Isaan food has it’s own unique style, and tends to be very spicy. People who are not from Isaan (foreigners) might find it very smelly, because the main ingredient of Isaan dishes is Anchovy.
About the taste, this veers towards salty or sour, but not sweet, unlike the dishes from central Thailand, green curry for instance, which is sweet in that part of the country. We Isaan people tend to avoid sugar in our food.
In the not so distant past, Isaan food was not talked about that much outside of north-east Thailand, and was only really sold in the local markets here, but just recently it seems to have become very popular everywhere, and there are even restaurants in five star hotels that specialise in Isaan style food now.
Incredibly, you may be surprised to find that some Isaan dishes are uncooked, and contain raw meat. Most of the time this meat tends to be beef, but pork is also used. Since Isaan is so far from the sea, it is quite unusual for us to eat fish from the sea, but we do eat shellfish and fish caught in the local rivers. On the subject of shellfish, do be careful, because I have seen some people that are allergic to these.
As my boyfriend is a farang from the UK, he’s not too keen on Isaan food either, because as I said, the main ingredient is anchovies, and he finds this quite smelly and off-putting.
Nearly all Isaan dishes are eaten with a variety of local vegetables that can be found all over north-east Thailand, and of course sticky rice. Jasmine rice is also consumed here, but most of the time people eat sticky rice.
Now, you guys may wonder what all these local dishes look like? Well here are some pictures that will give you an idea what to expect the next time you visit Isaan:
Hi I'm Kitiya from Thailand. I was born and grew up in Udon Thani,Thailand... the land of smiles. I have one sibling, and I'm a freelance tutor, Welcome to my world :)
In previous blogs, I’ve written about food from all over Thailand; from the north, the north-east, the south and central parts of the country. So now that you guys have got an idea about how Thai food looks and tastes, perhaps you would like to try our delicious Thai food for real.
For the foreigner who lives in Thailand, they are very lucky because it isn’t difficult to find a Thai restaurant or search for food in the fresh markets/food stalls on the streets. They can even buy the ingredients to cook themselves if they really want to get to know Thai cuisine well.
Thai food is normally eaten with a fork and spoon, but you may find many people in the north and north-east don’t use these because they mostly eat sticky rice, so they use their hands instead. In the past I’ve been to many temples to make a merit-offer of food to the Buddhist monks, this is done by putting food on a tray and in return receiving blessings from the monks. Now you guys may have questions about this, like what kind of food do people usually offer to the monks? This all depends on the geographic location of the temple, and what the corresponding local food culture is, as I will explain now.
Terry at the temple.
Central Thailand
Here they pay great attention to the Buddhist religion, and in particular to the teaching that there are ten animals it is forbidden to eat. These are Humans, Elephant, Horse, Snake, Lion, Tiger, Dog, Cat, Snapping Turtle and Owl. Some of them also believe that you should never eat an animal that has been killed, or struck by lightning, as this is considered unlucky. When visiting a temple to make a food-merit, do not eat before the monk does.
In the central part of Thailand some people believe that a pregnant women should also avoid eating Starfruits, or spicy foods, because the child will turn out to be bald.
The north of Thailand
A large proportion of people who live in the north own their own farms, where they rear pigs, chickens and ducks. As the land is mountainous here, many of them like to go hunting for their own food, mostly vegetables and mushrooms etc. Although food in the forest depends on the season a great deal.
In a funeral you should avoid serving food such as noodles or spaghetti, and some vegetables like gourd.
If you have a fever do not eat beef or you will not be cured. This doesn’t bother me as I don’t eat beef at all, and I think its smelly. In my family we don’t eat beef, and this is related to our belief (we worship Hindu god/goddess) that the cow is the vehicle of lord Shiva.
