Submitting myself as a “typical American”, I get takeout from our local Thai place a lot . . . .
One word: Steak.
That might not be a “typical” dinner in the sense of everyday, but it’s typical in the sense of a typical, special dinner for guests.
Serve anything you want with it: rice, potatoes, broccoli, corn, asparagus, peas. And have some bread and salad.
And make sure you serve some California wine. I recommend a Zin or Cab.
Lots of good suggestions. I’d personally try not to adjust things too much to meet the typical Thai tastes. If I went to a family home in Thailand and they “Americanized” their food thinking it would please me, I’d be very disappointed. I gather this is a brief trip and they want to experience our tastes/culture. If they were living here long term sure I would adjust if I knew they preferred it, but give them a chance to decide if they prefer it first.
I personally think the mini Thanksgiving would be great… you can easily have gravy etc. on the side so if it really doesn’t appeal to them they can leave it off.
And steamed Waldorf salad sounds horrible.
I wouldn’t consider wine with dinner as being typically or traditionally American. The beverage should be soda, milk, or beer.
I just asked the mother in-law, but she had never heard the word “lamb” before. So I had her son translate it, and the look on her face was one of utter disgust. I asked why, and she said “it stinks”. So I’d stay away from lamb.
I asked about beef, and the son in-law said it’s just not popular in this house but it’s actually very common in Thailand. This makes sense, after all McDonald’s seems to do well here. I’m just having a bit of trouble coming up with what you’d make from beef. But whatever you make, cook it well-done or nearly well-done. This family won’t eat any meat that shows signs of not being fully cooked (“tastes bloody”). A meat loaf might be a good choice. Maybe a bacon-wrapped one even better. I used to cook mine surrounded by a sea of mashed potatoes, but since I’m recommending staying away from mashed/mushy things, maybe a meat loaf surrounded by roasted baby potatoes, sweet bell peppers and carrots. And if meat loaf ends up being served, make sure you have catsup on the table. You migth even try mixing up a spicy catsup by using some tobasco. These are the two types of catsup that are commonly found on Thai dinner tables. One is “normal” Heinz catsup, the other is a spiced-up version.
Meals here use different spices such as lemon grass, ginger, galanga, white pepper, chopped fresh garlic, lime leaves, and of course chili peppers. Lots and lots of chili peppers. While these might be called savory flavors, they are certainly not the savory flavors that I am used to in typical American dishes. I’ve never tasted oregano, fennel, caraway, cinnamon, paprika, dill, sage, and the like in food here. And I’d never try to use the Thanksgiving-y savory spices such as allspice or nutmeg. There’s almost no cinnamon here except in sticky buns. I’ve asked around and it seems that cinnamon has a medicinal taste to the Thais. It’s no wonder that I can’t find any cinnamon red-hots or Big Red chewing gum or Close-Up toothpaste anywhere.
The closest you’ll come to finding savory flavors here are some freshly picked/chopped leaves of coriander, basil, mint and perhaps chopped celery leaves (all these are in soups mostly).
Even the bread here doesn’t have that hearty/yeasty flavor that we like in the west. It’s either very plain and bland (thinly sliced sandwich bread) or sweet if sold by the loaf (very similar to Hawaiian bread).
By the way, where is Saim Sam when you need him?
Chilled water (no ice) is the best bet. No milk.
Guess it depends on your “typical” American family. We had Waldorf Salad every Thanksgiving (not steamed though), and the parents also had wine at pretty much every dinner.
And to Patty O’Furniture you are giving great advise on what is typical in Thai cooking/meals, but if the point is to show them what our food is like I would definitely go with the foods and spices we have here that they don’t there. Again, if I went to Thailand and they gave me hamburgers with ketchup I would be very disappointed, but if they gave me some oddly spiced and unfamiliar foods I would be in heaven, knowing I can always go back to “normal” in a few days/weeks… I probably won’t starve. Then again, I’m adventurous in my eating and I’ll try just about anything for a true native experience.
Missed the edit window, but consider this scenario… my “typical” household never used Lemon Grass, Chili Peppers (other than Chili Powder), Ginger, nor Peanuts in our meals. I love Thai food and love that I have tried all of these “new” tastes that would be “typical” in a Thai household. I would be very disappointed if they decided to substitute Oregano, Paprika or Green Peppers, not sure what to substitute for Ginger, and leave the peanuts out all together because those were more expected in foods my Mom cooked.
I acknowledged as much when I said that anything that appeals to their taste buds is not likely to be typical American. I’m just trying to give the OP a better clue about what “typical American” tastes might not go over well with Thai folks, so that their guests don’t end up spitting it into their dinner napkins while the hosts aren’t looking.
That said, I decided to cook up a beef stew today. It’s simmering right now. I played it safe with the ingredients. Beef cubes cooked in a beef stock and simmered with cilantro, a diced sweet onion and some cracked black pepper. Veggies are chunks of carrots, potatoes and quartered tomatoes. I will serve it with a communal tear-apart loaf of bread, which is good for juice-sopping, and report back later.
I think the Thanksgiving dinner mentioned above is a good idea, since it’s an iconic holiday dinner. I’m just a little concerned that it might be a bit dry without gravy and I’m not sure what else to suggest as a gravy alternative.
I initially got the same from my Filipino family, with both lamb and turkey. It was a little surprising, as they eat goat which has a very similar flavor. I started making lamb in a variety of preparations…now my family looks forward to lamb. Not so much turkey yet, but I don’t cook turkey as often simply because it is too big for everyday dining.
Here are the rough outlines of what I would consider the stereotypical American meal –
- Tossed salad or cream soup
- Meat with gravy (onion or mushroom gravy is good), steamed vegetable, potatoes (mashed, baked, or boiled), bread and butter (or rice, but not plain white rice). All seasoned with salt and pepper. Perhaps the meat prepared with one additional flavoring.
- Pie and ice cream
If you don’t do BBQ burgers on your grill, at some point, they will be disappointed. Make some potato salad, and corn on the cob. Done.
We had Thai friends, come and stay with us, and it was fun, they were willing to eat most things (having spent a lot of time in Europe, previously!).
Then they day came when they insisted on cooking a meal for us. Yeah, yum indeed!
What are BBQ burgers? Are you just talking about grilled hamburgers?
How you gonna make grilled burgers? It’s winter!
Yes.
Seriously? My grill works all year, even in the snow!
Weather does not deter the dedicated griller. Neither rain, nor snow, nor gloom of night shall stop us from charring meat.
And if you can’t do it outside, bring that sucker into the garage. Just leave the door open.
Snow and cold weather deter me quite a bit, but I will readily admit to being a wimp when it comes to the cold.
Honestly, it’s been so warm around these parts this winter I’ve got crocuses in full bloom in my lawn and daffodils growing. We’re supposed to get highs in the mid fucking 50s this weekend. I may get me some steaks and have a cook-out for President’s Day.
My wife won’t touch lamb. She says because they’re so cute. But I don’t believe I’ve ever seen lamb served outside of certain Western-style restaurants, and even then it’s only Westerners eating it.
Cheese seems to be considered an acquired taste by most Thais, but it’s certainly eaten by more Thais now than it was back in the 1980s. I recall being told that eating cheese was one of the signs that Westerners were lower people than Thais. The wife loves cheese, but only because I introduced her to it in Hawaii. But even though it’s gained in acceptance, I’d not feature it prominently without knowing for sure they like it.
The wife really loves bacon. Maybe something wrapped in bacon would be nice.