Thai food is one of the most beloved cuisines anywhere in the world. Westerners, including Americans, love them. Because of that, there are dozens of Thai restaurants that can be found anywhere else outside of Thailand. But while many claim that they serve Thai food, how can you really be sure that what you are eating is authentic enough to make you think you are in Bangkok? If you can’t tell, here are some ways to check if your food really is authentic Thai cuisine.
Check if the restaurant only serves Thai food
Some restaurants boast not only Thai dishes but also other Asian cuisines. While that doesn’t hurt the quality of their food, it doesn’t always mean that they truly do serve authentic Thai cuisine. It might be because they aren’t putting enough effort on Thai cuisine to make it truly authentic and to have it stand out from the rest. If they can serve more than one type of cuisines, it’s kinda questionable why they can’t pick one.
It’s better if the menu is smaller
If you’re going to a Thai restaurant, one of the ways to know if they are authentic is if the menu is smaller than most other Thai restaurants. Thai dishes depend on what region of Thailand they are from. If the restaurant focuses on only one region of Thailand, it’s most likely that they are putting all of their efforts into making those dishes truly authentic. That kind of a restaurant is more authentic than one that has a menu that serves Thai food from every region of Thailand.
In Thailand, they don’t use chopsticks
Nothing describes Asian food better than chopsticks. But that isn’t the case with authentic Thai cuisine. In Thailand, they don’t eat rice or any of their food with chopsticks. They’d rather use spoons and forks instead. If the Thai restaurant you go to brings you a pair of chopsticks without you even asking them to do so, it means that they cater people that love Asian food and not necessarily those that want authentic Thai cuisine.
In Thailand, there is no such thing as a crab rangoon and spring rolls aren’t made with rice paper
There isn’t any region in Thailand that serves crab rangoon. You can only find that in Thai restaurants in the United States. Experts and natives of Thailand have never even heard of that dish. And when it comes to spring rolls, the Thais use wheat-based wrappers instead of rice paper. It’s only in Vietnam that they use rice paper for their spring rolls. So if you ever find yourself in a “Thai” restaurant that serves crab rangoon and makes their spring rolls using rice paper, there is a chance that isn’t really authentic at all.
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