When you get injured you should avoid preserved food or it will get worse. In this case I do follow the advice, even though I am from the north-east of Thailand, I’ve had some people warn me about this. It was funny I went to have my nose pierced three years ago, and the whole month I stayed away from preserved food and it was torture. I had to live without papaya salad (somtam), as the anchovy is a kind of preserved food. I think my boyfriend could understand how I felt! Never mind how he felt when I kissed him lol, he thought it was smelly even though I brushed my teeth already! Try Thai anchovy sometime, for me is heaven, for my boyfriend it is hell!
In the north some believe that a pregnant woman should not eat shellfish, including mussels and oysters, or the child will be talkative, meaning it’s like talking nonsense. I think this is related to one of Thai proverbs พูดเป็นต่อยหอย. So she should eat mild food, which is easy to swallow and flows, which will make things easier when she gives a birth.
Do not eat turtle because the child will have a short life, or if the pregnant lady is having a difficult time during childbirth, then it means that in the past she used to scold her parents. How to solve this problem? She needs to apologize to them and then take the edge of a piece of her mother’s skirt and boil it then drink the water left behind, this will help.
The north-east of Thailand (Isaan)
This is a land of exotic foods, both cooked or uncooked, which I will talk about in more detail in my next blog, as it’s where I come from. People here are not fussy about their food, and there is a great variety of it. The most exotic food in my opinion is “Kudji”, which is a kind of bug that lives in cow or buffalo faeces. You dig them out and fry them, and I’ve been told its yummy, but I haven’t tried it, maybe someday I will…who knows? I have eaten fried scorpion, bamboo worm, cricket, silk worm, grasshopper though, oh and so much more! The other one to try is Goi raw beef with the fresh cows blood as gravy with Isaan seasoning. Haha I tried it ages ago but I didn’t ask for that gravy!
Minors aren’t supposed to eat before seniors, as that is how you show respect to the seniors. For people who keep some amulets or study about magic/incantation, food from the funeral is forbidden, as it is believed that it will cause the magic disappear. Oh wow same with my father!
The south of Thailand
This is the wealthy part of Thailand, with plentiful food. Seafood and Jasmine rice are especially popular and are often eaten. Sticky rice is only usually consumed in this part of the country as a part of ceremonies.
In the south of Thailand some believe that a pregnant women should not eat scaley fish, and also avoid climber vegetables and other injurious food.
For people who have haemorrhoids, they should not eat eels.
It is advised to eat certain foods after the season they are most similar to. For instance spicy food is suitable for the rainy season and other foods such as coconut water will cool you down in the hot season, which I think makes sense. Some would call this “folk wisdom” (there is no cold season in south of Thailand).
Auspicious ceremonies should have foods like noodles and spaghetti, as this signifies the making of connections between you and others when dealing business together.
For a wedding, sticky rice is a common food type as it symbolises unity… why? Do you see sticky rice doesn’t break away.
Never serve a fish dish at a funeral, choose a beef dish instead, as this means you are showing your respect to the people who died.
General Thai food culture and beliefs
For auspicious ceremonies such as engagements, weddings, ordinations and house-warmings, the food that you should serve is “Larb”. The name Larb means “Luck”, and is usually combined with the Thai desserts called Tong Yip, Tong Yord, Foi Tong and Tong Muan, as Tong means “gold and fortune”.
In the past, when I’ve been to auspicious ceremonies, I sometimes haven’t seen that kind of Thai dessert but instead cake or some biscuits… as these sorts of things are easy to find in the convenience stores. I wonder if teenagers these days have even heard of, or seen an old Thai dessert before?
Some people from the outskirts still follow the old traditions and beliefs, but as time has gone by, and especially in recent times, you may find that many people don’t bother that much any more. I think that this has something to do with the fact that high-technology is now much more available. transportation has been improved, and there is generally a lot more information freely available to the average Thai person, particularly from TV or the internet. These easily accessible repositories of knowledge are the most likely cause for Thais letting go of the old belief systems, especially the younger generations, and embracing the modern western ideas about science, medicine and well-being.
Hi I'm Kitiya from Thailand. I was born and grew up in Udon Thani,Thailand... the land of smiles. I have one sibling, and I'm a freelance tutor, Welcome to my world :)
