9/16/2015

essentialvocab3lovesthailand

Vegetarian's SurvivalGuide to Thailand

Vegetarian
Dining...Bangkok
Vegetarian Shoppers
Guide...Bangkok
The origins of "Jey"
food
Loves Thailand Home

Contrary to what many may have you

believe it is possible to travel and live in
Thailand quite happy as a vegetarian but
it does take a bit of effort.
Living as a vegetarian
anywhere can be a
challenge and in
Thailand you have the
added difficulties of
language and
communication to
grapple with, but you
will find that with a
few key words and phrases your dining
experience will be greatly improved.
The majority of Thais are respectful
towards vegetarians and will be quite
willing to accomodate you at most places
if you are friendly and polite and know
how to order correctly.

Vocabularary
The Basics
Eating.......
To eat
kin
To drink
derm
I'm hungry
hew
I'm thirsty
hew nam
I'm full

Thailand has some of the best veggie

food the world has to offer, you just need
to know where to go and how to order !

im lao

pet

Not spicy

Understanding Thai Vegetarian food

mai pet

In Thailand there are two terms used to

describe vegetarian food. "A-harn Jey"
and "A-harn mung-sow-ee-rat".
A-harn means food
Jey is vegetarian food of
Chinese originwhich roughly
translates as vegan in that it
excludes all meat and animal
products. Jey is distinctive for it's
use of mock meat subsitutes made
from mushroom, tofu and wheat
gluten.
Mang-sow-ee-rat is a Thai word
that means food with no meat
butcan includeeggs and dairy.

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Spicy

Cold/cool
yen
Hot
ron

Everyday Vocab......
Hello
Sawadee kha (female)*
Sawadee krup (male)*
*kha and khrup are
added to the end of a

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Most places in the south and

central regions of Thailand
will recognise jey or kin jey (
I eat jey ) as a generic term
for a strict vegetarian or
vegan diet as we understand
it. Asit is a Chinese term
and orignates from Chinese
immigrants in the south of Thailand if you
travel to some remote areas in the north
or northeast of Thailand it may not be
recognised. In this case you can use the
term mang sa wee rat.

added to the end of a

statement or request
to make it sound
polite and to show
respect
Thankyou
Kop Khun Kha (female)
Kop Khun Krup (male)
Nevermind / it's ok /
you're welcome
mai ben rai

How are you?

Sabaadi mai?

I'm fine

How to survive.....

Sabaadi Kha / krup

JIf you want to get off the beaten track

but don't want to starve, learning some
basic Thai phrases can really help you
out.To the right of this page is a list of
vocabulary and useful phrases.
Don't be daunted !You won't learn it
all in one day. It takes a while to get
your head around Thai especially as
it it is a tonal language which is very alien
to a western ear and tongue. Don't lose
heart if at first you can't be understood.
It's helpful if you can make friends with
a local and ask them to help you with
pronunciation.

sannok
Delicious
aroi
Beautiful
sue ay
Forienger of European
decent
farang

Ordering and making

requests......

Getting started....
There are many great vegetarian
restaurants in Thailand but if you want to
get away to some remote places or you
are somewhere where they don't cater
specifically for vegetarians it's useful to
be able to know how to order some basic
dishes.
As an example of how to order food in
ordinary, non vege restaurants I will use
fried rice or "Khaow pad " as a sample
dish.
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Fun

You

I ( female )
dechun
I ( male )
pom
You
khun
Can I have
kor ....
Do you want

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dish. You
can apply
the

Do you want
ao mai?
I don't want
mai ao
What do you want?
Ao a lai dee ?

samephrasing to any other dishes you

order and it is a good staple survival dish
you can get any where.

Do you have?
mee mai ?

I don't have
As mentioned, most places in Thailand
will recognise the term jey as a generic
mai mee
term for vegetarianism so when you are
ordering food you can just add "jey" on to Can you / Can I ?
the end of the name of the dish.
dai mai ?
For example:
No you can't / no I
"korkhaow pad jey kha / krup"
can't
( Can I have vegetarian fried rice please )

mai dai

Note:

*with

* Kha is used at the end of a request or

statement for females

sai

* Krup is used at the end of a statement

for males

If you are somewhere remote where

perhaps the locals don't understand jey,
you can use the same phrase but
substitute "jey" with "mang sa we rat."
For example:
"korkhaow pad mang sa we rat "

*without
mai sai
(eg.mai sai
kai...without egg or sai
kai...with egg)
I like
chop
I don't like
mai chop
A little

nid noy

Keepingit pure......

