Thai Chef Takes You Grocery Shopping! 

I used to eat at a local Thai restaurant in California once a week. They had an adjoining grocery store. One day, I decided I wanted to make my own pad see iew. I was wandering up and down the aisles, putting what I thought I needed into my cart. One of the waitresses saw me and asked me what I was shopping for. I told her. She took everything out of my cart, and said, "Now, I will show you what you need." I am so grateful for her kindness and help. My version wasn't as good as theirs, but it was 90% as good. Gotta have the right ingredients!

"Thai Auntie" lol love how Pai has embraced it

Wow. You're amazing. A Chinese store owner in Dallas when I was in college befriended me and showed me how to cook a number of dishes. We ended up friends even though he had very little English. He'd invite me for dinner with his family and demonstrate various techniques. That was more than 50 years ago. I've been enjoying cooking and eating Asian food ever since and thought I knew a lot about ingredients. But I got more useful information from this 17 minute video than in years of chatting with cooks and store owners. So concise and straight-forward. You've got a fan. Thank you!!

As a Thai-American child estranged from his family, this video (and your channel overall) has helped me to reconnect with my culture a lot. You make Som Tum just like the way my Yaipin used to. Thank you so much for sharing the best parts of our culture that many people don't get to interact with on a day to day basis unless they're Thai themselves.

I shopped in a Vietnamese grocery once, where I was the only 6' 2" white guy in a store full of tiny Asian grandmas... At the checkout, the cashier noted my purchases and remarked "oh, you know how cook!" in an adorable accent. Yes, I know how cook, and was pleased with her validation.

At 7:01 the little girl in the background pushing the tiny supermarket cart was the such a cute moment !!!!!!!!!!

I was born in 🇰🇷 Adopted at 3 months. Now 43. I’ve just NOW got the time to start exploring ALL Asian dishes…I have learned the most from you! I made Nam Jim Jaew and my family loved it (including my 83 year old Caucasian father). I’m thankful for your channel! ❤

ขอบคุณที่ทำคลิปนี้ออกมานะคะ มีประโยชน์กับคนต่างชาติมากๆ แถมช่วยโปรโมทสินค้าไทยด้วยค่ะ

Wow I actually never bought coconut milk from the carton before. Good to know that it’s better than the canned version. I’ll try that next time. Thanks Pai!

Overwhelmed is an understatement. In DFW we have an H Mart. It's the size of a super Walmart packed with interesting but unrecognizable items. There was literally an entire isle devoted to soy sauce as was and entire isle of noodles. I finally stopped a lady about my age to ask about black vinegar. She directed me to her daughter whose an accomplished cook. They both shared they were of Thai heritage and gave me a great tip. Once you find the item your'e looking for, see which brand has the most taken from the shelf. That might be a good indicator of which (black vinegar in this case) was most popular. I've used that tip several times over my many trips, usually with good results. Thanks for the education.

Love to go to T&T whenever I am in Toronto. I am a Chinese Jamaican living in Florida for the past 45 years and watch all your shows giving them a thumbs up and they are great. I cook a lot after I retired and watch your show to expand my repertoire.

WOW thank you Pailin! I thought i knew my Asian grocery shopping until i watched this video! Appreciate all the info!

Khun Pailin ka, I love you!!. I'm a Thai as I have found your channel recently. I always relied on my mom cook when I was a kid and when growing up I live alone as working in Bangkok. I usually don't kook as its cheaper if eating street food in a dish. I can cook for not manny recipe ( sure that only my favourite ones) . Im hooked with your channel, inspired me to cook more. I have to manage work life balance and then I would have time to enjoy cooking. Beyond watching you cook with fun and delight, I love to read the foreigners's comments to feel their enjoy and happy that they can follow you and make a nice meals to themselves , their family, their kids and their friends. Im happy with them, and proud of you that taught them to cook Thai food and yess!! Thai foods are flexible , they can also adapt for their taste and ingredients sometimes. Just woul love to Thank you to make your channel with talented cooking skills and always have beautiful smiles, you make lots of people delight, keep go on. Love love.

07:55 I love it how people just turn around the moment they see that filming is going on. So polite!

I like this woman a lot: intelligent, articulate, straight-forward, no nonsense. The Thai Restaurant in St. George, Utah, Benj's Thai Garden, is excellent. Unfortunately, St. George is relatively small (except in the Winter) and doesn't have a Thai or any Asian store. As a whole-food, plant-based fan, I'd cook a lot more Asian if we had a store here. And speaking of Asian, I could easily live on the superb Japanese rice, Koshihikari rice; it is exquisite! There's no comparison between Japanese rice and the rice you buy at your local supermarket. I've subscribed!

