The United States is home to over 5,000 Thai restaurants, which is surprising since there are only about 300,000 Thai people in the US.
While 300,000 may seem like a lot, it’s tiny compared to many other populations in the US. For instance, over 17 million Americans of Italian descent are in the US, but fewer than 60,000 Italian restaurants exist.
Given the disproportionately high number of Thai restaurants in the United States, most people should have no trouble finding good Thai food. If you’re looking for Thai food, downtown Seattle is one of the best places to look.
Below, we serve up some tips for those who have yet to try Thai food in Seattle.
1. Know Your Spice Tolerance
Some of the best Thai dishes are spicy. Hot peppers first made their way to Southeast Asia during the Columbian Exchange, the mixing of cultures and ideas due to exploration and colonialism. Needless to say, the locals took to peppers quite eagerly.
Thai food often contains various curries and peppers, including the Bird’s Eye Chilli pepper, which ranks at 225,000 SHU on the Scoville Scale, higher than Jalapenos and Carolina Cayenne peppers. Granted, 225,000 is only about a medium on the Scoville Scale, but even mediums can be overwhelming if you’re not used to peppers.
The good news is that not all Thai food is spicy. There are plenty of ways for more sensitive mouths to enjoy Thai food, so long as they know what to order. At Thai Ginger we are able to adjust the spice to each individual’s needs as we make all our dishes from scratch!
2. Try the Classics
Every culture has its staple dishes. If you were eating American food for the first time, you’d probably want to try a hamburger rather than a chimichanga—also invented in the US.
Some of the most popular Thai entrees are Pad Thai, a fried noodle dish, and Som Tum, a papaya salad. These dishes can be spicy, so heed our earlier advice and specify if you don’t need it.
We also recommend fried rice. Fried rice is one of the most common Thai dishes available. Part of this is due to variety because Thai chefs have found multiple delicious ways to prepare fried rice.
3. Be Sure to Try Dessert
There’s a lot more to Thai food than the main course. We’ve already mentioned salads, but there’s also dessert. In Thai cuisine, sticky rice dishes with sugar and coconut milk are often the cornerstone of dessert.
Another delicious offering is ice cream. Many people prefer coconut ice cream, but there are other flavors, including vanilla.
Thai Food in Downtown Seattle
If you’re looking for great Thai food, downtown Seattle is the place to go. We’ve offered some advice on what to try during your first time at a Thai restaurant, but there are many more options than we had room to discuss.
You can learn more about Thai food by looking around our site. If you’re looking for an excellent restaurant for Thai food, consider contacting us. We at Thai Ginger would be more than happy to introduce you to this vibrant culture and the food that has transcended it.