The Food of Thailand

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Going on a culinary adventure through Thailand offers budget travelers an irresistible blend of flavors, aromas, and textures that tantalize the taste buds without emptying the wallet. Renowned for its street food culture, Thailand's bustling markets and roadside stalls are a treasure trove of affordable delights. From the fiery spices of pad Thai to the creamy indulgence of coconut curries, the diverse and delectable dishes of Thailand present a feast for both the senses and the budget-conscious explorer.

Market in Phuket, Thailand

Thai food is an amazing taste bud tantaliser. The mix of flavours can put your mouth on fire at times, as well as energise your taste buds as you’ve never experienced before. The distinct flavours that are used in Thai cooking are always fresh and delicious. Red and green chili, lemongrass, lime, coriander, kafir lime leaves, coconut milk, basil, mint, star anis, fermented fish sauce and oyster sauce.

There are three different types of basil; sweet basil – the type used in red and green curry (also called Vietnamese mint); holy basil – a little spicier than sweet basil, similar to the type we have in Australia, and lemon basil – with a lemon hint used with seafood dishes.

Cutlery; the spoon and fork are used to eat most meals, except noodle soup which is eaten with chopsticks and a typical Asian flat-bottom soup spoon. The spoon and fork are not used in the conventional western manner; the spoon is used for putting food in the mouth while the fork is used for cutting and shoveling. It seems strange to Thai people if you put the fork in your mouth!

Fermented fish sauce is made from fermenting all kinds of fish and prawns/shrimp, to get a dark sauce that smells very strong and can be offensive, and is used in all manner of foods and cooking. Smells bad but adds great taste to the dish.

Staples

The staples in the area are rice and noodles. Noodles come in all shapes and forms from thin rice, flat (and fat) rice, yellow egg noodles thick or thin and often curly, you can even get the packaged 2-minute noodle types. Glass noodles are the see through type and are made from mung beans. A great variety of meat is also eaten: chicken, duck, pork and beef.

Fruit and vegetables

The most common types of vegetables used green leafy types, as well as carrots, string beans, small round and pea eggplant, tomato, cucumber, bean sprouts, flat spring onions and lettuce. Mushrooms come in many different varieties; rice straw mushrooms which are specific to this region are round in shape and used for curries and soups. Oyster mushrooms are also used commonly, and are traditionally found growing on old wood, but are now farmed. In the northern regions of Thailand where the weather is generally a little cooler, you can find a greater variety of vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower.

Banana flower is used in salads and soups quite regularly. The flower has a large purple bulb shape with a bland flavour and crispy texture. The petals of the flower are finely sliced when used.

Fruit is plentiful, with the full range of tropical types; banana, pineapple, mango (often eaten green), jackfruit, durian (the smelly one), dragon fruit (pink skin with white flesh and black seeds throughout), lime, rambutan, lychee, watermelon, star fruit, mandarin, choko, longan (smaller and less fragrant than a lychee), mangosteen, guava (also eaten green more than ripe) and red or green rose apple (like a pear). Fresh fruit shakes are very popular and found in many spots, mixed up in a blender with ice, and sometimes sweetened condensed milk. Delicious on a sticky hot day!

Another unusual fruit I discovered at the markets is the ‘tju tjube’ fruit, it looks like a guava and tastes like a pear!
Tamarind pods – These are long brown hard shelled seed pods with a fleshy edible portion around the inner seed. A real tangy flavour with the consistency of fresh dates.

Signature dishes

• Phad Thai – flat rice noodles fried with firm tofu, peanuts, bean sprouts and egg, occasionally with prawns/shrimp, with a sauce of fish sauce, sugar and chili.
  
• Fish cakes – white fish blended with kafir lime leaf, coriander and sliced green beans and made into little cakes, which are deep fried. Served with chilli sauce.
  
• Green chicken curry – green curry paste (made from green chilli, coriander root, Thai ginger, lemongrass, lime peel and kafir lime leaves), and coconut milk make up the sauce, with a dash of fish sauce, with chicken, small round eggplant, pea eggplant (for decoration only) and some red chilli. Served with steamed rice. There are also red and yellow curry dishes, made with red chilies, and yellow chilies respectively. Other base ingredients are similar, but giving a slightly different flavour.
  
• Chilli, basil and chicken stir-fry – some green beans added, otherwise this dish is fairly self explanatory. So simple, yet so delicious! This meal is often eye-watering hot.
  