Dear Khun Pailin, This is a PERFECT guide to Thai food. I wrote a Thai cookbook in my native Sweden, which has remained a best-selller for years. I love Thai food, which is the best on the planet, I feel. You have taught me to like coconut milk in paper cartons, which I use exclisively now. I am addicted to Durian,which my partner makes me wrap very tightly and eat quickly! I love your programme/channel. Do keep it up.

I love watching lovely Pai. She's like a breath of fresh air...a cure for depression

So I work in the grocery industry building schematics for stocking sections. I just so happen to be working on Asian categories and have an interest in Thai and Japanese cooking. This unexpectedly gave me some very valuable insight. Not even what I watch your channel for but much appreciated. I love your videos. Very informative and you make it fun.

*Finally* I have a Thai auntie 🥰 I’ve been cooking Thai for a very long time. I recently moved to EU and don’t have access to the same brands as I used to. Your explanations of why certain brands are your favorites (i.e. ingredients) has been extremely helpful to choose what to buy here. Thank you! ❤

I love this woman her presentations are always on point!

Another big thing to note when buying jasmine rice is the crop year. "2022 Crop" will tell you that you have rice that has been harvested and milled in the current year.

Just rewatched this video, had so much fun again. You really are a match made in heaven as a cook with your happy and fun personality. That's why your loved so much!!! Happy New Year from Japan!!

I don’t think I’ve ever even eaten Thai food but this lady is so pleasant and informative I’m still watching, haha, makes me want to try some new things!

I luckily worked as a police officer for over 37 years in a mid size (I guess) city in Texas with about 10,000 of its 60,000 residents being Vietnamese with a scattering of Lao and Thai. For that reason there are several Asian stores in the city with a heavy southeast Asia influence. I worked almost exclusively for several years in the heavily Asian populated areas so I ate Vietnamese food about four days a week. Fortunately again, about 20 years ago a Thai restaurant opened out of our city but only about 15 miles away. It became my mother’s favorite food. About 75 miles away is Houston with huge Asian stores. I retired about a year ago but still live within about 15 miles of several Asian stores My wife is Korean so I had a lot of influence from Korean and southeast Asian cuisine. My wife cooks a lot of Korean food but loves Thai, Viet and Chinese. But the whole point…. she loves other East Asian foods however she might want to fight if someone suggests that other instant noodles (like Mama) are better than Nongshim (especially Shin Ramen or Neoguri), Samyang, etc. 🤣🤣🤣 As much of southeast Asian food as I have eaten and cooked over the last 35 years, I still learned a lot about shopping for various items from this video. My wife buys Squid fish sauce (nước mắm) but I had no clue that it was Thai. I also didn’t know that Aroy-D was Thai and a “go to” and respected brand. I have seen it many times and bypassed it to get other brands. At 66 years old, I guess this old dog is learning new tricks. Edit: new tricks, not no tricks 😀 Great video.

this video is the answer to my prayers. Many a time I have been lost and aimless in the store terrified of asking someone regarding the variety of ingredients that I’ve been seeking after. This is going to be so helpful for me. Thank you so much 😊

I spoke to a manager at the T&T market near me. I suggested that purhaps twice a month there could be a guide that takes groups of their non Asian customers or any customer thru the store teaching and showing what ingredients to use for maybe a couple of dishes to cook at home. I love Asian foods and would like to get a better understanding of the ingredients. It's a win win for all. New revenue for store and Lots more eager customers 😀

Man, this is like lightyears beyond what we have in most of Europe. To me an Asian store means something the size of a gas station.

Your tour at T&T brings me back my memory when I lived in Vancouver! See if I can find something similar to what you recommended here in Taiwan! (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و Thanks for the useful tips!

I almost cried in envy YOUR ASIAN STORE IS SO CLEAN! You guys know what I mean.

This tour and your explanation about things was so clarifying. Thank you so much. I LOVE Thai food and my New Year’s resolution for 2023 is to learn to cook authentic Thai food at home. I was so lost about where to start and then I found your channel and recipes. I am super excited

From now on, I will be getting my coconut milk in cartons! Thank you for the tip Pailin. :)

My gosh you are amazing in how you explain the differences in ingredients and your recommendations too ! You really got my attention ....and I have learned a lot. Thanks !!!