A lot

The majority of Thai dishes

contain fish sauce or "nam plah"
for a salty flavour. For vegetarians
this can be substituted with "see
iu"( soya sauce ).

maak

Most
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people will not use fish

big
yai
small
lek

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Most people will not use fish

lek
sauce if you ask for jey but sometimes
they will slip it in thinking that you won't
Meat&Animal
know the difference. If you want to ensure
Products....
they do not use it you can say......
"Korkhaow pad jey, mai sai nam plah kha
/ krup"
or....
"Kor khaow pad mang-sow-ee-rot, mai
sai nam plah kha / krup"
( Can I have vegetarian fried rice, but no
fish sauce )
( Most places will have soya sauce on
hand to use in place of fish sauce )
The same goes for egg....
"Kor khaow pad jey, mai sai kai kha /
krup"

( It's good to get

familar with these
items so you can avoid
them ! )
Shrimp
Goong
Chicken
Gai
Egg
Kai
Duck

or...

Ped

"Kor khaow pad mang-sow-ee-rat, mai

sai kai kha / krup"

Beef

( Can I have vegetarian fried rice,but

noegg )

nua saat
Pork
moo

Fish

Explaining that you are are

vegetarian....
To let people know you are a vegetarian
for example if someone offers you a meat
dish you can say :
"De chunkin jey kha"( female )

plah
Fish sauce
nam plah
Milk
nom

"Pom kin jey krup" ( male )

Food General

( I eat vegetarian / I am vegetarian )

Food

This will be understood by most and the

majority of Thai's will accept and respect
this. Alternatively you can say :

a harn

"De chun kin mang -sa- we-rat." ( female

)

nam plough

"Pom kin mang-sow-ee-rat." ( male )

*Note
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that pure jey actually means you

Water

*Nam is a generic term

used to describe
things that are liquid.
eg; nam som ( orange

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*Note that pure jey actually means you

don't drink alcohol so some people might
be surprised when you order beer with
your jey food !

eg; nam som ( orange

juice ), nam tao hu (
soya milk ), nam man (
oil etc..)

Vegetables

paak

Making yourself clear

Fruit

If you want to be specific about things

you don't want to eat you can use this
phrase :
Mai kin plah ( I don't eat fish )
Mai kin nam plah ( I don't eat fish sauce )
Mai kin moo ( I don't eat pork or pig )
Mai kin nua saat ( I don't eat red meat /
beef )

pom a ly
Rice
khaow
Sticky rice
khaow neo
Tofu
tao hu

Mai kin gai ( I don't eat chicken )

Chilli

Mai kin ped ( I

don't eat duck )

prik

Mai kin Goong ( I

don't eat shrimp
)
Mai kin pu ( I
don't eat crab )
Mai kin kai ( I
don't eat egg )

Garlic
gar tee um
Onion
hom
Mushroom
het

Anyway, you get

the idea. Use this phrase with any kind of
food you want to exclude.

Lime

Lemon grass

ta kai

Inquiring.....

Coconut milk

man ow

ka ti
If you want to eat in a restaurant and want
to know if they have a vegetarian menu
Peanut
you can ask:
tua li song
"A-harn jeymee mai kha / krup ?"
Potato
or....
man farang
"A-harn mang-sow-ee-ratmee mai kha
Ginger
/ krup ? "
( Do you have vegetarian food ? )
khing
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/ krup ? "
( Do you have vegetarian food ? )

khing

You will get one of two answers.....

Banana

If they have something for you ( often it

may just be fried vege or fried rice ) they
will say

glu ay

" mee"

sap a rot

If not they will say

Orange

"mai mee"

som

Sugar

nam tam

Becool !!!
Many places will be accomodating
and helpful and will go out of their
way to make you something to eat.
However it is important to note that the
response you get will have a lot to do with
your manner. If you are courtious and
polite, make eye contact and smile your
chances of getting a decent meal will be
much better. If you walk in with an
arrogant demanding attitude you will not
get anywhere. Thai's switch of
immediately to this kind of behaviour. It's
easy to get frustrated at times but the
golden rule in Thailandis keep your cool !

Pineapple

Cake or dessert
kanom

Sauces and
condiments
Soya sauce
see iu
Veryhot chilli
sauce
nam prik
Sweet plum sauce

nam buay wan

Requests...

Sweet and sour sauce

nam preo wan

If you want to ask if someone can prepare
a dish for you you can ask:
Cooking Methods and
"Khun tum eng a-harn jey dai mai kha /
krup ?
or....
"Khun tum eng a-harn mang-sow-ee-rot
dai mai kha/krup

Common Terms......
Stir fried phad
Deep fried tod
Boiled

( Can you make me some vegetarian food? tom

)
Steamed
You will get one of two answers:
Na ( neng )
Dai
Curry Kaeng
( yes I can )
Mai dai
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* Yam

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Mai dai

* Yam

( no I can't )

*Adistinctive Thai
salad dressing made
from lime juice, palm
sugar, chilli, and soya
sauce or fish sauce .

