Thai cuisine offers a lot of unique and unusual dishes for Europeans. The main components of national dishes are seafood and chicken, rice and noodles, vegetables and fruits. But the highlight of any Thai recipe is spices and sauces, herbs and dressings. Most of the dishes in Thailand are very spicy, and if you are not a fan of such food, then it is quite easy to fix the situation: when ordering, just say the phrase “Not spicy”. Thai food can be either fried or cooked, but mostly the dishes are light and healthy. What is the national cuisine of Thailand, and what food is worth trying during the trip, we will tell you in detail below.
First courses
Thai cuisine is replete with original soups, the main ingredients of which are seafood or chicken. Both meat broth and coconut milk can serve as a base for preparing liquid dishes, and often both components are combined in one recipe. It should be borne in mind that Thai soups are somewhat different from those that we are used to seeing. In most cases, in such dishes, it is customary to eat only the main component and drink broth, and the remaining ingredients are added only for taste and aroma.
Tom Yam
Among the dishes of Thai cuisine, Tom Yam soup has become well-deserved fame, there are a great many recipes for cooking it. But the invariable ingredients of the national dish are king prawns, boiled in coconut milk and flavored with garlic, lime sprigs and straw mushrooms. In the classic version, Tom Yam is cooked with fish broth, sometimes with chicken broth. Each chef, following his imagination, can add a lot of other ingredients to the soup, such as ginger, tomatoes, galangal, lemongrass, etc. This Thai dish has a sour taste and has an unprecedented sharpness, so it is often served with boiled rice.
Tom Kha
Those who are not too fond of spicy dishes should try Tom Kha soup. Just like the previously mentioned Tom Yam, it is prepared with coconut milk, but the main ingredient here is chicken (sometimes fish). This national dish is prepared with standard Thai seasonings: coriander, ginger, lemongrass and lime leaves. Some restaurants make Tom Kha with shrimp and add large amounts of chili pepper for spice. But in the traditional variation, the dish should have not so much a sharp, but a spicy, slightly sweet taste.
Kung Som Pak Ruam
Another popular dish of Thai cuisine is Kung Som Pak Ruam soup, which has a very specific smell and aftertaste. Usually it is cooked on the basis of meat broth with the addition of stewed carrots, cabbage and string beans. The taste palette of this dish has absorbed all sorts of shades: Kung Som Pak Ruam has a sweet and sour taste with spicy notes. Often, the soup is served with an omelette and decorated with fragrant herbs. In general, this national dish is light and healthy, it is definitely worth a try.
Main dishes
Traditional Thai cuisine offers a range of interesting and delicious dishes based on chicken, pork, fish and a wide variety of seafood. And among the national side dishes are rice, rice, egg or glass noodles and potatoes. All delicacies are prepared with the addition of traditional Thai spices, sauces and herbs. Which ones should you definitely try?
Pad Thai
Pad Thai is probably one of the few Thai dishes familiar to most Europeans. Actually, this is rice noodles, which are fried with garlic, onions, bean sprouts and seasoned with vinegar, vegetable oil and pieces of hot pepper. Sometimes a little sugar is added to the dish to give it a more savory taste. At the final stage of cooking, the noodles are seasoned with egg, flavored with a couple of lime drops and walnut slices. You can try noodles both in the classic form, and with the addition of various fillers, which are fried slices of chicken or pork, as well as assorted seafood.
Kung Keo Wan (Green Curry)
This national dish will be appreciated by all lovers of thrills and unusual flavors. Kung Kno Wan is served in a miniature bowl filled with green curry sauce mixed with coconut milk. Inside the gravy, you’ll find chunks of chicken and vegetables, topped off with lime wedges and a sprig of basil. By the way, among the vegetable components of Green curry, Thai eggplant is often present – a unique Asian fruit with a lot of useful properties.
Panang Gai (Red Curry)
Traditional Thai dishes have always been very spicy, and Papang Gai is no exception. Tender chicken pieces, drizzled with whipped coconut cream, get a fiery taste, falling under a thick gravy of red curry. But there is also a fresh note in the dish, obtained due to lemongrass. An excellent side dish to this spicy dish will be white rice.
Massaman Curry
Massaman curry is nothing more than Thai goulash. Everyone can try it, because the dish is not sharp, but at the same time saturated with fragrant spices. The main component here is meat, cut into small pieces and fried with onions in a dressing of curry and coconut milk. Thai cuisine provides two standard side dishes for Massaman curry-potatoes or rice.