As a pretty experienced Thai and Vietnamese cook (Total Gringo from Mississippi), I still found this extremely helpful! Thank you so much! I have access to multiple very good Asian grocery stores. I definitely learned more about navigating them from you.

This might be one of the best videos ever made on how to navigate / shop for AsIan grocery store products. So well made, clear, informative and encouraging that I hit the LIKE and SUBSCRIBE buttons 👍

Thanks for your great advice and all the work you put into your videos. I struggled for years to make recipes from a Thai cookbook while asking many of the questions you answer in this and other videos. I am grateful for the intentionality you put into this channel. Will definitely keep seeing what is new. Thanks Pailin!

Thanks, Pailin! I just purchased your recent cookbook and this video is exactly what I needed to get going! You are the BEST!!

Great Asian supermarket walkthrough! I hope your family is enjoying your long awaited trip to Thailand! You deserve a long and relaxing vacation!

I finally went to a good Asian market. I was so lost, but I found whole lemon grass. I cut the bottom 2 inches and popped them in water. I planted them in the spring when it was warmer out and they are getting large now. I have grown them before, just pop them in the basement for the winter and water them a couple times and they pop right back the next spring. Cost me $2 for six plants and the one I ordered was just 2 plants and cost me $25 plus shipping. So many plants will grow back from their base or tops.

This video popping up for me tonight is very timely. My son and I used your green curry paste recipe just this evening. We were making it to dehydrate for camping. It turned out beautifully. Now, knowing what products to look for will make our next forays into Thai cooking that much better. Thank you for such helpful videos and for the delicious, easy to follow recipes!

Hi Pailin appreciate you for making such videos . You are Not only a RU-vid chef that’s shared great recipes but also very educational and informative helping and one step further for others to understand in- depth on the ingredients we are using . Truly you are my top list youtube chef to follow after so many years . Been listed you as my Thai cuisine champion Whenever I craved for Thai food . But having said that .. Your other non Thai recipes are a hit too . And to those who haven’t tried her recipes yet , go try one now (no false promise always ) 👍👍👍

Awesome content! I’m lucky to live in a community with several Asian markets. Knowing what to look for and what to avoid is an absolute nightmare. Thanks for the info, it’s given me a bit of courage and clarity for my next visit. Edited to add (in case Pai is reading): This kind of info for the non-Asian shopper could EASILY be a whole series. A knowledgeable RU-vidr could make an episode (or more) for every section in the store. Tons of info, tons of recommendations, and tons of sponsors - everyone wins.

As always. Chef Pailin nails it! Approachable, knowledgeable, and generous with her advice for rookies. I've been cooking Thai/Chinese/Japanese/Vietnamese for many years at home. I always learning something new from Pailin's videos.

I have been shopping at a variety of Asian supermarkets for years. I learned so much more from this video. Thank you so much!

i used to work at a Thai restaurant and I've missed these flavors so much!! I'm so glad I found your page, you're awesome!!

This was so entertaining. The aisles are so wide and the floor is so clean. No boxes piled up everywhere and ten brands of everything. We only see that at Big-C or Tesco. They even turned on the lights for you. We buy the fish sauce 3-4 big bottles at a time. The curry paste comes in little plastic envelopes. Since they are everywhere we do not keep much inventory. We buy shrimp paste in the half kilo tubs though. There are two kinds of Thai rice, Jasmine and sticky. We eat sticky rice three times a day. Khao Suai is restaurant food. You need to do a kantoke series to show the other dishes that do not go on Jasmine rice. They are very different.

I love these types of videos you do! They are so informative and helpful, you help me feel a tad more confident with these ingredients!! 🙏

This is my first time to your channel, as an aspiring Southeast Asian home cook and a lover of most of their food especially Tom Yum, I was pleasantly shocked by the content of your video! You answered so many questions and provided links which I will watch about the things I had the most questions about. Thank you so much for such a comprehensive and relatable video! You've earned my subscription and I look forward to more of your videos! ฉันได้เรียนรู้หลายๆ อย่างจากคุณ I hope this means I've learned so much and thank you!

These video guides are sooo helpful, things taste way better with these products! Thanks

I am so grateful to come upon your channel because I am so interested in Asian Cuisine and you break everything down so wondrously for me. I would be daunted by all of the choices. You make it so clear!!!

This is so awesome ! I’m Filipino but I always get overwhelmed at the Asian mart and this is sooo so so helpful. Thank you !

