is spicier, Isan food from the east is different once again, and food from Bangkok and the central plains also has its own character and flavours. And on top of that there are the cuisines belonging to the many minorities who now call Thailand home, such as Shan people from Myanmar with their tofu-based salads and noodles, or Muslims from Malaysia with their fish curries and roti.
British food is all much of a muchness, plain and filling, it’s generally the same whether you’re in the highlands of Scotland or an edgy seafront restaurant in Brighton. In Thailand, it’s like you have cuisines from multiple countries all in one. People are proud of their heritage and the food that fuelled their people for centuries. Many almost exclusively eat food from their own culture, but that isn’t to say you can find every type of cuisine in big cities such as Chiang Mai or Bangkok. Thai people or those who now call Thailand home are proud of their food, it’s made with love, care, and has roots in their history. Sadly, the same cannot be said for most of the UK.
I must make it clear that I’m not writing this article to bash British food or culture, but having been away from my home country for quite a while now, there have been very few times I’ve missed it. In contrast, whenever I am in the UK I crave Thai food every day. And it’s not just the food that’s better, I believe the culture around eating is far healthier here than in the UK.
Thai people don’t like to eat alone, sharing food is an important part of daily life. Taxi drivers gather at roadside restaurants, groups of nurses flock to street vendors, and school children raid 7-11 for snacks that they’ll share together in the playground. It’s rare to see Thai people eating alone unless they’re on their lunch break at a different time to their colleagues. It’s such an important part of their culture, so much so that if my Thai girlfriend is hungry and I’m not, she isn’t happy. I must eat at least something with her so that she can enjoy her food without feeling guilty. It seems silly to a Westerner such as myself, but I think it’s quite sweet.
A very common greeting in Thailand is ‘gin khaow hrux yang?’, it means ‘have you eaten rice yet?’. Every time I see my lovely neighbour who lives opposite me, she asks if I’ve eaten yet and offers to buy me something, food is how to show you care. I know this is similar in a lot of other countries around the world, but it is very prominent in Thailand, and is somewhat lacking in the UK.
One more interesting element of food culture in Thailand is the commonness of eating out. In the UK, buying ingredients and cooking at home is the best way to save money, this is not the case in Thailand. Most people, especially young people, rarely cook and instead opt for eating at restaurants. A regular dish such as pad krapow may equate to the same as one hours work for a Thai person, but that is still cheaper than buying all of the ingredients and equipment that’s needed to cook it. Spending an hours wage on a meal three times a day would seem like lunacy to anyone in the UK who isn’t super rich, but as you already know, food is very important in Thailand.
Having thrown shade on British food and eating culture throughout this article, I must now give it some credit and mention some things that I miss. Fibre is the key one. Cheap Thai food often lacks this important element of our diet, as dishes usually only contain a carbohydrate such as white rice or noodles with a little bit of meat and a very small amount of vegetables. High fibre foods such as seeded bread, beans, and wholemeal pasta are expensive and uncommon. Another element of Western food that I miss is the ability to eat with my hands. You must eat most Thai food with a fork and spoon, or chopsticks. The Brit in me craves picking up foods such as sandwiches, wraps, pizza, and so on. But that’s all I miss, and I can satisfy these needs if I really need to, it’s a small price to pay for living in this culinary haven.
Thai food is utterly fantastic and the eating culture is very special, I feel so lucky to live in this country and have the opportunity to enjoy it. After reading this I hope you want a taste of it yourself, and you can as a teacher in the Land of Smiles. Check out our Thailand program page here and explore all of the destinations we offer, from the beaches of the south to the mountains of the north, as well as the beautiful chaos of Bangkok.
If you want to start you adventure this year then there’s still time to go in April 2025! But don’t hang about and apply today to ensure you make it.
See you soon and happy eating.
