11 Delicious Thai Dishes That Are To Order

Thai cuisine is famous for its delicious flavors and unique ingredients. If you want to try some authentic Thai recipes at home, then these 11 dishes should definitely be added to your menu.

Thailand has long been known for its rich culture and culinary tradition. The country is also considered to be one of the top tourist destinations in Asia.

There are plenty of amazing places to visit in Thailand, such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Pattaya, and Ko Samui.

Thai cuisine is characterized by bold flavors and distinctive spices. These dishes are often served with sticky rice or noodles and accompanied by fresh herbs and vegetables.

1. Tom Yum 

The Tom Yum Soup is one of Thailand’s most popular dishes. It is typically prepared using chicken stock, coconut milk, tamarind paste, lemon grass, chilies, lemongrass, and galangal root.

Fish sauce, lime juice, and palm sugar are often added depending on personal preference. You can make it with seafood like prawns, squid, mussels, clams, crab, or even beef.

The classic Thai soup Tom yam goong is a spicy seafood stew that originated in Thailand.

Traditionally it is made with chicken stock, tomatoes, dried chilies, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, and lime leaves. It is often served with steamed white rice.

Tom yam goong is quite popular in the Southeast Asian region, where it is considered one of the national dishes of Thailand.

It is traditionally eaten during special occasions such as New Year and weddings, although nowadays, it is often found being sold in street food stalls across Bangkok.

Thai people usually refer to this soup as “tom Kha gow”, meaning “coconut milk tom”. However, coconut milk is rarely used in the recipe because it does not suit well with the strong flavors of the soup.

Instead, the soup uses canned light coconut cream, which gives the soup a creamy texture.

2. Pad Thai

The history of pad thai goes back to Thailand, where it is a popular street food dish.

This dish consists of noodles, bean shoots, scrambled eggs, chicken or meat, peanuts, and some other vegetables, which are mixed together in a wok until they are well blended.

After cooking, the mixture is topped with a spicy sauce. There are many variations of pad thai recipes; however, most often, the main ingredient is rice noodles.

The dish known as Pad Thai is one of Thailand’s most popular dishes. This delicious noodle dish originated in Bangkok and is now found across Thailand.

Pad Thai is usually served over rice, although it is sometimes eaten without the accompaniment. In addition to being tasty, Pad Thai is nutritious and easy to make.

3. Thai Style Green Curry

The popularity of Thai food continues to grow around the world, especially in Western countries like Australia, Canada, and the United States.

One of the dishes that has become increasingly popular among Thai restaurants is green curry.

This dish originated in Thailand over 400 years ago, however today it is very common in many regions throughout Asia.

Green curry is usually prepared using chicken or beef and vegetables. However, there are some variations where you can use tofu or even seafood. The main ingredient used in Thai green curry is green chili peppers.

These spicy red fruits contain capsaicin, which gives the dish its characteristic heat. It is important to note though that the amount of spice varies depending on the region where the dish originates.

There are several different types of Thai green curries. Some of the most commonly known include yellow curry, red curry, and white curry.

Yellow curry uses turmeric, while red curry contains shrimp paste. White curry is similar to red curry except that it does not contain shrimp paste.

4. Phat Kaphrao

Pad Kaprow, also known as Phat Kaphraow, is one of Thailand’s most famous dishes. It is a stir-fry that is made from meat which is then combined with minced garlic, holy basil, and red chilies.

The recipe can differ slightly depending upon where you go, but some common additions include shallots or onions, lime juice, fish sauce, soy sauce, and sometimes even oyster sauce.

It is served alongside rice and is typically eaten with sticky rice.

They are usually served in a restaurant called A La Carte, which translates into “a la carte” meaning that customers choose what type of food they want to eat.

This particular dish consists of marinated ground beef and vegetables cooked together in a spicy sauce.

5. Khao Pad

Khao pad is one of our favorites because we love spicy food. You can use either regular jasmine rice (see also ‘Basmati Vs Jasmine Rice‘) or sticky rice. If you want to make this dish healthier, try substituting chicken broth for water.

The word Khao pad literally translates into stir-fried rice. It is a staple food in Thailand and is usually prepared using Thai Jasmine Rice.

However, there are many variations of Khao pad depending on what region you live in. In Bangkok, you might find Khao pad with shrimp paste, while in Chiang Mai, it could include pork.

In addition to being used as a side dish, Khao pad is often eaten as a snack. You can make it yourself at home, but it is much easier to buy it ready-made.

There are many restaurants that specialize in making this dish, including those specializing in street foods.

6. Som Tam

This is the name given to the green papaya salad served in Thailand. It is particularly famous in Bangkok and Chiang Mai.

Thai salads are quite different from the salads that you will find around the world. They don’t use leafy ingredients; rather, they use colorful, lively ingredients such as papaya.

They balance out the different flavors well since there are sweet, sour, salty, and spicy elements.

In Som Tam, the main ingredient is shredded papaya, although some recipes include cucumber, lettuce, mint leaves, peanuts, and fried shallots. The dish is often eaten with sticky rice and soup.

