20 Thai dishes to die for
Thai food is a balancing act of sour, sweet, salty, spicy and bitter, and every region does it differently. These are the 20 dishes we’d send any visitor to find — from Bangkok street woks and Isan grills to Chiang Mai’s curry noodles.
Each page explains the dish (with its Thai name, so you can point at a menu), shows videos from food creators like Mark Wiens, Best Ever Food Review Show and Pailin’s Kitchen, and lists the places not to miss — only spots backed by the MICHELIN Guide, food press or a creator who filmed there.
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#1 · Noodles · MildPad Thai ผัดไทย
Thin rice noodles wok-fried with tamarind, palm sugar, fish sauce, egg, tofu, dried shrimp and peanuts — Thailand’s national noodle.
4 places not to miss → -
#2 · Soup · SpicyTom Yum Goong ต้มยำกุ้ง
Hot-and-sour prawn soup with lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaf, chilli and lime — the taste most people think of as “Thai”.
3 places not to miss → -
#3 · Salad · Very spicySom Tam (Green Papaya Salad) ส้มตำ
Shredded green papaya pounded in a clay mortar with chilli, garlic, lime, fish sauce and palm sugar — fresh, crunchy and fiery.
5 places not to miss → -
#4 · Noodles · MediumKhao Soi ข้าวซอย
Chiang Mai’s coconut-curry egg-noodle soup, topped with crispy fried noodles and served with pickled mustard greens, shallots and lime.
3 places not to miss → -
#5 · Curry · MildMassaman Curry แกงมัสมั่น
A mild, rich curry of beef or chicken with potatoes, peanuts and warm spices like cardamom, cinnamon and clove.
3 places not to miss → -
#6 · Stir-fry · SpicyPad Kra Pao (Holy Basil Stir-Fry) ผัดกะเพรา
Minced pork or chicken flash-fried with holy basil, garlic and bird’s-eye chilli, over rice with a crispy fried egg — Thailand’s default lunch.
2 places not to miss → -
#7 · Rice · MildKhao Man Gai (Thai Chicken Rice) ข้าวมันไก่
Poached chicken over rice cooked in chicken fat and stock, with clear soup and a ginger, chilli and fermented-soybean sauce.
5 places not to miss → -
#8 · Grill · Not spicyMoo Ping (Grilled Pork Skewers) หมูปิ้ง
Sweet, garlicky marinated pork on bamboo skewers, charcoal-grilled and eaten with sticky rice — the classic Thai street breakfast.
1 place not to miss → -
#9 · Noodles · SpicyBoat Noodles (Kuay Teow Reua) ก๋วยเตี๋ยวเรือ
Small, intense bowls of rice noodles in a dark spiced broth of pork or beef, thickened with blood — once sold from boats on the canals.
3 places not to miss → -
#10 · Dessert · Not spicyMango Sticky Rice ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง
Ripe mango with warm sticky rice soaked in sweet-salty coconut cream, finished with crispy mung beans.
2 places not to miss → -
#11 · Salad · SpicyLarb (Laab) ลาบ
A warm minced-meat salad with lime, fish sauce, chilli, shallots, mint and toasted rice powder.
3 places not to miss → -
#12 · Curry · SpicyGreen Curry (Gaeng Keow Wan) แกงเขียวหวาน
Coconut curry made with fresh green chillies, Thai basil and pea aubergines — the spiciest of the coconut curries despite its name meaning “sweet green”.
3 places not to miss → -
#13 · Noodles · Not spicyPad See Ew ผัดซีอิ๊ว
Wide rice noodles seared with dark soy, egg and Chinese broccoli — smoky, savoury and not spicy.
1 place not to miss → -
#14 · Soup · MildTom Kha Gai ต้มข่าไก่
Chicken soup in coconut milk scented with galangal, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaf — creamy, sour and gentle.
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#15 · Rice · Not spicyKhao Pad (Thai Fried Rice) ข้าวผัด
Jasmine rice fried with egg, garlic and fish sauce, served with lime, cucumber and chilli fish sauce — elevated to an art with crab.
1 place not to miss → -
#16 · Curry · MediumHor Mok (Steamed Curry Custard) ห่อหมก
Fish mousse with red curry paste, coconut cream and egg, steamed in a banana-leaf cup on a bed of basil.
1 place not to miss → -
#17 · Stir-fry · Not spicyCrab Omelette (Jay Fai style) ไข่เจียวปู
A deep-fried omelette packed with lump crab, made world-famous by Jay Fai’s charcoal wok in Bangkok’s old town.
2 places not to miss → -
#18 · Curry · MediumPanang Curry พะแนง
A thick, nutty red curry reduced with coconut cream and kaffir lime leaves — drier and sweeter than most Thai curries.
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#19 · Rice · Not spicyKhao Kha Moo (Braised Pork Leg Rice) ข้าวขาหมู
Pork leg braised for hours in soy, five-spice and sugar, sliced over rice with egg, pickled mustard greens and chilli-garlic vinegar.
2 places not to miss → -
#20 · Grill · MildGai Yang (Isan Grilled Chicken) ไก่ย่าง
Whole chicken marinated in garlic, coriander root and pepper, grilled slowly over charcoal and eaten with som tam, sticky rice and jaew.
4 places not to miss →