Thai street food vending is a way of life for a million + people in Thailand.
Street food in Thailand brings together various offerings of ready-to-eat meals, snacks, fruits and drinks.
It is often the only source of income for entire families.
When it is time to sell at the market, this is often a family affair, even involving small children.
There is scarcely a Thai dish that is not sold by a street vendor or at a market somewhere in Thailand. Some specialize in only one or two dishes, others offer a complete menu that rivals that of restaurants.
Some sell only pre-cooked foods, others make food to order. The foods that are made to order, tend to be dishes that can be quickly prepared: quick stir fries with rice, such as kaphrao mu (spicy basil-fried minced pork)[9] or phat khana (stir fried gailan), and quick curries such as pladuk phat phet (catfish fried with red curry paste).
The dishes sold at wet markets in Thailand tend to be offered pre-cooked. Many people go there, and also to street vendors, to buy food to eat at work, or to take back home.
It is a common sight to see Thais carrying whole communal meals consisting of several dishes, cooked rice, sweets, and fruit, all neatly packaged in plastic bags and foam food containers, to be shared with colleagues at work or at home.
Due to the fact that many dishes are similar to those that people would cook at home, it is a good place to find regional, and seasonal, foods.
It is a very hard life, yet you never see any street food vendors complaining.
They are often thankful for whatever money is brought in for the day.
Besides preparing the meals, there is the setup at the market, then afterwards the cleanup and tear down.
This is repeated 7 days a week for their entire lives.
I have a lot of personal appreciation for this food vendors and understand how hard they work, just to survive.
I hope you do to and support your local food vendors.