Top 10 Thai Dishes

Thai dishes, with all their spices and extraordinary flavors, are a true harmony of taste for many travelers, no matter where they're from, and Thai cuisine is considered one of the best in the world. In this article we want to introduce you to our top 10 dishes.

Pad Kee Mao (fried drunken noodles) is a stir-fried noodle dish similar to Pad Thai, but with a somewhat different flavor experience. It's usually made with wide rice noodles, soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, garlic, and meat or seafood. Its distinctive heat and flavor come from the addition of chili, fresh black pepper, and holy basil, which combine to create its true flavor profile. Why this Thai dish carries the unusual name "fried drunken noodles" isn't definitively proven, though there are several theories. Some say its origins trace back to the use of rice wine, but none of the original Thai recipes actually contain alcohol. Some Thais suspect it was invented by someone who came home drunk and made something to eat with whatever ingredients were on hand. Whether the dish helps with a hangover isn't proven either, but beware - it's normally served very spicy! Khao Kha MuThe top 10 Thai dishes Khao Kha Mu (pork leg on rice) is a popular lunch dish among Thais. Like many other dishes, it's influenced by Chinese cuisine. The pork leg (similar to our pork knuckle) is cooked in a warmly spiced pork broth with a Christmas-like aroma. The meat is then sliced thinly and served with pickled eggs over steamed rice. On request, this Thai dish, Khao Kha Mu, is finished with a kind of blanched kale, fresh chili peppers, and garlic cloves. Most restaurants, street stalls, and canteens serve it with a clear soup on the side. The accompanying dip sauce is usually made from yellow chili peppers, garlic, salt granules, lime, and vinegar. Tom Kha Gai (boiled ginger with chicken) is a delicious Thai soup. Its flavor-defining ingredients are coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, Thai chili peppers, coriander, straw mushrooms (or shiitake or other mushrooms), meat, and galangal ("Thai ginger"). This tasty coconut soup, Tom Kha, is made with chicken, pork, seafood, or entirely vegetarian - though the chicken version is without doubt by far the most well known. In the Laotian preparation, dill is used instead of coriander, which definitely gives a different flavor experience than the well-known Thai dish. Even though the popular Thai dish Kaeng Khiao Wan (sweet green curry) was only added to classic Thai cuisine relatively recently, it's now a typical Thai dish. The dish's distinctive color comes from the various ingredients, almost all of which are green. Kaeng Khiao Wan dishes are prepared with chicken, pork, or seafood, depending on preference. The main difference from Indian curry is that the Thai varieties - also called "kaeng dishes" - aren't made from ground spices but from a green curry paste. Unlike in India, the curry paste also isn't fried in fat first but is cooked directly in coconut milk. Many of the ingredients are served separately, such as red chili, limes, roasted peanuts, soybean sprouts, and various types of vegetables. In the vegetarian version, fish sauce is replaced with soy sauce and the shrimp are left out entirely. Thai Dishes - Pad Thai is a fried rice noodle dish usually served as street food in most places in Thailand. Pad Thai is made from dried rice noodles fried with eggs, chopped firm tofu, tamarind pulp, fish sauce, dried shrimp, garlic or shallots, red chili, and palm sugar. The dish is served with chicken, pork, shrimp, crab, or squid, depending on preference, and finished with lime wedges and roasted peanuts. There are also other variations with soybean sprouts, garlic, pickled radish, turnip, and raw banana blossom. Noodle soups are widespread Thai dishes across East and Southeast Asia, and they're made with various types of noodles - such as rice noodles, wheat noodles, or egg noodles - finished with plenty of tasty ingredients and served in a light broth. Chinese-style noodle soups in particular are commonly eaten in Thailand at street stalls, canteens, and restaurants too. The wide variety of noodles are served in a light chicken or pork broth with vegetables and garnished with pieces of meat, meatballs, or wontons. Guests can adjust the flavor of their kuaitiao themselves by adding sugar, nam pla (fish sauce), dried chili, and/or chili in vinegar, which are provided in small jars on the table. Unlike most other Thai dishes, noodles are eaten with chopsticks, which clearly points to the Chinese influence. It's also possible to order a "dry" noodle soup (kuaitiao haeng), which means the broth is served in a separate bowl. Pla Sam Rot (three-flavor fish) is a deep-fried fish, usually a snapper, served with a sweet, tangy, and aromatic tamarind sauce. The fish is fried until crispy and finished with ingredients such as garlic cloves, medium-hot chilies, coriander roots, palm sugar, and sea salt. In some restaurants the finished fish is served on a bed of vegetables. The dish is served with plain rice, and depending on the size of the fish, it can be eaten alone or shared among several people. The three different flavors make this dish a must for all fish lovers. Som Tam Thai is an outstanding Thai dish made from green papaya. The raw papaya is cut into strips and pounded in a mortar together with other ingredients like small tomatoes, eggplant, fresh or dried chili peppers, long beans, garlic, palm sugar, and nuts for flavor. These various ingredients make the papaya salad exceptionally hot, salty, and sour all at once. The papaya salad popular in the northeast is quite a bit spicier and saltier than in central Thailand. Som Tam Thai is usually served with the popular sticky rice and grilled chicken. There are also other versions with rice noodles, thin noodles, boiled noodles, and side dishes like cabbage, green beans, Chinese cabbage, and celery. Som Tam Thai is quite a bit milder and easier on the stomach than regular Som Tam with pounded crab and the extremely strong-smelling fermented fish sauce. Tom Yam is a hot and sour Thai soup that's usually made with shrimp ("gung"). There are also other variations, for example with pork. The name "Tom Yam" is derived from the two Thai words "tom" (to boil) and "yam" (a spicy and sour salad). The soup is finished with fragrant spices and herbs and gets its unique aroma from ingredients like lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, lime juice, fish sauce, and crushed red chili peppers. Our #1 Thai dish is Massaman curry, a flavorful, relatively mild Thai curry dish. Because of its Muslim origins and the Islamic dietary rules that come with it, Massaman curry is most often made with chicken. However, there are also other variations with duck, beef, and occasionally pork. Even vegetarians and vegans have their own versions with tofu and shrimp substitutes. The various flavors of the Massaman curry paste come from spices that are rarely used in other Thai curries, giving it a truly distinctive taste. Nowadays you'll also often find versions made with potatoes as an alternative to plain rice.

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