Thai fun facts, food, music, language

Thai food – Thai culture for children   3 Most Common Dishes of Thailand 1) Tom Yam Goong: herbs, lemon grass, lime leaves, galangal, and shallots along with chili peppers, shrimp, and mushroom creates a spicy Asian gumbo that satisfies the taste buds. 2) Khao Man: (Thai chicken and rice) Usually a day meal, this common dish is often compared to America’s burger and fries, though a lot healthier. The chicken is gently boiled, and the water used to cook the chicken is used to cook the rice. This gives the rice a burst of flavor. Add your own spices to give it a personal spin! 3) Por Pia Tord: (Fried Spring Roll) Although it’s an appetizer, the fried spring roll is a commodity. Served with sweet and sour sauce, the fried vegetable filled pastries are all too yummy to bypass. Thai Treats! Desserts of Thailand 1) Tub Tim Grub: (Water Chestnuts in Iced Coconut Syrup) Water chestnuts chopped into small squares and covered with powdered sugar combined with coconut milk, it’s a sweet and nutty treat. Typically served over crushed or shaved ice, it’s a cool snack for the hot summer Thailand days and a hit during the onset of the spring season. 2) Kao Niaw Ma-Muang: (Sweet Rice with Mangoes and Coconut Cream) Steaming Thai rice in coconut milk and syrup, and topping it ff with mangoes or another exotic fruit of your choice is exactly what will cure the sweet tooth cravings! 3) Klaui Nam Wa: (Bananas in Coconut Milk) Usually eaten by vegetarians, but extremely common and enjoyed by everyone of Thailand. Simply Thai bananas soaked in coconut milk, warmed, simplicity is key when it comes to a tasty quick fix. Recipe Simplicity!! 3 Easy Thai Recipes 1) Sweet Pork Ingredients: 350g Streaky Pork 1 ½ tbsp thin soy sauce 1 tsp dark soy sauce 1 Tbsp seasoning soy sauce 3 ½ Tbsp palm sugar 3 shallots ½ cup water Directions: 1) Wash pork, pat dry, and cut into small pieces. Peel shallots, wash, and cut into slices 2) Pour water into a pot, bring to a boil on a medium heat then add pork. Boil until cooked, then add all soy sauces (light, dark, seasoning). 3) Stir well, turn heat to low, let simmer for 30 minutes. When pork is tender, add palm sugar. Stir in palm sugar until it is completely dissolved. Let simmer for 15 minutes, then add shallots. 4) Serve and enjoy!!!! 2) Thai Noodles Ingredients: 1 packet rice noodles 2 Tbsp vegetable oil 1 diced onion 2 eggs 500mg minced chicken 1 diced tomato 1 sliced bok choy 227g canned water chestnuts 2 Tbsp fish sauce 2 Tbsp soy sauce 2 Tbsp oyster sauce 1 cup bean sprout 1 chopped coriander Directions: 1) Prepare noodles as per packet direction 2) In a deep fry pan, add 1 Tbsp of oil and cook the eggs until scrambled 3) Add remaining oil and cook onion until soft. Add chicken, cook until brown. Add noodle, eggs, tomato, bok choy, water chestnuts, and sauces. Mix well. 4) Add the bean sprouts and coriander. Stir. Serve. ENJOY! 3) Tom-Ka-Gai (Thai Chicken Coconut Soup) Ingredients: 1c. Chicken breast (sliced) 2c. Coconut milk 2 can fish sauce 2 sliced kha 1 stalk lemon grass ½ tsp. Pepper ½ green onion cut into small pieces Directions: 1) Boil ½ cup coconut milk with sliced dried kha and stalk lemon grass. Add chicken and cook until chicken is done. 2) Add pepper, fish sauce and coconut milk, bring to a boil. 3) Add green onion and remove from heat and serve.   Thai festivals and celebrations – Thai culture for children  Celebrating the Youth of Thailand Children’s Day Annually, the second Saturday of January is when you can see families spending time with their children at various festivals in the streets of Thailand. Thailand considers their youth to be an extremely important resource, and the first Monday of October 1955, officials made it a priority to stimulate children and show them how important they are to the people of Thailand. Thailands Greatest Celebrations 1) Songkran: The most important celebration of Thailand is Songkran. Taking place from April 13^th to April 16^th, the water festival marks the Thai New Year. During this time Thai citizens roam the streets with buckets of water throwing it on anyone within arms reach. Buddhists visit temples, and families spend time together as they bring in the New Year. 2) Ploughing Ceremony: To bless the farmers of Thailand and their harvests, the king holds the ancient Brahminic ceremony at Sanam Luang in Bangkok. This happens every year on May 9^th. 3) Constitution Day: Held on December 10^th, Thailand celebrates the day of which Thailands first constitution was signed by King Praja Dhipok in 1932. Thai childrens’ games –Thai culture for kids Time to Play! Thailand’s 3 Most Common Games for Children E-Gar-Fuk Khai– In some American schools, the game cat and mouse is commonly played. In this game, a circle is drawn and rocks (cheese) are put in the middle of the circle, while one child (cat) guards it. The object is for all of the other kids playing (mice) to take the cheese without the child guarding it (child