Khau Phat
A simple, but quite popular dish of national cuisine based on rice, which is sold in any Thai snack bar. First, the grits are boiled, and then fried with pepper, onion and garlic, seasoning with Asian spices. After the rice is mixed with seafood or chicken pieces. Sometimes fruit is added to the cereal (for example, pineapple). And, of course, the dish is accompanied by a traditional lime slice, which gives freshness and juiciness. Some Khau Phat recipes allow for the addition of egg. It is noteworthy that the dish is very budget-friendly, so it is very popular with both locals and travelers.
Sen Khao Soi
The best Thai dishes are full of a variety of flavors, but if fried noodles and rice do not surprise you, then you should definitely try Sen Khao Soi soup. This food is most popular in the north of Thailand, so you can order it in rare resort restaurants. The base of the soup is a broth made from curry sauce, to which egg noodles, deep-fried, are added. The dish also includes onions, pickled cabbage, lime juice and chili.
Plah Plow (grilled fish in salt)
Another delicacy of the national cuisine, which is worth a try for all lovers of seafood, is Plah Plow. Only fresh white fish is used for cooking. It is rubbed with salt, due to which a crispy crust is formed during frying. The product must be filled with herbs, often adding palm leaves. The dish is thoroughly grilled and flavored with spicy additives. As a result, the fish meat is tender and flavorful. If desired, you can order traditional noodles or boiled rice.
Gai Pad Met Mamuang
If you are still deciding what to try in Thailand, then pay attention to this dish. Firstly, it is not sharp, but it is quite flavorful, and secondly, the main component here is chicken, so opponents of seafood should like this food. Pieces of tender chicken are fried in a special pan with vegetables and spices, and then seasoned with cashews. This Thai treat is served, of course, with rice.
Salads and appetizers
In Thai cuisine, interesting recipes are also presented among salads with snacks. Easy and useful ingredients used in their preparation, find themselves in unthinkable culinary combinations. Among the unusual dishes for a European is worth a try
Som Tam
Features of Thai cuisine primarily consist in the ingredients used in it. Have you ever imagined a green papaya salad? It is this fruit that is the basis of Som Tam, which, among other things, includes garlic, onions, tomatoes and string beans. The final chord of the salad is shrimp and nuts, giving the dish a truly exotic taste. Sometimes crab meat is added to Catfish instead of shrimp. For a fresh touch, the salad is watered with lemon juice and a special fish sauce. It is noteworthy that the preparation of Som Tam is not complete by simply slicing the ingredients: all the components are mixed and pounded in a special mortar. As a result, the dish is soft and juicy.
Spring rolls
Among the national appetizers, it is worth noting spring rolls – a light, dietary dish served in the form of an envelope with stuffing. Rice paper serves as a wrapper for the filler, which has a whole lot of cooking variations. The most popular fillings in Thailand are chicken, seafood and vegetables. If you want to try a vegetarian option, then get ready for a bright combination of bean sprouts, carrots, cabbage, garlic and rice noodles. Spring rolls with seafood, as a rule, can not do without king prawns. To prepare a dish, you can use different methods – both roasting and steaming.
Desserts
When traveling in Thailand, it would be a crime not to try national Thai dishes, especially desserts. Many of them include fruits, coconuts and, of course, rice. There are also delicious unsweetened pastries. First of all, you should pay attention to:
Khao Nyung Ma Mueang
Among the desserts served in Thailand, a dish called Khao Nyug Ma Mueang is of genuine interest. The dessert consists of three main ingredients: mango, glutinous rice and coconut cream. A very unusual, but very tasty combination. Despite the fact that it is a sweet dessert, many locals eat it for breakfast. You can buy and taste Khao Nyung Ma Mueang from street vendors or cafes.
Roti
In Thai cuisine, a dessert called roti is a familiar pancake. Prepare it from a liquid dough, which is stretched to the size of the thinnest flat cake. Chicken and egg, fruit, chocolate or plain sugar are added as fillers to the pancake. It is noteworthy that in reality, Roti is not a national dessert: the recipe for cooking was borrowed by Thais from Indians, after which it was widely distributed throughout Thailand.
Coconut ice cream
This is exactly the dish of Thai cuisine, the photo of which can excite the taste buds. For many people, coconut ice cream can be associated with ice cream, sprinkled with shavings, but it wasn’t there! The Thai version does include creamy ice cream, but the dessert is supplemented not with shavings, but with coconut milk, fruit jelly, grains of sweet rice and even legumes. The presentation of this dish is also very original: the balls are placed in a peeled coconut with pulp.
