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Thai food is eaten with a fork and
spoon. Even single dish meals such as fried
rice with pork, or steamed rice topped
with roasted duck, are served in bite-sized
slices or chunks obviating the need for a knife.
The spoon is used to convey food to the mouth.
Ideally,
eating Thai food is a communal affair involving
two or more people, principally because
the greater the number of diners the greater
the number of dishes ordered. Generally speaking,
two diners order three dishes in addition to
their own individual plates of steamed
rice, three diners four dishes, and so on. Diners
choose whatever they require from shared dishes
and generally add it to their own rice.
Soups are enjoyed concurrently with rice.
Soups are enjoyed concurrently with other
dishes, not independently.
Spicy dishes, not independently. Spicy
dishes are "balanced" by bland
dishes to avoid discomfort.
The
ideal Thai meal is a harmonious blend of
the spicy, the subtle, the sweet and sour, and
is meant to be equally satisfying to eye, nose
and palate.
A typical meal might include a clear
soup (perhaps bitter melons stuffed with minced
pork), a steamed dish (mussels in curry sauce),
a fried dish (fish with ginger), a hot salad
(beef slices on a bed of lettuce, onions, chillies,
mint and lemon juice) and a variety of sauces
into which food is dipped.
This would be followed by sweet desserts
and/or fresh fruits such as mangoes, durian,
jackfruit, papaya, grapes or melon.
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