Though it is difficult to find food in Thailand that is not delicious, fresh, affordable, and available, there are a few must-try Thai foods that I thought I’d share.

Breakfast

Breakfast in Thailand often consists of foods that we would consider more appropriate for a lunch or dinner menu.  Pork, rice, chicken, and seafood are common options you’ll see, and once you give it a try, you’ll likely come to enjoy it.  Joke is probably the most common breakfast item; you can even find a fast-food version of it at McDonald’s!  Joke is a rice porridge with pork, served hot – kind of like a Thai oatmeal.  Other delicious options include Kai Jee-o (omelet mixed with pork or chicken) and Khao Mun Kai (basic chicken and rice).  It is very common to have entire menus available to you first thing in the morning, so feel free to order whatever it is you desire!

Lunch & Dinner

Lunch and dinner in Thailand are very similar, though lunch is often a single dish while dinner consists of various dishes.  Some popular favorites include:

Tom Kha Gai (Chicken in Coconut Soup)
This iconic soup infuses chilies, thinly sliced young galangal, crushed shallots, lemongrass, and tender strips of chicken. To soften the spicy snap of this soup, coconut milk is added. Topped off with fresh lime leaves, it’s a sweet-smelling concoction, both creamy and compelling.

 

Gaeng Keow Wan Gai (Green Chicken Curry)
Fresh chicken, cherry-sized eggplants, tender bamboo, sprigs of coriander, and lots of sweet basil form the body of this curry. And to make it a brilliant shade of green, spoonfuls of green curry paste are added into hot creamy coconut milk. Served with a bowl of Thai rice, Gaeng Keow Kan Gai is an incredible blend of spicy and tame.

Yam Nua (Spicy Beef Salad)
A brilliant mix of onion, coriander, spearmint, lime, dried chili and tender strips of beef come perfectly together to embody the invigorating thrill of all Thai salads.

 

 

Gai Yang (Thai Grilled Chicken)
Grilled chicken is found everywhere. It’s hard to walk a few meters without smelling this delectable treat. Grilled chicken is best complimented with a pile of tangy som tam and a dollop of sticky rice. Like many other dishes, often times the best grilled chicken is found on mobile stands attached to bikes or pushcarts.

 

Kao Niew Ma Muang (Sticky Coconut Rice with Mango)
A small bed of sticky rice is placed below some slices of super sweet, non stringy, ripened mango. This is also often drizzled with  coconut cream syrup. Usually located at many makeshift stands depending on mango availability.

 

Tom Yam Kung (Spicy Lemongrass Soup with Shrimp)
This spicy shrimp soup is the number one of the top ten Thai dishes loved by foreigners. The soup is flavored with fragrant lemongrass, fresh galangal root, and kaffir lime leaf.  The herbal mixture is well known for its medicinal properties.

 

Market Noodles
Not the official name, but this is what I’m calling them.  These noodles are found everywhere and are always spectacular.  Thin rice noodles drenched in spicy sauces and topped with chopped chili peppers, crushed peanuts, and/or a spoonful of sugar will always hit the spot!

 

Snacks!

Snacks are everywhere to be found, and available any time of day!  It truly is a food-lover’s paradise.  My go-to after-dark snack was the crispy golden crepes, stuffed with bananas, coconut, chocolate, Nutella, strawberries, or a myriad of other available options.  Usually made fresh on a mobile kitchen converted from a bike, these crepes were a blissful treat after a long hot day.  In Phuket, I’m pretty sure I had one of these every night.  Sadly though, these (like the fresh pancake stands) are nowhere to be found in the mornings, only in the evenings.

The strongest suggestion I can make is to be adventurous.  Try the unknown, opt for something new at least once a day.  It is most definitely a part of the travel experience that you don’t want to miss.  Also, check out the local markets, street vendors, and booths.  Not only will you pay far less than in a restaurant or at your hotel, you’ll be eating authentic Thai food the authentic Thai way!

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Have you tried and loved these foods?  Do you have your own favorite that you think should be on this list?  Comment here!