Expanding Your Palate: Traditional Thai Dishes Worth Trying
Thai cuisine is world-renowned for its vibrant and unique flavors, featuring an artful balance of sweet, sour, salty, and spicy elements made from fresh ingredients.
While the famed Tom Yum Kung (hot and sour shrimp soup) often takes center stage having recently been recognized by UNESCO and inscribed to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, there’s a treasure trove of traditional Thai dishes waiting to be explored.
From hearty curries to fragrant stir-fries and refreshing salads, here are some of the most popular Thai dishes offering a glimpse into Thailand’s culinary diversity and rich cultural heritage. If you’re planning on a trip to Bangkok or other Thai cities soon, don’t miss your chance to make it into a food trip!
Thai Boat Noodles (Guay Teow)
We’re starting this list with some hearty soups, which are usually served alongside other dishes centered around a rice-based meal. When people think of Thai soups, the go-to dish is Tom Yum Kung, which is a sour and spicy soup made with shrimp and infused with fragrant herbs. It also has different variations, some made with other seafood like fish (Tom Yum Pla) or enriched with coconut milk such as the case with Tom Kha Gai, a chicken soup with galangal (an aromatic spice).
Another staple soup in Thai cuisine is Guay Teow or Thai Boat Noodles which are often sold in street food stalls. It’s a noodle soup that can be made with pork, chicken, or beef and is an incredibly delicious dish packed with aromas and flavors. If you want to try something apart from Tom Yum, we highly recommend this one!
Som Tum
This green papaya salad is a refreshing starter made with shredded green papaya, tomatoes, yard-long beans, peanuts, and dried shrimp. These ingredients are then tossed in a spicy, tangy dressing made from lime juice, fish sauce, palm sugar, and chilies.
A healthy dish that will surely tickle your taste buds, Som Tum can be found in almost every restaurant and street food stall in Thailand, and is also a classic offering in many Thai restaurants worldwide.
Pad Thai
Undoubtedly the most well-known dish outside of Thailand, Pad Thai is a stir-fried noodle dish made with rice noodles, a protein like chicken, beef, or shrimp, scrambled egg, pad Thai sauce, and bean sprouts. This delicious noodle dish has been named as the national dish of the country, so it goes without saying, it’s a crowd favorite.
In other recipes, you may also find ingredients such as tofu, fresh lime juice, crushed peanuts, and Thai chili flakes as garnishes.
Pad See Ew
Another beloved noodle dish is Pad See Ew or stir-fried soy sauce noodles, which is also a popular Thai street food made with wide rice noodles (sen yai), dark soy sauce, Chinese broccoli, and a choice of protein. While Pad Thai is sweeter and nuttier, Pad See Ew is stir-fried until they have a slightly charred flavor, making this dish taste smokier and more savory.
Khao Pad
Rice is a staple in Asian cuisine and if you love a good fried rice dish, then you should definitely give this dish a try.
Khao Pad has endless variations and is a well-known street food dish. You can make it with any protein, a combination of vegetables, and seasonings. Fish sauce brings a little sweet, umami flavor to this stir-fry, and it typically comes with sliced cucumbers and lime wedges on the side. It can also be cooked with a different sauce such as barbecue and oyster sauces.
Some of the most popular Khao Pad variations include Khao Pad Krapow (Holy Basil Fried Rice), Thai Green Curry Fried Rice, and Thai Pineapple Fried Rice.
Pad Kra Pao
This classic recipe is enjoyed best for lunch or dinner and features stir-fried minced pork with holy basil. Pad Kra Pao offers a delicious kick as it’s also made with spicy curry paste, lemongrass, and kaffir lime leaves.
This spicy dish is balanced by aromatic herbs, and complimented by garlic, shallots, fish sauce, oyster sauce, and chili peppers. Have it with a side of steaming white rice and a fried egg, and you’ll have one of the most satisfying meals ever!
Thai Green Curry (Gaeng Keow Wan) and Red Curry (Gaeng Ped)
Curries are an integral part of Thai cuisine and there are a handful of different types that are categorized by the color of the curry paste. A couple of the most popular ones are red and green curry.
Green Curry is the most well-known of all the Thai curries and doesn’t carry as much heat as the others, which is perfect if you’re not a fan of spicy dishes. It’s also very creamy due to the green chili paste and the coconut milk infused into the dish.
This dish is originally from Central Thailand and is traditionally made from the combination of shallots, lemongrass, white pepper, coriander root, garlic, kaffir lime, shrimp paste, and sea salt, alongside green chili paste and coconut milk, all of which gives this dish its unique taste. Different kinds of proteins are added into the recipe depending on preference, but it’s most often served with chicken or fish balls in Thailand.
Meanwhile, Red Curry has similar features to the green one and shares the same cooking methods. The difference lies in the color and taste as this dish has a more savory and spicier flavor. This recipe is best served with a rich protein like fatty pork or duck meat.
Mango Sticky Rice
There’s always room for dessert and this is one recipe you’ve probably heard of as it’s a classic Thai dessert known across the world.
It’s a simple dish made with sweet ripe mangoes and glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk with palm sugar. Although it’s more on the sweeter side, it also has salty and tangy undertones with a soft and creamy texture.
This hot-and-cold combo is a match made in food heaven and makes for a delightful dessert any time of day.
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