Thai Dishes Worth Trying

Thai cuisine is one of the greatest cuisines in the world. The cuisine combines many complex flavors and textures in several layers. Typical Thai ingredients include things like galangal (like ginger), coconut milk, tamarind, lemon grass, lime, basil, turmeric, garlic, fish sauce, and oyster sauce.

The Thai dishes everyone should try when visiting Thai restaurants in America, personally recommended by a Thai chef, are as follows:

Pad Thai (Thai fried noodles)

Pad Thai is probably the most famous dish in Thailand. Pad Thai – which means “Thai style noodles” – can be a good dish to start with if you are just introducing yourself to Thai food. It has a good combination of classic ingredients – like egg, tofu, peanuts and bean sprouts. The traditional flavor is a little unusual (fish sauce and dried shrimp), sour (fresh tamarind paste and lime juice), sweet (palm sugar) and not very spicy unless you add too much chili, which is usually served separately.

Tom yam gung (spicy and sour soup with shrimp)

Tom Yam is the most popular of Thai soups, both inside and outside of Thailand. It is a spicy and sour soup flavored with aromatic lemon grass, galangal root, kaffir lime leaf, bird’s eye chili. Depending on the main ingredient of the dish, there are hundreds of variations of Tom Yam. Tom Yam is usually made with shrimp (Tom Yam Gung), chicken (Tom Yam Gai), fish (Tom Yam Pla), or mixed seafood (Tom Yam Thali) and mushrooms.

The version with shrimp (Gung) is considered the most delicious by locals, so the first time you should choose it!

Tom Ka Gai (Thai soup with coconut, galangal and chicken)

Tom Ka Gai is another popular soup among Thais. The key is “Ka” (galangal) and coconut milk. This soup is recommended for people who cannot eat spicy foods because Tom Ka is much less spicy than Tom Yam.

Gaeng Keo Wan Gai (Thai green chicken curry)

The most popular curry in Thailand is the green curry. It is a curry of herbs and spices mixed with a curry paste made with coconut milk. Green curry is not very spicy, it is quite sweet. Green curry is such a wonderful dish, especially when served with rice or Kanom Jin noodles.

Catfish Tam (Thai green papaya salad)

Som Tam is a spicy papaya salad from the northeastern part of Thailand. The flavor of Catfish Tam goes well with the spice of red chili peppers, the saltiness of fish sauce, the acidity of lime or tamarind, and the sweetness of palm sugar. It can be mixed with crab, peanuts, dried shrimp and rice noodles. In addition, the main ingredient can be mango, cucumbers or other vegetables instead of green papaya.

Pad Kra Pao (fried Thai basil)

Pad Krah Pao is a very popular dish for local Thais. When people don’t know what to do, they just order Kra Pao! This dish is quick to prepare and delicious. Pad means fried, and Kra Pao is the Thai name for holy basil, which is one of the main ingredients. Pad Kra Pao can be made with chicken, pork, beef, seafood, tofu, or whatever you want. It is served with rice. You can also order a fried egg (kai dao).

Khao Pad (Thai-style fried rice).

Khao Pad is a favorite dish for all locals. In Thai, Khao is rice and Pad is fried. The meal usually includes meat of your choice – shrimp, chicken, pork, crab or beef along with eggs, onions, cilantro, garlic, tomatoes and delicious seasoning.

Thai fried rice is made with aromatic jasmine rice. It is usually served with sliced cucumber and limes on the side.

Rad Na (Thai-style noodles in sauce)

Rad Na is another popular street food in Thailand. Rad Na is flat rice noodles and vegetables covered in a thick sauce. The meat can be pork, chicken, or seafood. You can add a little extra sugar, fish sauce, chopped chilies in white vinegar and dried chilies on the side when eating.

Khao Man Gai (chicken rice).

Khao Man Gai is a simple street food that can be found all over Thailand. Boiled chicken and rice are usually served with bits of cucumber, soy sauce, and winter melon soup.

Khao-soi (northern Thai curry noodles)

Kao-soi is a northern-style curry noodle dish. It is made with coconut milk and yellow curry poured over soft egg noodles, then topped with crispy fried noodles. This Thai dish is slightly spicy, sweet and creamy. This is a dish you must eat if you visit Chiang Mai!

Be sure to immerse yourself in a world of very tasty Thai food when you travel to America, and your trip will be even more impressive!