The taste of the Northeastern (Isan) food is stronger, more salty, sour and hot than elsewhere in the country and some dishes receive the influence of Laos. One unique characteristic of Isan food is that pla ra (fermented fish) constitutes a main dish in almost every meal. It is plainly eaten with glutinous rice or added to other dishes.
Som Tam (green papaya salad), one of the most popular dishes in Thailand, is also an original northeastern food and is normally eaten with glutinous rice and grilled chicken. som tam thailand
Basically, eating Thai food is a communal affair joined by two or more people sharing different dishes. So the greater the number of diners, the greater the number of dishes shared. These dishes are eaten together allowing the diners to enjoy the harmonious tastes of the whole meal. A typical Thai meal should consist of a soup, a fried dish, a hot salad (yam), a curry dish or a dip with fried fish and fresh vegetables. Besides, Thai food is normally served with a variety of condiments and sauces, e.g. fish sauce with chilies and vinegar with chilies.
If you are trying hot Thai food for the first time, you should take plenty of rice. You should also avoid eating chilies, especially the small red or green ones called phrik khi nu, which is a main ingredient in curries, hot salad and spicy fried dishes. Thai food is eaten with a fork and spoon and no knife as all ingredients are cut in slices or small chunks.
Have you ever tried Thai food? Do you like it? we invite you to savour some mouth-watering Thai dishes which are most popular among foreigners.
In July 1999, the Office of the National Culture Commission announced the top ten Thai dishes best liked by foreigners. In cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Office had conducted a survey of Thai restaurants all over the world to find out ten favourite Thai dishes of foreigners. In the survey 1,000 Thai restaurants around the world were asked to fill in a questionnaire. However, only 500 restaurants which have Thai chefs and offer the authentic Thai food were qualified for being taken into consideration.
The results were the top ten Thai dishes which are listed below in order of their percentages of popularity.