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.