This is so helpful. I live in a very rural area in the UK and there are no large Asian groceries like this particular one near where I live. There *are* some very small convenience store sized places, but I've always been sort of nervous to go in because I've never had a clear idea of what I'm looking for. Now, even though the store in the video is different, I feel like I have a good idea of what I'm looking for, even in a small store. I think I'll go have a look at the weekend 😁 Thanks!

Thanks Pailin, my new Thai Aunty! Once I went to a T&T supermarket in Ottawa, near the airport. I just loved going through the aisles looking at all the interesting products. I wished I had someone to show me how to choose and use the right ingredients. Thanks to RU-vid for showing me your video - my wish came true! Subscribed!

Oh my goodness you must have been reading my mind from your last video. I was thinking wouldn’t it be great to have a video come out of touring and learning about products from an Asian grocery store. I have been to a few Asian grocery markets in the past and you are so right about all the different products. Thank you for this video. You have a beautiful store there in Canada too.

Such an in-depth, incredibly well presented video. I’ve learned so much. And will be more confident in my Thai ingredients purchases in the future. Heartfelt thanks for sharing your vast knowledge of Thai cuisine with us devotees.

This was perfect, thank you so much! The soy sauce discussion is what I really needed and also, I didn't know about the difference in processing between the canned and carton coconut milk. Didn't know about the hom mali for Thai jasmine rice either. Lots of useful information just in time as I create my grocery list, now I'm more confident on what to purchase. Thanks again for sharing!

Incredibly helpful, useful and well-explained. I truly learned a TON from this video. You're a great teacher. 😊

i just wanted to tell you how much you've helped me come closer to my culture!! as someone who's mixed, i don't have many opportunitites to just learn about thailand and co. and your recipes help me feel closer to that part of myself.. thank you so much !!

Thank you "Auntie" Pai!! Wasn't aware of the "kits" - perfect size and package of ingredients for the one-off/occasional Thai dish that a lot of us, like me, make! Loved this walk-through video!

This was such a fantastically useful and well done video. Thank so much for your clarity, wisdom and good nature!

This was so helpful! I absolutely adore Thai food and Asian food generally and I am always there at the shop trying to figure out what to get. Shout out to Mama noodles too - I felt so validated when you said it was the best, haha! So yummmm. Thank you for this wonderful guide.

This was so helpful. I love Thai food but getting takeout all the time is not practical so I have been experimenting. The last time my dad came to visit we went out to a Thai cooking class. We figured out the reason we love it some much is that the spices and flavors used are very similar to Mexican food but with lemongrass instead of cumin and more seafood 😄. I was blown away to see how they made chile paste and how similar it is to how we make chile paste. We also LOVE tamarind. There’s a spicy tangy coating we pair with fruit or candy called chamoy. If you ever have trouble finding tamarind in the Asian store go to the Mexican store. There are always tons of options

Really interesting and informative video! Thank you for taking the time to make this. I'm sure that I'll be returning to this again and again.

You’re my favorite chef to learn from! Always the best tips!

Pai, I've been watching you for years and I found new/helpful tips from this video! I don't have a large asian grocery where I live (East Coast Australia), so it's nice to see a bit of a walkthrough of a typical asian grocer. Albeit, I do have a well-stocked small asian supermarket that has most things I need, including an expanding frozen section with many items I've never seen/know how to navigate. If you're so inclined, I'd love a part 2 diving deeper into other aisles/ingredients including the less common items most people wouldn't have common knowledge on. Thank you!

This was very helpful! I'm Chinese but I really enjoy Thai food however going to my local Asian market I'm just overwhelmed with all the different brands! It's just like the Chinese brands it's just overload! Unless I know which brand to use I am stuck trying to determine which brand to buy. I have a hard enough time with the Chinese ingredients but when I am trying to throw together a Thai dish I honestly don't want to spend more time deciding which brands to buy than cooking. Thank you the video is very helpful!

This comes at the perfect time. I’m just beginning to dip my toe into the water because I’ve been craving Thai food. This will help me not spend six hours at the Asian market looking at all the stuff!

Toronto cook loving your channel and so happy it's Canadian! Thank you for sharing!

Pailin's Kitchen, is one of the top cooking channels on RU-vid and in the universe! Still so happy to take her advice and cook her recipes. Thai food is wonderful! Visit your local Thai restaurant or take out in your area. Take Pailin's advice and make some at home. She knows her stuff.

That was extremely enlightening and answered a few questions I had. I'm glad to know that the carton of coconut milk is the good kind. They almost always add sulfites to the cans of coconut milk (Savoy brand does not), and I get violently ill from sulfites. That's also why I make my own tamarind paste. Most of the stuff that's premixed is poison to me.