Noodles

Yellow wheat or egg

noodles

Eating on the street

If you follow a strict vegetarian diet your
options for street food are quite limited.
For example all street noodle vendors
unless they are specifically vegetarian will
use pork stock or chicken stock as a base
for their soup. Street som tam vendors in
the majority of cases will only have fish
sauce and no soya sauce. If you really
want to eat som tam off the street you
can buy a small bottle of soya sauce and
ask them to make it with that.

Bami
Fat rice noodles
Sen yai
Thin rice noodles
sen lek
Glass noodles
moon sen

You can ask....

Classic Thai
Dishes......

"Khun Tum eng som tam jey dai mai kha

/krup ?"

Pad preo waan

Ask this
while
holding
up the
soya
sauce
bottle for
best
results !
All the
ingredients are out on display so you can
just point to the things you want or don't
want.

Apart from that there a still lot's of

snacky things you can have, such as....

Fruit
pom a ly

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Sweet and sour

vegetables
Som Tam
Spicy papaya salad
Tom Yam
Hot and spicy
sour soup
Tom Ka
Same as tom yam but
with coconut milk
added. Not so spicy
Laarb
Spicy
salad
usually
made
with
minced pork but can
be substituted with

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be substituted with
tofu. Made with
ground chilli, parched
rice, mint, lime and
soya sauce

Phad
thai

Thin rice
noodles
fried with
tofu, egg,
shrimp and served
with lime and bean
sprouts. ( Vege version
can be made without
shrimp and egg )

Kaeng Keo Waan

Green curry

Fried bananas
glu ay tod

Fried tofu
tao hu tod

Massaman Curry

Mild curry from the

south of Thailand,
made with potato,
cashew nuts and
chicken or beef which
can be substituted
with tofu

Sticky rice and black beans

stuffed with banana
khaow tom maat

Yam
Moon Sen

salad
made with
yam
dressing
and glass noodles

Yam Ma Kua

Kanom krok

Salad made with yam

dressing and grilled
eggplant

Phad Preo Wan

Sweet and sour

Coconut Hotcakes

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Phad Gup Paew( tao

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Phad Gup Paew( tao

hu )
tofu fried with chilli
and basil
Maat Muang- Cow
Neo

Famous Thai dessert

made from sweet
mango and sticky rice
covered in coconut
milk

Food to go.....
Outside the main centres and away from
"farang" friendly guesthouses it will be
harder to get a decent meal but there are
a few staple dishes you can get most
places. It's really worth the effort to learn
these dishes as in some out of the way
places your options are limited

Lad na ( jey / mang-sa-we-rat)

Fried fat rice noodles with vegetables in
gravy. ( The gravy is made of soy sauce
and cornflower

Pad see iu ( jey /

mang-sa-werat )
Fat rice noddles,
vegetables and
egg fried with
dark soya sauce
If you don't want
egg just say...
"Kor pad see iu
jey, mai sai kai"

Khaow pad ( jey / mang-sa-we-rat )

Fried rice
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If you don't

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If you don't
want egg just
say..." Kor khao
pad jey, mai sai
kai"

Pad paak ( jey /

mang-sa-we-rat
)
Stir fried mixed
vegetables
To make sure
they don't use
fish sauce just
say...
" Kor pad paak
jey, mai sai nam
plah"

Pad Thai ( jey /

mang-sa-werat )
Thai fried
noodles with
tofu, peanuts,
egg and shrimp.
Some but not all
places will do a
vegetarian
version of this
dish....order by
saying " Kor Pad Thai jey, mai sai kai (
without egg ), mai sai goong ( without
shrimp ), mai sai namplah ( without fish
sauce )

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Yam moon Sen (

jey / mang-sawe-rat )
Glass noodles
with a dressing
made form lime,
palm sugar, chilli
and fish sauce or
soya sauce.
This dish is
usually made
using fish sauce
and in many cases even if you ask for"
yam moon sen jey" they will use fish
sauce anyway so you have to say " Kor
yam moon sen jey, mai sai nam plah"

Pad Preo Waan (

jey / mangsow-ee-rat )
Sweet and sour
vegetables

nam plah "

This dish is
usually made not
using fish sauce
but if you to be
sure you can say
" kor pad preo
waan jey, mai sai

And Finally....
I hope this guide will help you along your
way as you travel or work in Thailand.
Good luck !!
Any comments or queries please contact
me by e-mail ....
lovesthailand@gmail.com

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9/16/2015

Credits : The
images I used
for the Thai
vegetarian
dishes were
taken from the
book on the
right....
"The Best of Thai
Vegetarian Food"
by Sisamon
Kongpan,
published by
Sangdad Books.
I highly recommend this book, it is the
best vegetarian cook book I have come by
in Thailand

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