Fruit
Thailand is known all over the world for an incredible variety of fruits, many of which have such intricate shapes and shades that it is difficult to understand how to eat them. Some exotic fruits may appeal to most tourists, while others will appeal to only a few. But it’s definitely worth trying each of them at least once.
Durian
A fruit that can cause conflicting feelings even among the most desperate gourmets. Opening the brown shell with thorns, inside you will see a fruit of a yellowish-greenish hue. Durian is famous for its unpleasant smell, although it tastes sweet and has creamy notes. For obvious reasons, it is not recommended to store the fruit in your room or buy it as a souvenir for your loved ones. But being in Thailand, you should definitely try exotic durian.
Mango
The fruit is quite famous, characterized not only by sweet juiciness, but also by useful properties for the body. The flesh of the fruit can be yellow or green in color depending on its maturation. In Thai cuisine, mango is actively used in salads and desserts. It is also often used in the production of cosmetics.
Mangosteen
This is a small fruit with a burgundy skin, looks like an apple on the outside, and inside resembles a garlic head. The fruit has a sweet and sour taste: someone compares it to a sweetened grapefruit, and to some it seems to be a mixture of grapes and peaches.
Dragon Fruit
Beautiful on the outside and tasteless on the inside, Dragon fruit (or pitahaya) does not meet the expectations of tourists. The bright pink skin with green scales hides the snow-white fruit with patches of black seeds. It would seem that such an intricate fruit should be very interesting to taste, but it is quite fresh and non-aromatic. Locals eat dragon fruit after moistening the pulp with lime juice.
Papaya
Papaya is often used in the national Thai cuisine, it is the main component of Catfish salad There. Ripe fruit with a neutral taste is covered with a yellow shell, unripe – green. Papaya contains a lot of useful trace elements.
Passion fruit
A small fruit with a purple skin inside is filled with tender sweet pulp. The fruit has a pleasant aroma, so it is often used in the production of perfume products.
Sapodilla
The fruit is covered with a thin brown shell, which makes it similar to potato fruits. Inside, the sapodilla has a yellow-orange pulp, the aftertaste of which is distinguished by creamy and caramel notes.
Longan
Longan is a miniature fruit of transparent color, enclosed in a brownish shell. Externally, it resembles a walnut. Inside the fruit is a seed, which in any case should not be eaten, because it is poisonous.
Jackfruit
This is a fairly large fruit with a spiky green peel, similar in appearance to the durian we have already described. Inside, the flesh is yellow and has an interesting aroma. The sweet taste of jackfruit is slightly reminiscent of a pear of the “Duchess” variety. The fruit is often used in Thai cuisine, added to salads and desserts.
Rambutan
It is one of the most popular fruits not only in Thailand, but also in all of Asia. The hairy skin of a bright red color covers a delicate white fruit, characterized by a sweet, pleasant taste. Inside there are small poisonous seeds, so you need to eat rambutan very carefully.
Alcoholic beverages
We have already met the best dishes of Thai cuisine, and it’s time to talk about national drinks. In Thailand, you will find a fairly rich selection of alcoholic beverages, which are distinguished by an affordable price and good quality. Rum, beer and berry wines are particularly popular in the country. There are many variations of drinks, so we will tell you only about the best, long-established brands.
Chang Beer
This is a fairly young beer brand that has existed on the Thai market for no more than 10 years, but has managed to win recognition from both local and tourists. Classic Chang beer has a hoppy aftertaste and is characterized by increased strength (6.4%). However, the brand also offers varieties with a reduced alcohol content-Chang Draught (5%) and Chang Light (4.2%). Translated from Thai, Chang means “elephant”, the image of which adorns the label on the beer bottle.
Sang Som Rum
Sang Som rum is the most exported national Thai drink, which is definitely worth trying on vacation. Despite the budget price, the rum is of high quality and is sold in beautiful bottles. The strength of the drink is 40%, but the taste is soft and pleasant. In stores, you can find bottles of 0.3 liters and 0.7 liters. Sang Som rum will be an interesting and inexpensive gift from Thailand.
Conclusion
Thai cuisine is becoming a real discovery for many travelers. Unusual combinations of products and a diverse taste palette of dishes allow everyone to find food to their liking here. At the same time, most of the dishes are dietetic and healthy, which will undoubtedly be appreciated by adherents of a healthy diet.