How a Southern Girl Became a Thai Foodie

Before going to college at UNC-Chapel Hill, I had never eaten much ethnic food. I was from Waxhaw, NC, need I say more?

One day at college, my Thai friend at UNC invited me to go with her to a Thai restaurant. I assumed it would taste like Chinese buffet food: I had low expectations.

But after my first bite of khaw pad supparod, my life changed forever.

Stir fried rice with chicken and pineapple is more of an American creation than Thai, but that bite was so full of spice, sweetness and savory tingles that my tongue knew it was in heaven and never wanted to leave.

So I didn’t. I chose to move to Thailand after graduating UNC, mainly so I could eat cheap, spicy, sweet, sour, tangy, perfect Thai food every day.

While teaching in Bangkok for two years, I ate spicy street food to my heart’s content. It was in this land of food enchantment at the church I attended, Newsong Bangkok, that I met Dominic, the hottest of all Thai men.

We married across the sparkling river from Thailand’s Grand Palace, and of course had a Thai feast celebration with our family and friends. Check out the long version of our love story here 🙂

How I Was Forced to Become A Thai Cook

Then two years after my arrival in Thailand, we left and moved back to Waxhaw, NC.

In Thailand, I never had a kitchen since most studios don’t. The street food is so cheap and delicious, why make your own?

America is not the same. But non-existent Thai street vendors forced me to learn how to cook Thai—it was the only way for us to get it every day.

Thai Hubby taught me all the Thai cooking skills he learned from his grandma, I studied Thai cooking websites whose authenticity was Hubby-approved, and I cooked and cooked until I was able to create food not only my Thai Hubby loves, but my Thai mother-n-law loves too!!

How You Can Also be a Thai Food Magician

Before I learned how to cook Thai food, in the back of my mind I thought every Thai cook was a magician who somehow threw food together in a wok, waved their wands over it, said the magic Thai words and suddenly appeared a creation with the perfect combination of flavors.

I never thought me, a Southern girl, could learn Thai food’s secret potions and tricks.

But I have, sort of. I’m in the learning process, but my Thai husband, who like most Thais isn’t afraid to be honest, says he loves my Thai food. I feel like that says something right?

And now we have four Thai-Foodie kiddos who love our Thai food too!

This site is for all Thai-Foodies, for those who yearn to learn the magic behind Thai food, discover what Thai restaurants do it right, and see how Thai culture fits into it all. I hope to help, inspire, and teach you, so that together we can savor the wonder and magic behind Thai food!

Want to learn even more about our love story, Bangkok travel tips, Thai street food, and how to travel internationally with kids? Check out my interview on the Our Food Adventures podcast!