Thai Central Food (Click to enlarge)
In Bangkok you'll find restaurants, and street stalls, serving Isaan-style grilled chicken (gai yang) and spicy laab salads to Southern curry-stuffed rotis (roti mataba). These influences have always fueled the imaginations of cooks in the Central Plains, resulting in the most complex regional cuisine of Thailand, thanks to the wealth of available ingredients and cuisines.
The widest variety of curries are eaten in the Central Plains, and the visitor favorites of Red Curry (Gaeng Phet) and Sweet Green Curry (Gaeng Keaw Waan) originate in this region. The curries in this region can be based in meat stock and coconut milk or dry-fried. These curries are generally not as fiery as the curries of the South or the North East. Scented with fresh lemongrass and galangal, kaffir lime leaves, and fresh mint and basil, they are predominantly hot and salty, warmed by fresh chili peppers, and salted with fish sauce and shrimp paste.
Soups like the famous hot and sour Tom Yam and coconut-milk-based Tom Kha are also eaten here, but often taste sweeter compared to other regions – Central Thai food privileges heat and sweetness in their flavor palate. Chinese-influence shows up in street foods like Fried Chive Cakes and Stewed Pork with Five Spice Powder and also in stir-fried dishes like Pad Phet, in which meats and vegetables are stir-fried with pungent chilies and Thai basil.
As the Central Plains has a wealth of rivers and lakes, common vegetables are ones that grow in the water including watercress and morning glory. Many other vegetables including wing beans, eggplant and bamboo shoots are also popular. Vegetables are added to curries and stir-fries or integrated into simple salads with meats, fresh shallots, fresh herbs, and dressed with chilies, lime juice, sugar and fish sauce. River shrimp and other freshwater fish, along with mollusks and shellfish are frequently on the menu, as are farmed meats like duck, chicken and pork.
Bangkok is also the destination to try Royal Thai cuisine. These are the dishes – made of expensive ingredients, carefully spiced, and ornately prepared and decorated – traditionally made inside the palace kitchens. Though these recipes were historically closed to Thais outside of the Royal family, restaurants for Royal foods are opening up, and modern chefs are experimenting with these ancient recipes, giving modern Thai people the chance to taste these refined foods.