in the circle) touching them. In Thailand, it is called Crow Sits on the Eggs. Ling Ching Luk– Another popular children’s game of Thailand, is called Monkey’s Run for a Pole. In this game, one child stands in the middle of every other child that will be holding on to a pole. The one child in the middle, will not be holding on to a pole. That middle child is the monkey. The players will be given a signal by an adult, to run to another teammates pole, in an attempt to switch positions. At that time, the monkey, or the middle child without a pole will try and touch a pole before another opponent does. The child without a pole is the new monkey. Tang Te– a popular activity in Thailand among kids in kindergarten and first grade. In America, this game is also known as hop scotch. For this game, the ground is drawn on using chalk, numbering squares up to ten. The children must try to hop into every square without stepping out.  Thai clothes, fashion, and Getting Dressed in Thailand Because of the many ethnic groups of Thailand, the various textiles, silks, and cottons have many threading patterns. Yet the structure is typically the same throughout Thailand. Women: Women wear a skirt, a traditional lower piece called a pha sin or a tube skirt. The top is called hud sin and the midsection is called the tua sin. Men: Men are not as tradition following as the women of Thailand. Men, however, wear chong koben as loin cloth that only exposed the thighs, on occasion. Other than that, they are just as modern as other countries. Children: Typically dressed in uniforms during the day (polo tops, khaki bottoms) for school and pajamas during the night. Thai children are modern as well.  Communication in Thailand – Thai Customs to Know  IMPORTANT: Number one on the list is the way to respectfully greet a Thailand native. Join the palms of hands and bow your head as they bow their head. Open footwear (remove shoes) before going into a temple or a home. It is disrespectful to walk inside of an establishment with shoes on the feet. Lastly, eating food in Thailand consists of tasting a little bit of everything that is laid out on the table. It is considered disrespectful to deny the host even a little bit.  Thai music – Sounds of Thailand Thai music has no written notational style, it is usually oral. It is harmonious, blending old and new genres of music. It represents Thailand’s cultural evolution. The ching, mong, and the rahart-ek are the most commonly used instruments in Thai music, to create new era Thai music, and they are all percussion.  Travel Thailand – Top Thai Tourism Spots – Thai culture for kids 1) Bangkok: Busy and restless metropolis, it is the number one visit while traveling to Thailand. The gorgeous jeweled Grand Palace stands here, and china town as well. 2) The Floating Market: A huge tourist attraction, the floating market attracts hundreds of people daily. One must take a canal ride in order to make a purchase. It’s an experience to capture, not to miss! 3) The East Coast Islands: White sandy beaches, crystal clear blue waters, full moon parties, snorkeling, diving; everything in a paradise dream one needs. Not to mention, there’s plenty to keep the kids occupied. Koh Samul and Koh Phangon islands are located on East Thailand. Did You Know? – Chopsticks are only used in Thailand to eat noodle soups, other times they use a spoon and fork – Every Thai male is expected to be a monk at some time in his life – It is customary to have five meals a day in Thailand – Buddhism is the number one religion – Thai is the language, but Chinese is one of the other languages spoken as well  Famous Thai Stories and epics  – Thai culture for children Story Time! Thailand Folktale 1) “It’s all in the Stars”: A Thai folktale, passed on from generation to generation, and an interpretation of the solar system, kids of Thailand are always mystified of the small world we live in compared to the huge universe surrounding us. Jupiter a hermit, the sun a prince, and the moon depicted as a beautiful young lady named January, the old folktale is a magical story told from parent to child. 2) “Soft Rice”: A man named “Pohnae” and his wife “Mohnae” go on a quest to find rice to grow, and because they have to borrow the rice they specifically look for soft rice. Getting soft rice instead of hard rice would help his family to grow the rice faster so that they could repay their debt. This folktale teaches children about responsibility and sharing. It is a lesson, yet a fun way of teaching a child a lesson. 3) “The Lampil and the Firefly”: This Thai folktale is compared to America’s Romeo and Juliet. A boy and a girl grow to love each other and their families are completely against their companionship. They both run away, and due to the family bickering they end up causing their own death. As the boy dies, he wishes that he be reincarnated as a firefly, and she a willow tree so they could live happily ever after.

Online Thai lessons for kids: dinolingo.com