• Green mango salad – green mango julienne, red onion, crushed peanuts, lime juice, ground red chilli, baby shrimp, fish sauce and sugar. This dish really gives the taste buds a work out, an amazing sensation.
  
• Khao soi – (pronounced cow soy) mild coconut chicken curry with flat egg noodles, a little soup like, served with crispy noodles on top.
  
• Thai omelette – an egg omelette with chilli, sweet basil, occasionally minced pork, and deep fried.
  
• Tom Yum soup – very piquant clear soup, made with kafir lime leaf, lemongrass and galangal (Thai ginger which is milder than regular ginger root) as the base, then seasoned with spring onion and chilli. Can be cooked with prawns or chicken, garnished with basil and coriander.
  

Breakfast

• Noodle soup is a standard breakfast item, clear broth with noodles, some meat, spring onions, fried onions, herbs, green leaf vegetables, bean sprouts and chilli.
  
• Congee is a breakfast soup that is thick and gluggy with an egg mixed in, ginger, spring onions, herbs and minced pork balls, with a sprinkling of crispy noodles on top.
  
• Rice porridge is a clear broth with cooked rice, meat and a small amount of herbs and green vegetables.
  
• Eggs can be scrambled, an omelette or soft boiled in a cup. For the latter, it is usually very soft and liquid and the idea is to add salt and pepper and Worcestershire sauce and mix it all up.

Street Foods

Some of the best food is Thailand is street food; there are many tiny stalls on the street whipping up the most amazing dishes. The hygiene at these kinds of places is rarely a problem these days, so we didn’t hesitate to get in and try it all!

• Meat sticks grilled over hot coals are almost a staple. The balls are made with very finely minced meat and rice flour, rolled into balls. They have rather a chewy consistency and always a great flavour. They range from fish, chicken, pork and beef balls, and you can tell the difference by the colour increasing in darkness.
• Spring rolls are also found everywhere, varying in size and filling, veg and non-veg, and even the pastry casing.
• Fried insects of every kind – scorpions, grubs, crickets, grasshoppers, wasps and even baby chickens!
• Foods cooked over coals – Sweet potato slowly smoked whole in the skin, banana without the skin, rice patties dipped in an egg mixture, and mini frogs in a flat rack.
• Whole fish stuffed with lemongrass and salt encrusted are grilled over coals or on a hot plate. Eaten with rice.
• Dim sum is a sheet of egg noodle which is wrapped around minced meat and herbs. Either deep fried or boiled in soup.

Other foods

• Serpent head soup – didn’t get around to trying this one!
  
• Minced pork or chicken cooked with Isaan spices (lime juice and kafir lime leaves)
  
• Khao pat – fried rice
  
• Cuttle fish is a common dish in restaurants
  
• Chicken feet

Drinks

Energy drinks and alcoholic energy drinks are common. M-150 is the most popular brand. Thailand in fact is where Red Bull originated from, which has now stormed across the world.
Soft drinks are a whole new world here compared to western standards. There are loads of interesting varieties like fruit punch, pineapple, lychee and regular Fanta, as well as green cream Mirinda. They love soft drinks and they love them sweet.
Sugar cane drink – a fresh piece of sugar cane squeezed into a cup and drunk straight up. It has rather a raw tree flavour, but very very sweet.

Desserts

• Green tea flavoured ice-cream
  
• Corn and red bean flavoured yoghurt
  
• Most desserts are made using a little bit of salt
  
• Sugar syrup is often used for iced tea and is often added to fruit shakes as well

Fast Food

There are many fast food chains in Thailand especially in Bangkok. KFC, Pizza Hut and McDonalds, as well as a few of there own versions.
Found on the McDonalds menu:

• Regular pork burger, Samurai pork burger, McNuggets and fried chicken make it on the menu.
  
• Black pepper, pork and onion burger
  
• Chicken and capsicum supreme burger
  
• Instead of the regular apple pie, they offer taro, corn or pineapple pie
  
• Twister fries
  
• Green tea

Worthy Mention

We visited a Vietnamese restaurant in Nong Khai: A very clinical style restaurant that is starting to grow as a chain store. They have a specialty dish like no other! A skinless pork sausage which breaks into small pieces and is then wrapped in rice paper circles, adding lettuce, glass noodles, Vietnamese mint, cucumber, star fruit and raw banana. Once wrapped these bite size pieces are dipped into a thick dark sauce with peanuts and chilli. Absolutely delicious!

note: These food notes were made during several weeks travelling around Thailand. These are just our food experiences and you may have a totally different experience depending on your budget, where you travel and where you eat.

See also more Thai Food Photos

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