Thai food is obviously one of many experiences you must not miss when you travel Thailand - the Land of Smiles, wrapped in daily summer heat -- and knowing the most popular Thai dishes will make your experience in this exotic cuisine more enjoyable.So let’s take up the Top 5 Thai Food cuisines evaluated on the basis of fondness, uniqueness and authenticity:
1. Tom Yum Gung
This Thai masterpiece soup is teeming with shrimp, mushrooms, tomatoes, lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves. It can be ordered loaded with coconut milk (tom yum gung nam kohn) and cream or without (tom yum gung nam sai) for a slightly more sour and healthy version. This soup truly unifies a host of favorite Thai tastes: sour, salty, spicy and sweet, all in one bowl. This is an authentic Thai delicacy that many locals are passionate about and has become popular around the world.
Thai fried rice is a variety of fried rice typical of central Thai cuisine. In Thai, khao means "rice" and phat means "of or relating to being stir-fried". This dish differs from Chinese fried rice in that it is prepared with Thai jasmine rice instead of regular long-grain rice. It normally contains meat (chicken, shrimp, and crab are all common), egg, onions, garlic and sometimes tomatoes. The seasonings, which may include soy sauce, sugar, salt, possibly some chili sauce, and the ubiquitous nam pla (fish sauce), are stir-fried together with the other ingredients.
3. Som Tam ( Thai green papaya salad )
Som tom is perhaps Thailand's most famous salad. Garlic and chilies are first pounded with a mortar and pestle (krok). Tamarind juice, fish sauce, peanuts, dried shrimp, tomatoes, lime juice, sugar cane paste, string beans and a handful of grated green papaya are tossed in the krok (som tam thai). The sweet, salty, and spicy flavors paired with the crisp crunch of the green papaya and sticky rice is utterly luscious. Many variations are available including one made with crab (som tam boo) and one made with fermented fish sauce (som tam plah lah).
4. Guay Teow Lui Suan ( Thai style fresh spring rolls )
This Thai version of spring rolls rather uses wide rice noodles as a wrapper instead of . Huge and thin rice noodles in the form of square tortillas are used as wrappers for these Thai style fresh spring rolls. A mixture of ground pork, carrots and lettuce are wrapped up in the noodles to create spring rolls and then eaten with lettuce leaves and holy basil. The green dipping sauce is another astounding mixture of sweet, sour and spicy flavors.
5. Gaeng Keow Wan ( Thai green curry )
Gaeng Keow Wan is made with fresh green chillies and hence the green color. The aromatic flavor lies in its sweetness and somewhat spicy tastes. Be amazed when you have the correct mix of the spiciness from green curry chili paste, the richness of the coconut milk, sweetness of palm sugar and saltiness of fish sauce. It is usually eaten with steamed rice or served as a sauce to a type of noodles called "Kanom Jeen".
Top 5 Thailand dishes
