THAI DISHES
According to the book The Thai Kitchen:A full traditional Thai meal is composed of several kinds of food cooked in different ways. There would very likely be a clear soup ( tom chuet), a salty soup ( tom khem), a spicy shrimp soup ( tom yam kung), a green curry ( kaeng khiao wan), a spicy chicken curry in coconut milk ( tom kha kai), and a curry without coconut milk ( kaeng pa), which taken all together have a balanced composition of meat and vegetables, as well as special ingredients to add taste, color, and aroma to the food. Some of the ingredients help digestion, get rid of flatulence, and drive away gas in the abdomen.[Source: thailand.prd.go.th/ebook/kitchen ]
“Apart from soup and curry, there are at least one or two other kinds of food in a meal. There is steamed and grilled food, as well as Thai paste sauce for dipping vegetables, such as shrimp paste sauce ( nam phrik kapi), salted soya beans ( lon tao jiao), northern Thai spicy pork tomato paste ( nam phrik ong), northern Thai spicy paste sauce ( nam phrik num), grilled shrimp paste sauce ( nam phrik kung siab), and grilled fish paste sauce ( nam phrik pla yang). These Thai paste sauces can be eaten with fresh, steamed, and boiled vegetables, and with meats, such as grilled, steamed, or roasted fish and roasted shrimps or even the small fried fish called "pla thu," full of protein and calcium. [Ibid]
Thai dishes include pad tai (fried noodle, bean sprouts, peanuts, eggs, chilies and prawns sometimes seafood, lime, tamarind, and peanuts), som tom (papaya salad), khow pat (fried rice with garlic, peppers and fish sauce), khow pat kai (khow pat with chicken), khow pad (khow pat with crab meat), khow pat moo (khow pat with pork), khow pat kung (khow pat with prawns), tom yam gun (spicy lemon grass soup with prawns, chicken or fish), yam (spicy Thai salad), kaeng kari (Indian-style curry) and gaeng ped (Thai-style curry with beef or chicken with coconut milk, chilies and spices).
Among the other popular dishes are hommok (fish steamed with coconut milk) mii grob (crisp fried noodles), pat prii oh wahn (sweet and sour vegetables), nua pat nammun hoy (beef in oyster sauce), tom kha khai (chicken with ginger and coconut milk), kai yang (barbecued chicken with grated coconut), poo cha (crab meat with vegetables), and pla pad khing (fried rice with ginger); tom kar gai (chicken and coconut milk soup), gai hao bai toey (chicken in pandanus leaf), green curry, and som tam malagor (papaya salad).
Also try kuay toaw name (rice noodles with meat, vegetables or fish in broth), bami nam (egg noodles with meat or vegetables in broth), kaeng kari kae (curried chicken), pla dook (catfish), pla pow haw bai ong (grilled fish in banana leaves), tom kha gao sai hua plee-pao (chicken with banana flower in coconut milk soup), yum won sen (clear fine noodle salad), kaeng jeud (pork, chicken or prawn soup), khai dao (fried eggs), scrambled eggs (khai khon ), and omelette (khai jii oh ).
Famous Thai Dishes
Pad thai is probably the most well known Thai dish. It is found in almost every Thai restaurant outside Thailand. Originally it was a Chinese dish brought to Thailand in the 19th century. The pad thai served in Thailand tends to be much less sweet than the pad thai found in the United States. See Recipes for ingredients and How to Make it.
A Thai curry or soup is usually served with a meal. The consistency of each Thai curry varies widely, with some curries arguably classifiable as soups. However, most Thai curries are coconut milk-based and some are spicier than others. Gaeng massaman , is a mild, peanut and potato curry; gaeng kiaw wan (Thai green curry) is a curry of medium thickness and spiciness, while gaeng daeng (red curry), otherwise known as gaeng pet (spicy curry), is a thinner, obviously spicier option. Tom kha, a mild coconut soup, blurs the lines between soup and curry, while Tom Yam Kung, a quintessential Thai soup, is often blisteringly hot. Although some curries and soups can be served without meat for vegetarians, many Thai cooks put fish sauce in all dishes as it’s the Thai substitute for salt.
Thais like salads that are sour and hot. The sourness is often provided by lime or pomelo juice and the hotness comes from chilies. Some feature seafood such as mussels crabs, jellyfish, squid or shrimp. Other use fruit as a prime ingredient. Many are unique to specific areas.
Papaya salads known as som tom are very popular in Northeast Thailand and among non-Thai lovers of Thai food. They are usually made with shredded green papaya pounded with a wooden pestle in a ceramic mortar and along with chillies, garlic, lime juice shallots, green beans, peanuts, small tomatoes and other ingredients. The shredded papaya provides a sweet flavor and crunchy texture. The chilies give it some fire and the lime juice gives it a desired tartness. In some places it is made with small land crabs and fermented fish sauce. Mango salads and catfish salads are also popular.
