[Thai Food Guide] 9 Dishes You Should Know And Try

If you are new to Thailand travel topics or wondering what you can eat on your Thailand vacation, or maybe you want to try cooking Thai food and aren’t sure where to start. Maybe you’re just visiting a Thai restaurant for the first time and need to know what to order. This guide to Thai food is for you.

It’s a huge misconception to think that Thai food is usually hot. In actuality, our nation’s cuisine concentrates on dishes that are light, nutritious, softly scented, and loaded with veggies. After visiting this beautiful nation, many tourists have learned to appreciate Thai food.
But which Thai foods are actually regarded as the best? We probably ought to start here for any prospective Thai food diners who are worrying about what to eat in this part of the world:

Thai Soups

Not like the Western style, in which soup is a starter, Thai soups are served as part of the main meal. You can have either them only or rice/ rice noodles on the side.  The two main soups you’ll find are Tom Ka (or Tom Kha) and Tom Yam (or Tom Yum).

Tom Ka/ Tom Kha

Tom Ka is a thin coconut soup that is quite aromatic. It may be completely devoid of chile and spices, making it ideal for kids. Galangal and lemongrass are the primary components in Tom Ka; nevertheless, chillies are not the main component. Fresh basil and kafir lime leaves enhance the scent. Tom Ka frequently includes mouthwatering Asian mushrooms. It has a mild, pleasant flavor and a wonderful aroma, and when combined with rice, it tastes much better. They go together flawlessly!

Tom Yum

Tom Yum is a famous Thai dish, which is often referred to in English-language menus as ‘sour Thai soup’. The shrimp version – tom yam kung – is the most lauded, and justifiably so: the combination of fatty prawns and a tart/spicy soup results in an unusual but delicious and distinctly Thai amalgam. Tom Yum is hot with chilies and sour with lime. It doesn’t normally contain coconut, the stock is almost clear sometimes.

Thai Fried Noodles

Pad Thai

Everyone who has been to Thailand simply loves Pad Thai! The meal created in the 1930s may be the most well-known dish served to tourists in Thailand. Pad Thai has since been regarded as the embodiment of Thai cuisine, consisting of thin rice noodles stir-fried with egg, tofu, and shrimp and seasoned with fish sauce, sugar, tamarind, vinegar, and dried chillies. Surprisingly, the best Pad Thai can be found on the streets, not in any expensive restaurants or large establishments. For your curiosity, the street is also the center of Thai cuisine.

Pad See Ew

In contrast to Pad Thai, which is sweeter and nuttier, Pad See Ew has a great chargrilled taste and is salty with a tinge of sourness. Several foodies also rank the fried flat noodle, with soy sauce and veggies and either meat or no meat, as one of their favorite dishes. Pad See Ew has a beautiful appearance because of the mix of several colors, including yellow, orange, and green, as well as a delicious flavor thanks to the inclusion of kale, Chinese broccoli, and other ingredients.

Thai Curries

It’s interesting to learn that curry in Thailand is not basic… curry. So don’t be shocked if you order “Thai curry!” on your Thailand trip and the server asks, “Which kinds?” There are several types of Thai curry to choose from, each distinguishable by different textures and colors, and they are all made with coconut milk. The curry paste, which contains chiles and aromatics, gives the curry its characteristic colors. All of the curries come with a choice of protein or plain veggies.

The following are the most popular curries:

Green Curry

This is no doubt the most famous Thailand curry type for travelers. Thai curry from the center of the country is called green curry (kaeng khiao wan). The hue of the dish, which is a result of the green chilies, gives curry its moniker of “green.” The word “sweet” in the Thai name, “wan,” relates to the specific shade of green rather than the flavor of the curry.

The dish’s additional components, in addition to the primary protein, which is often fish, fish balls, or meat, include coconut milk, green curry paste, palm sugar, and fish sauce. Included are frequently Thai eggplant (aubergine), pea aubergine, basil leaves, various green or white veggies, and even fruit. The quantity of coconut milk used determines the sauce’s consistency. Green chilies, shallots, garlic, galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, cilantro roots, cumin seeds, white peppercorns, and shrimp paste are traditionally ground together to make green curry paste.

Red Curry

This well-known dish is usually prepared with red curry paste and meat, such as chicken, beef, hog, duck, or shrimp, or a vegetarian protein source like tofu. Like other Asian curries, Thai Red Curry (kaeng phet) has a rich flavor. All the components in the paste, which are subsequently cooked with broth and coconut milk, give the sauce its unique flavor. It is incredibly rich and has both sweet and savory flavors.

Yellow Curry

Since it contains more coconut cream and less chillies than red or green curries, Thai yellow curry (kaeng kari) is richer and creamier. Thai yellow curry is normally eaten with steamed rice with either chicken or beef and a starchy vegetable, most commonly potatoes. But, it can also be cooked with duck, tofu, shrimp, fish, or vegetables.

Thai Fried Dishes

Khao Phat

Thai cuisine’s signature dish, Khao Phat, is literally translated as “stir-fried rice.”

It differs from Chinese fried rice in that jasmine rice is used in its cooking rather than normal long-grain rice. Similar meats to Chinese fried rice, such as chicken and shrimp, are frequently cooked in Thai fried rice. Yet unlike its Chinese cousin, Thai fried rice doesn’t contain as many veggies. Just the flavorful ingredients of onion, garlic, and peppers are used in Thai fried rice; occasionally, thinly sliced tomatoes are also used. The meal is then placed on a serving platter and drizzled with phrik nampla, a hot sauce prepared from sliced Thai chilies.

Kai Yang

An entire, marinated chicken is grilled or barbecued to make the meal known as Kai Yang. Although having Lao origins in northeastern Thailand, the dish is now eaten all across the nation and is incredibly popular. Sticky white rice, dipping sauces (sweet sauce in the Central area, sour sauce in the Northeast), and a vegetable salad known as som tam are generally served with chicken.

It is served by a wide variety of street vendors around Thailand. The marinade, which is comprised of many ingredients including soy sauce, ginger, white pepper, fish sauce, vinegar, hoisin sauce, and herbs like cilantro, lemongrass, and garlic, sets kai yang apart from other grilled chicken dishes.

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