Families can be spicy curious in Thailand
As we pondered Chiang Mai food with kids during our family travels in Thailand, Jodie and I were hopeful… but nervous. So we wanted to share some of our experience eating as a family in Thailand, and share some resources that can help you on your own Thailand travels, with or without kids.
Exposure to spicy food doesn’t mean kids will be interested, and that’s okay
Sure, we have always had something spicy on the table. A bottle of Frank’s hot sauce. New Mexican green chile. Sriracha. We both have a love for spicy food. Our last Christmas in Oregon? My stocking included a travel size bottle of lime and chile Tajin powder.
The children, therefore, have always had some sort of spicy food, if not on their plates or palates, at least as part of their lives. During their more exploratory periods as infants, they would even try a little spicy food, a bit of hot sauce, maybe a touch of dried chile powder. Sure, their young palates got more limited, as can be common in children. Whether in Oregon, Mexico, or Thailand, Aster and Connor love to joke that when they see the hot sauce, they back away.
No lying, pushing, or forcing
Jodie and I joke with the kids, and we take their ribbing in stride. We don’t push spicy stuff on them—and we don’t trick them, either. We talk about spicy food, why we like it, what we like and dislike, and the balance we each seek when it comes to adding some heat to our meals. After all, part of our job as parents isn’t necessarily to get them to try something, but to at least make them aware of its existence. Then, when or if they’re ready someday, they can come to it on their own.
Talking about different Thai foods
A couple of days before Thanksgiving, we sat back on the couch in our Chiang Mai apartment and looked at a digital card covered in the names of different Thai foods.
“Let’s pick out our dishes for our cooking class,” said Jodie. Soups, stir fries, desserts, appetizers—and above all, curries. In a couple of days, we’d get to make a selection of them all.
Throughout our weeks in Mexico and Thailand, the kids overall had kept up their usual schtick about spicy food. Except that, now and again, Connor’s gaze would linger on a bottle of hot sauce, or a spoonful of chile powder, or the bliss on my face as I ate something perfectly balanced in flavor and heat.
In Oaxaca, he had done even more. During our Día de Muertos tour, while we got to visit with a family and share their observance and celebration, Connor had eaten one of the black mole tamales. As tamales go, it was one of the milder ones. Still. It was a start.
Later in the week, Connor dipped a carrot stick into a clear glass jar. Connor’s orange carrot emerged with a little bead on the end, almost like the red on a matchstick. And that thick, brownish, translucent chile jam would certainly trigger a type of fire.
He ate it. Chewed thoughtfully. His eyes got big, and I’m pretty sure there was a little sudden sheen on his face.
“It’s too spicy,” he said. We gave him words and nods of support.
After all, when you’re spicy curious, it’s all about being supportive. Reinforcing that the hot stuff will always be there, and you can come to it when you’re ready.
As for Connor, he’s not ready. Not yet. But bite by bite, meal by meal, chat after chat, he’s on his way.
