(Don’t) Clean your plate!

There is rarely a meal not accompanied by a traditional Thai sauce. These blends generally consist of generous amounts a fish sauce, chopped garlic, diced chili peppers, sugar, and lime juice. A tasty treat if you like it pungent and spicy.

Likewise, there will always be rice, in some form, served with every meal of the day. There are rice noodles, sticky rice, rice soup, fried rice, rice deserts, and standard white rice. There is always more rice, and food for that matter, than could possibly be consumed.

Of the places I have traveled, Thai’s take the cake when it comes to eating. It seems that most Thai people think of food for most, if not all, of the day. Not only during meal time, but throughout most of the day, conversation generally revolves around future meals or snacks.

So I just didn’t get it…how are Thai people not the fattest people on the planet? Before I could even finish my last bite, there was always food dished on my plate. It seemed my plate was never empty.

“Chan im,” (I full) I would say, over and over and over. But the food just kept coming. It seemed like we always had enough food to feed a small village.

Today I realized I was in jeopardy of having to move the next hole on my belt. I just couldn’t figure it out. So I cracked open my Lonely Planet travel guide, a priceless tool when traveling to any country, to do a little research on eating in Thailand. Ohhhh…now I get it!

Turns out, Thai people will leave food on their plate. And most of the time food is also left on the table. In restaurants - a gracious host always orders more than the party can possibly consume. It is Thai culture; the more food left on the table at the end of the meal, the more generous the host! To clean your plate may be an insult!

And this whole time I was trying my damndest to finish my plate - just like my Mom always told me!

“Clean your plate. There’s starving kids in China you know,” She would say.

Now I know why the dogs always get all the good left-overs!