THAI LANGUAGE LESSONS
L17c - Food: Vegetables
| vegetable | pak |
| bean | tua |
| broccoli | pak brok-ka-lee |
| cabbage | ga-lam-plee |
| carrot | kair-rort |
| cauliflower | ga-lam-dork |
| chilli | prik |
| coriander | pak chee |
| cucumber | dtairng-gwah |
| eggplant | ma keu-a |
| galangal root | kah |
| garlic | gra-tee-am |
| ginger root | king |
| lemongrass | dta-krai |
| lettuce | pak gaht horm (pak salat) |
| morning glory | pak boong |
| mushroom | het |
| onion | horm yai (hua horm) |
| pea | tua |
| potato | man farang |
| pumpkin | fuk torng |
| spring onion | don horm |
| sweetcorn | kaow-port |
| tomato | ma-keu-a-tayt |
| turnip | hua pak gaht |
Vegetable is actually a culinary term rather than a scientific term. There is no precise definition of what constitutes a vegetable. The vague definition is any edible part of a plant that is not a reproductive organ containing seeds (which would be a fruit). So while we know some of the above list may be considered herbs or fruits, they are items that in culinary terms are treated as vegetables.
Galangal: This is a root similar to ginger that is an important ingredient of classic Thai soup dishes such as 'tom yam goong' and 'tom kah gai'.
Lettuce: The more formal word is 'pak gaht horm' but more informally it is often referred to as 'pak salat' (salad vegetable).
Onion: More commonly called 'horm yai' but you will also hear 'hua horm'.
Pumpkin: The general word for the pumpkin family is 'fuk'. This is often a source of amusement when Thais serve it to westerners. "Do you like fuk" is a favourite joke.
Chilies: Yes 'prik' is also a source of a few jokes.
