Thai culture and traditions

Thai culture is deeply rooted in the historical and religious traditions of the Thai people, and has a profound influence on the way of the kingdom's life. Thai cultural and behavioral habits are distinct and differ in many respects from those accepted in the West.

Thais welcome each other by a salutation known as wai, rather than by shaking hands, as "westerners" do. Thais call that gesture of bowing sawadee. It is one of the most distinctive and evident Thai customs, and it is also one of the first things they teach their kids. It makes Thai parents very proud to see their little children bowing.

All greetings, such as Hi, Hello, How Are You, Welcome, Good Morning and so forth, as well as Good Bye and See You Later, are also called sawadee in Thai. To distinguish between men and women, Thai language uses the gender markers. 

Loy Krathong Festival 

Loy Krathong Festival is celebrated in all of Thailand in November. Loy Krathong celebrates the end of the rainy season which is also the full moon of the 12 th month of the Thai Lunar Calendar. Loy or Loi means to float and Krathong or Kratong means a raft the sive of ones open hand. The point of the festival is to prepare and then float at full moon down a stream, river or other water water, an elaborately prepared offering on the raft to be released and float away by water to release with it as a symbolic gester, ones bad feelings, anger, stress and grievances.

                                                                                                                               

            

The festival has its beginnings in the Indianisation process of South East Asia and an original Brahmanical festival from Northern India. Many Thais also accept natural forces as spirits or '' gods '' and the floating of the Krathong is symbolic gesture to the Goddess of water, Phra Mae Khongkha. The Thais proclaim the festival originated in Thailand at Sukhothai at the time of the Sukhothai Kingdom, but here then also Indian and Brahmanical influences with powerful.

Thai food

Pad-Thai

Pad Thai is the ultimate street food. While "street food" may sound bad, food cart cooks are in such a competitive situation, with such limited space, ingredients and tools they need to specialize in a dish or two just to stay in business. The best of these cooks have cooked the same dish day-after-day, year-after-year, constantly perfecting it.

Great Pad Thai is dry and light bodied, with a fresh, complex, balanced flavor. It should be reddish and brownish in color.  Not bright red and oily like I've seen in the US. The ingredients listed below can be somewhat intimidating but many are optional. If you would like to make authentic Pad Thai, just like in Thailand, use all the ingredients.

Ingredients

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 fresh red or green chili, sliced

1 thumb-size piece galangal OR ginger, grated

4 green onions, sliced

1 egg

2-3 cups bean sprouts

1/3 cup dry-roasted unsalted peanuts or cashews, ground or roughly chopped with a knife

1 fresh lime, sliced into wedges

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

PAD THAI SAUCE: (without tamarind*)

1/3 cup good-tasting chicken stock

3 Tbsp. rice vinegar (or substitute white vinegar)

1 Tbsp. lime juice

3-4 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. fish sauce

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

Pad Thai is another perfect vegetarian dish, just omit shrimp and substitute soy sauce for fish sauce. Add more tofu if you like.