Thai salad is generally made of raw vegetables mixed with chili, lime, and fish sauce, though some, such as yam neua (Thai beef salad) contain meat. The most internationally recognized Thai salad, som tam is technically a dish of Lao origin, and is most popular in Northeastern Thailand, where it is prepared in a manner that would wreak havoc on the stomach of an unsuspecting visitor unaccustomed to real spicy Thai food. Som Tam consists primarily of shredded papaya and is often served with grilled chicken (gai yang).
Yam som-o, is a more mild salad that is based on the pomelo, a fruit similar to, but less sour than, a grapefruit. Yam som-o is usually served with shredded chicken. Other salads include Yam Neua, a Thai beef salad served with tomato and onion, and Yam Wonsan, a glass noodle and shrimp salad. [Source: Tourist Authority of Thailand]
Bangkok is famed of its curry crab. Kazuo Nagata wrote in the Yomiuri Shimbun, “The popular Bangkok restaurant Somboon Seafood is famed for its “Original Poo Patpong Fried Curry Crab”. Stir-fried crab with curry powder has been standard fare since olden times in Thailand, but the restaurant claims its dish is “original” because the sauce is thickened with eggs, said Warach Ruengsri, 43, Somboon’s general manager. Duck eggs, which are said to create a more savory smell than chicken eggs, are used in the dish. The curried crab is not as spicy as other items on the menu, and a pinch of sugar and other ingredients are added to the sauce to make the taste of the crabmeat stand out—a perfect match for steamed rice. The dish is priced from 320 baht to 1,200 baht (US$10 to $38) depending on the size of crab. [Source: Kazuo Nagata, Yomiuri Shimbun, August 22, 2013]
Desserts and Snacks in Thailand
Common desserts include foi tong (egg yoke and sugar), slaim (sweet noodles in coconut milk and shaved ice), songkaya (pudding made with eggs, palm sugar and coconut mimed and often served in a coconut shell, kow neo mamuang (sticky rice served with mango), khao niao gao (sweetened sticky rice that has been shaped into flower pedals), tago (a coconut flavored treat wrapped in a banana leaf), sweet, nutty taro ice cream, tapioca balls served with coconut syrup and fresh fruit. Fruit is also a common Thai dessert and is usually served plain and sliced, though mango with sticky rice, covered in sweet coconut milk is a popular dessert when mangos are in season.
Also worth trying are sangkha-yaa ma-hrao (coconut custard), maw kaeng (egg custard), kluay buat chil (banana with coco nut milk), kluay khaek (fried Indian-style bananas), luuk taan cheuam (sweet palm kernels), ta-koh (Thai jelly with coconut cream), khao niaw daeng (sticky rice with coconut cream), met kha nun ( balls made from crushed beans and wrapped in egg), Thai custard (khanom mo kaeng), khanom chan (Thai layer cake), bua loi (rice dumpling in coconut milk soup), fak thong kaeng buat (pumpkin boiled in coconut milk and sugar), kluai chueam (candied banana), luk chup (crushed beans in fruit shapes and dipped in Thai jelly) and thapthim krop (crisp water chestnut in coconut milk).
You wouldn’t think it, looking at slim waist lines of many Thais, but Thai people love to eat desserts—both traditional Thai desserts as well as western fare such as cakes and ice cream. Traditional Thai desserts are quite sweet, made predominately from various combinations of rice, coconut milk, and sugar, along with a few seemingly less common dessert ingredients, such as sweet corn or kidney beans. Some egg based Thai desserts trace their history back to the influence of Portuguese missionaries (who also introduced the chili!). While these desserts are not prominently featured on menus in Thai restaurants and infrequently ordered at the conclusion of a meal, they are occasionally served complimentarily or can be found at street stalls that specialize in particular desserts. [Source: Thailand Foreign Office, The Government Public Relations Department]
Thai desserts and sweetmeats come in diverse forms and are served both heated and chilled. Most are in pleasant shapes and forms, in bright colors.Thai desserts are based on fruits and produce such as banana, sugar palm nut, coconut, young rice, maize, sweet potato, taro, rice flour, and tapioca flour, made into puree over a fire, steamed, boiled in syrup, fried, and baked. Egg yolk is added for desserts like golden thread and golden drop. Some are boiled in coconut milk, or eaten with fruit, such as creamy steamed sticky rice with ripe mango, and several others. [Ibid]
According to the study "Finding Thailand's Place in World Cuisine in the Next Ten Years," the Thai desserts most popular with foreigners were banana in coconut milk (kluai buat chi), sweet glutinous rice jam (khao niao kaeo), sweet rice noodles in coconut milk (lotchong nam kathi), Thai pudding with coconut topping (tako), Thai custard with coconut (maphrao sangkhaya), Gold Thread (f