Food To Try in Thailand

Thailand has, in my opinion, some of the best food in the world. It is full of spices and fresh fruit and vegetables. What is not to love about that. Sadly many of the other people on our tour of Thailand struggled with the food, which I did not understand. I could eat Curry everyday for the rest of my life and not have a problem with it. I don’t love jsut Curry though. There is Phad Thai, Spring Rolls, Fruit, and much more. These are the foods you have to try if you are in Thailand.

Lanna Dinner

This is something unique to the north of Thailand, particularly the city of Chiang Mai. It is called a Lanna dinner. It is a platter of a few different foods. You eat this food while watching a show of traditional music and dancing of northern Thailand. It is made up of a few different meats, vegetables, sauces, and my favorite, friend bananas. It is a great experience and something you need to do while in Chiang Mai.

Thai Meat

This meat platter is made up of a spicy Thai sausage, Sai Oua, and other Thai meats. Sau Oua is a must try in Thailand. It has a different taste than the sausages we are used to, but it is as equally delicious. This sausage comes from Chiang Mai, but you can really find it anywhere in Thailand.

Dairy Queen

I know. Dairy Queen is an American thing. Trust me. I was just as surprised to see Dairy Queen in Thailand. Of course, being from Minnesota, where there are Dairy Queens everywhere, we had to try it. I ordered an oreo blizzard in a waffle cone. The ice cream tasted the same, but there was just something about eating that ice cream on a hot day in Thailand.

Phad Thai

Phad Thai is probably one of the most popular Thai dishes in the western world. I know that I had it many times before actually having it in Thailand. None of those times compare to the stuff I had in Thailand though. It is a thousand times better in Thailand. The spicy peanut sauce mixed with the tender chicken and mixed vegetables had a different taste in Thailand. I highly recommend having real Phad Thai in Thailand.

Curry

There are many different types of curry. There is green curry and red curry. It can we served with chicken or shrimp. It can have fruit or only vegetables. There are so many variations to curry, which is why you won’t get tired of it in Thailand. I ate curry everyday and never got sick of it. This is something you absolutely can’t avoid having in Thailand because it is everywhere. It is definitely the most popular Thai dish.

Thai Roti Sai Mai

Don’t be weirded out by the look of these. They are absolutely amazing. Roti Sai Mai is basically a crepe stuffed with cotton candy. It is full of sugar, but it is the perfect way to satisfy your sweet tooth while in Thailand. They are street food, so if you want to try them you have to keep an eye out at markets.

Lychee

This is a fruit that I never heard of before going to Thailand. It is called a Lychee. It is a small pitted fruit with a hard pink exterior. You really have to dig your nails into it to open the shell. Then you eat the white fleshy fruit, but be aware of the huge pit in the middle. I really liked Lychees. To me they tasted like grapes, but with a little bit more of a tropical flavor.

Pad Gkaprow Mu

This pork dish is a nice change from eating Chicken Curry everyday. It is made of pork, basil, and other spices, served on top of rice. It is spicy, of course. It was one of my favorite dishes and I wish I could have had it more.

Fresh Fruit

Honestly, you should eat any kind of fresh fruit in Thailand. My favorite was fresh Pineapple. It was way sweeter and juicier than our pineapple here. I ate so much of it. Other great fresh fruits in Thailand are watermelons, oranges, papaya, bananas, and more. Just try any kind of fresh fruit you find.

Tea

I am a huge fan of tea, particularly bubble tea, so I really enjoyed all the tea I found in Thailand. The picture above is from the Cafe Amazon, a popular drink place at rest stops in Thailand. It is a fruity green tea with gummy squares in it. I also had a lot of milk tea, Thai tea, and lemon green tea. Most of the tea I had was cold, since Thailand is such a hot place, but you can find warm tea too. I never had as good tea as I had in Thailand, so you need to try tea in Thailand if you are a tea fanatic like me.

Miang Kham

This is another Thai street food. It was one the most surprising foods I had in Thailand. I had no idea what was inside. I was surprised about how delicious it was. I could have kept eating them. They made a great mid-day snack. Miang Kham is usually filled with ginger, garlic, lime and peel, shallots, chili pepper, coconut, some kind of nut, and small dried shrimp. It tastes way better than it sounds. Trust me. It will surprise you too.

Insects!!! (Surprise)

Yes, it sounds weird. What American wants to eat bugs? It is an experience you need to have in Thailand though and it is not as gross as it sounds. They taste like chips. As long as you tell yourself that it is a chip, it isn’t bad. Then afterwards you can tell people that you ate bugs in Thailand. They will be amazed by your bravery.

Pork Balls

Pork balls are a street food you will find in the markets of Thailand, but you can also find it in soups at restaurants. I kind of thought it was weird when I first saw it, but when I tasted it with the spicy sauce it was served with, I thought differently. It tasted really good and satisfied my American love for meat.

Chicken Satay

Before going to Thailand, I actually made Chicken Satay. It is basically chicken on a stick served with a peanut sauce. It is really delicious and it was a nice change of pace when we were in Thailand. We had been eating a lot of Curry, so to try something so different tasted so good.

Fried Bananas

I love fried bananas! This was my favorite food from Thailand. I ate so many fried bananas. You can eat them plain and they will taste really good that way or you can eat them like the above picture. When you order it as a dessert in a restaurant it will probably be served like the above picture with ice cream and a sauce.

Spring Rolls

Spring rolls were one of my favorite parts of the trip. Freshly made Thai spring rolls taste a lot better than the stuff you buy from the freezer aisle of the grocery store. If you don’t know what a spring roll is, it is kind of like the Thai version of a egg roll. It is stuffed with noodles and vegetables and then dipped in a sweet chili sauce. They are amazing!

Papaya Salad

A spicy papaya salad may sound weird, but that is because when we think of papayas, we think of a sweet tropical fruit. In this salad the papaya isn’t ripe, so it isn’t sweet. The salad is a great dish to try on a hot Thai day. It is a Thai food, so be aware that it is spicy. It is a great uniquely Thai dish though.

Mango Sticky Rice

This is the best dessert in the world. I never had heard of Mango Sticky Rice before going to Thailand. I discovered it one night when we were served it. It was delicious. Although it might not sound like a dessert, it totally is. It is actually very sweet. The sticky rice is topped with rich coconut milk. Then you eat the rice with the pieces of mango. It is really great and should definitely be on the top of your list of food to try in Thailand.

Theses are some of my favorite food in Thailand and some of my favorite food in the world. I highly recommend trying them on your next to Thailand. Don’t limit yourself just to these though. There are many other great uniquely Thai foods to try. 🇹🇭