The word “Som tam” literally translates into “green papaya salad.” It is one of the most famous dishes in Thailand.

The dish consists of shredded papaya salad topped with fish sauce, lime juice, chilies, onions, basil leaves, peanuts, and sometimes eggs (for some more delicious Papaya juice recipes, read here).

Thai salads are quite different from those found in other parts of the globe. They don’t include lettuce or tomatoes.

Instead, they use colorful vegetables such as cucumber, carrots, peppers, cabbage, and even water chestnuts.

7. Massaman Style Curry

Massaman curry is a mildly spicy, creamy curry made out of chicken or beef.

This curry originated in Thailand and is considered one of the best dishes in the world. It contains peanuts, which add a unique taste to the dish.

You can find massaman curry in both meat and vegetarian versions. There are many ways to prepare this dish, depending on what you like. If you want something different, try making it with tofu.

Massaman curry is a mild version of Thai cuisine. It is known for its rich flavors and sweet taste. This recipe uses chicken, beef, shrimp, mushrooms, and peas.

It is a popular dish among Thais because it is easy to prepare and tastes great.

The name of the dish comes from the city of Masai where it originated. In Thailand, this type of curry is referred to as “massaman curry.”

It is usually served over rice. The preparation process requires some patience as it takes about 30 minutes to cook properly.

You can use either chicken or beef for this recipe. However, you must choose one that is tender enough to cut into pieces easily.

8. Khao Niaow Ma Muang

This is a classic Thai dessert recipe that is normally served as street food. It consists of sweet rice which is soaked in sweet syrup and sliced pieces of mango which are soaked with the same syrup.

Then the dish is finished off with some coconut sauce. In Thailand, this dessert can either be eaten with your hands or using a spoon.

When eaten with hands, it is massaged together into balls and then dipped in the sauce.

It is usually served as street food. It consists of sweet rice flour, and sliced mangoes which are soaked in a thick syrup, it is then topped off with a coconut sauce.

When eaten by hand, it can be massaged into balls and dipped into the sauce. Alternatively, you can use a spoon to eat it.

9. Gaeng Daeng

This is a popular red curry recipe from Thailand that uses a variety of vegetables and chicken. It is often eaten at lunchtime or dinner time and is usually served with noodles or rice.

It is very easy to make and tastes great. You don’t even have to use the whole chicken because you can cut it into pieces. You can serve it with rice or noodles.

Red curry is one of Thailand’s most famous dishes. In fact, it is considered to be the national dish of Thailand.

Although there are many variations of the recipe, red curry is typically made with ground meat and vegetables.

However, you could use shrimp or even duck instead of ground meat if you want to make this into a vegetarian meal.

10. Pad Woon Sen

Thai cuisine is known for being spicy and flavorful. One of the most popular dishes in Thailand is called Pad Woon sen. It literally translates to “glass noodles.”

This dish is unique because it uses glass noodles instead of rice noodles.

There are different types of glass noodles used in making this dish. Some use mung bean starch, while others use potato starch (see also ‘What Can I Use Instead Of Potato Starch? 5 Amazing Substitutes‘).

However, the type of starch does not matter much since both works equally well. In fact, the noodles themselves do not even have to be glass; they could just be regular noodles.

The dish itself is quite simple to make. You start off by cooking the glass noodles in boiling water for about 10 minutes.

Once they are soft enough, drain them and set them aside. Next, you sauté some onions and garlic in oil. Then add some green peas and carrots.

After that, you mix together some soy sauce, sugar, oyster sauce, fish sauce, lime juice, and hot chili paste.

Add the vegetables into the mixture and let everything simmer for another 5 minutes. Finally, pour in some coconut milk and serve.

This dish goes great with many things like chicken, beef, pork, seafood, and tofu. Also, you can always add in whatever vegetables you want.

Some people prefer adding bell peppers, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, baby corn, spinach, snow peas, and cabbage.

Of course, there are no rules here. You can really put anything you want in this dish. Just remember to keep it light and refreshing.

11. Phanaeng

A popular dish among Thais, Phanaeng is one of the many dishes that are known as “red curry”. In fact, there are several different styles of red curry, each having its own distinct flavor profile.

However, phanaeng is generally considered to be the mildest variety of red curry. This type of curry is often used as a base recipe for other variations such as green curry, yellow curry, and white curry.

The word phanaeng literally translates to “red”, although it is sometimes used to describe any type of curry. There are many different kinds of phanaeng, including yellow, green, and white versions.

In Thailand, phanaeng is often eaten with steamed sticky rice, and it is traditionally made with pork. However, there are some variations where people make it with chicken or beef.

Although phanaeng is commonly known as a spicy dish, it does not contain much heat in comparison to other types of curry.

Instead, it contains ingredients like galangal, lemongrass, and turmeric, which give it a slightly sweet flavor. Because of its mild nature, it is usually paired with dishes that are less spicy, such as fried fish or noodles.

Final Thoughts

Thailand has so many delicious foods to offer. From street snacks to fine dining, there is something for everyone.

If you’re looking for an authentic taste of Thailand, then we recommend trying out some of these recipes. They will definitely satisfy your cravings!