What Does "J" Mean In Thai Cuisine?

[DonRocks]

I can't figure out what the suffix "J" means on Thai menus.

A recent example is here at Sweet Rice in Falls Church (who, as an aside, has some of the world's friendliest people, both on the phone, and during the delivery handoff). My guess is that this has something to do with tofu, but I'm not sure what because other tofu dishes don't have the "J" in the name; yet, both "J" dishes on this menu (#50 and #58) have tofu in the recipes.

Thanks in advance if anyone can help. Just trying to educate myself here.

And, oh my goodness, do the Blanky Shrimp ($5.95) go well with a 2002 Vazart-Coquart & Fils "Chouilly" Blanc de Blancs (a Grand Cru village). This is absolutely not a recommendation of the dish; just that if you happen to order it, and have this Champagne on hand, you can rest comfortably that the two will pair well together, almost like popcorn (not popcorn shrimp; actual popcorn) and Salon Le Mesnil.

Incidentally, jí¬ngkāngxiāngsí¹zí¡jí¬ can be aggregated, loosely, to the word "Bing." How? I don't quite know. But I do know that Dave Bing went to Spingarn High School, was a seven-time NBA All-Star, had his jersey (#21) retired by the Detroit Pistons, and was named one of the "50 Greatest Players of All-Time" in 1996. He was even the Mayor of Detroit (which I suppose is like being Captain of the Titanic). Okay, maybe this is coincidental, but, you're never quite sure until all the facts have been fully explored. Furthermore, I think something really suspicious is happening on this website. Look!

OnlineUsers.pdf

1) Can you tell I've been drinking?

2) Can you tell I write better after I've been drinking?

[TheMatt]

One thought I've had about this is that the "j" is a pepper symbol that whatever PHP, etc. script they are using to make their menu page didn't pick up. Perhaps it expects "j" and they gave "J"?

I know I've seen text-based online menus that use "j", "jj", etc. for heat.

[Fishinnards]

The Thai word for vegetarian is เจ, pronounced "jay", as in the letter J.

[TheMatt]

The Thai word for vegetarian is เจ, pronounced "jay", as in the letter J.

Cool! Thanks for letting us know.

And I suppose I should ask for my girlfriend, any word that signifies "vegan"? Because too many times in a SE Asian restaurant, vegetarian has included fish sauce, say. (Though those could have been lazy chefs...)