Food Thai Style!

I figured this was an appropriate day to talk about the food here in Thailand. The food is delicious (aroi) in Thai and cheap. A conundrum I have had to overcome is that here in Thailand the cheaper the food and more informally presented.....the better. For example I have eaten at a nice restaurant in a mall and been thoroughly disappointed while paying 350 (10 dollars) baht...but nothing hits the spot like the pad thai stall down the road from me where I can basically pet the nearby roaming cows and eat my delicious padthai under a thatched roof for 15 baht (50 cents!) Well actually it usually turns out to be a dollar because I can't just have one :). So anyways I eat most of my meals (the better ones) at places that in the United States would be considered....hum....well possibly not considered. Are there any restaurants that consist of a frying pan island type thing on wheels, a plastic table 4 plastic stools and a thatch roof in USA? Not that I know of except maybe some tacky novelty ones that make you feel "in the jungle." Definitely not the same thing! So eating here is not an issue...and the cheaper usually the better which is very convenient.
Now the vegetarian staple/ the only thing I can confidently order in Thai is Fried Rice with Egg. This stuff is amazing....ok get the picture out of your head of China Star fried rice that cures your hang over, it is not the same thing. Fried here simply means it touches the frying pan (which is the only thing they cook in, so technically everything is "fried"). The rice is lightly coated in oil and then some fresh vegtables and an egg are added...serve it piping hot and hand the lady a 20 baht roughly 75 cents and your meal is served. And the utensils they use...fork and spoon not knife. So the left hand handles the fork (which does not go in your mouth) and the right handles the spoon (does go in your mouth). The fork is used somewhat like a backhoe pushing the rice (all meals come with rice unless you get noodle soup) onto the spoon, then the spoon takes the rice into your mouth...Yum it fits way more than a fork such a great idea. I might eat the rest of my life this way.
Ok vegetarian in Thailand- not as common as you would think considering it is suppose to be part of Buddhism. Now I have found it difficult to get it through to the Thai teachers I work with the understand that I DO NOT EAT MEAT, yet some how when I order myself I do fine. I have concluded they think my vegetarianism is a disease and think if they secretly get me to eat meat I will be cured! Example: (how all my lunches go). Pe (teacher): Liz you want noodle or rice. Me: Um today I will have rice, what do they have? Pe: Ok they have chicken curry. Me: um I do not eat chicken (remember this is the thousand time I have told you). Pe: oh ok you can have the pad thai with tofu. Me: wow that sounds Delicious. Skip to 5 minutes later me picking the pork off my pad thai (just added to the top for decoration I can only assume). But for 50 cents of deliciousness I can pick through it. So everyone enjoy your turkey I am going to head to the cafeteria for some Fried Rice :).