Thailand landed itself as one of the food capitals on a culinary world map through the vivid Bangkok street food scenes. Street food plays a big and essential part of a Thai diet.
However, upon closer inspection, you will find that Thai street food very much resembles many of the Chinese dishes.
This should come to no surprise as Thailand has been quoted as the country to have the largest Chinese population outside China. Although, ethnic Chinese had fully assimilated into the Thai society and fully identify themselves as a Thai. As a result, the ethnic cuisines had also translated to and become part of the Thai culture.
While Thailand had welcomed many immigrants from Southern China, Teochew diaspora serves as the most influential Chinese merchant circles in Bangkok.
Therefore, you will find that numerous street food vendors in Bangkok are serving many dishes with Chinese origins as Thai street food.
Oyster Omelette (Or Lua)
You can almost always find oyster omelette sold together at a Pad Thai stall in Bangkok.
The main difference between the Teochew/Taiwanese versions is that the ones in Bangkok has a crispy exterior but a gooey middle to contrast, which I absolutely love. This is served with quick-fried beansprouts for another dimension of crunch, spring onions and dousing of sweet chilli sauce.
For a more cost effective option, most stalls also offer an alternative of mussels instead of oyster, or there’s always also an option to have both if you can’t decide.
Bitter Melon Soup
Bitter melon belongs to the gourd family and the fruit has a melon-like texture with a deep bitter taste. You will generally find 2 variations of this soup – one as a stuffed bitter melon and another with pork spareribs. I do love them both very much.
Bitter melon is also believed to have health benefits including lowering blood sugar level for people with diabetes.
Flat rice noodles in dark broth (Kway Chap)
Yes, you can also find this dish at most of the Singapore hawker markets. The braised pig’s innards braised in the Chinese aromatics in dark sauce.
Unlike what you’d find in Singapore, the braised offal is served in the same bowl as the flat rice noodles in Bangkok. To set things apart, you will also find the selection of condiments at the table. This includes dried chilli flakes, chilli vinegar, sugar and fish sauce to tailor the bowl to how you like it.
Chive Dumplings (Gu Chai)
Gu Chai or chive dumplings is a seasoned chive filling wrapped in a thin sheet of dumpling skin made from rice flour. The versions in Bangkok comes in both steamed and fried versions.
I personally prefer the fried ones because of its crispy texture on the exterior, which is a nice contrast against the gooey inside.
Pig’s Organ Soup
Pork Organ Soup or Tom Leuard Moo is a clear pork broth with pork offals. Talking about nose-to-tail dining concept, this is the one! From pork mince balls, stomach, intestine, lung and liver to blood jelly, this one has got it all.
This soup is light but savoury and is usually served with a bowl of rice on the side. It also pairs perfectly with a chilli vinegar dip on the side to cut through the richness of the offals.
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