This is the best, most informative video I have seen on the subject. Thank you

This was incredibly helpful! Can't wait to go back to the asian market and stock up on my favorites as well as new recipes! 🥰

My knowledge on Thai products has just been greatly expanded upon. Course 101 for shopping in an Asian Food store or in my case aisle. 😊 I live in a country town in Australia. The local supermarkets are definitely expanding their range. Thank you for your concise no nonsense approach, very much appreciated. 👍

Thank you, this was extremely helpful. Living in South Africa, we only have a fraction of the east asian options. But now I'll be able to navigate the products with more ease.

This is a dream come true. I have been in so many wonderful Asian groceries just guessing about so many of the things you explained! I can’t wait to shop and cook with this knowledge-right after I throw out my old fish sauce😳Thank you so much☺️

I love T&T so much. You're so right about everything, what a great guide! I always spend way too much on fun stuff, it's too easy!

I remember asking for a video like this awhile back. Thank you so much for doing this, it's extremely helpful!

Such a great video, and it answers a lot of the questions I ask myself when I go into the Asian supermarkets!

Thanks for the great content. This series about ingredients is awesome

Thank you for sharing! I do love Asian and Mexican markets but awesome to have someone go through one and then explain a bit.

This is the great video of how to choose the right product to buy. I specifically learned about " the less ingredients the best, paper-pack for coconut milk, the quality trademarks of thai". Thank you so much Pai.

I really appreciate you showing us this information.. please do more in the future

I definitely needed this, thank you! I also must say that the supermarket you visited is very well kept and well stocked! This is the first video of yours that I came across, I hope you've done a video about vegetables, that's something else I could definitely use help with, like what you showed us with the lemongrass - which doesn't look at all what i thought it would look like by the name. Anyway, thank you again, very helpful video!

WOW... Did I learn a lot watching your video. I'm so glad that I found your video describing each of these products so thoroughly. I'm a novice, when it comes to cooking. So finding your channel was my good fortune! 🥠

This is wonderful. I have totally been that person overwhelmed by all the choices. This is very helpful. I am planning my next trip to T&T now. Thank you!

I was raised in Richmond and I was so impressed with the new T&T location! So clean with fresh ingredients daily and their takeout and pastry section is amazing!

this is the most useful video I have seen on YT by far. thank you

Thank you for this, and all of your videos. I now have my grocery list ready, thanks to you!

Good guide on shopping. You highlighted that little green label "Thai Hom Mail Rice". Its something that I never knew about. Incidentally, I was shopping at Costco and saw that little green label on the Kirkland Jasmine rice.

Great to know what to look for now when shopping in an Asian store, Thai food is a favorite and I'm learning to cook it. I like the hint on what to look for when buying Jasimine rice and coconut milk.

Thank you!!! So informative!!! You don't mess around!!! quick straight to the point!

Appreciate this info, Ms Palin ! I was about to go to the large Asian Market in Chicago, but I didn't know where to start except for a few items I saw for recipes on RU-vid. Now I have a better idea. TFS !! 🤗

You basically answered all my questions. Thank you so much Thai Aunty ❤️

This is perfect! Honestly, videos like these really help. I'm going to an asian store today, and this video was JUST IN TIME! 🥰

Omg!!! I am a lover of all Asian cuisine but Thai is my ultimate. I appreciate this so much. I love Jasmine rice so much thanks for your lovely tips.

Really happy to see that I have access to genuine Thai brands and genuine Thai receipts. I used to work with a Thai chef and he showed us the way his mother cooks. It's definitely one of my favourite cuisines

Oh I'm an Indian and had never seen anybody explaining so detailed and wow about the sauces and other Asian ingredients... teally really usefull... this is the first time I'm watching ur video and it's really amazing. Thank you.

Thank you so much for this video. It’s overwhelming to shop in Asian stores, this will help me tremendously.

Thanks for this. I'm getting more interested in upping my game with Asian style cooking and while I have visited a few Asian markets I've found, it's pretty overwhelming with all the choices. This video helps a lot!

Excellent video! I am so glad I stumbled upon this. Thanks!

I've made quite a few of her recipes and they have all turned out great! The Pad See Ew one is especially good. Here in Houston we have quite a few good Asian-oriented grocery stores thanks to the large Vietnamese population (thanks so much y'all) so sourcing these ingredients isn't too hard. What is hard is understanding what to use for what dishes. So this video is super appreciated!!!