Thai cuisine is among the most delicious, diverse, and unique cuisines in the world. It boasts of a great combination of spices and ingredients, making the dishes aromatic, flavorful, and tasty. When you eat Thai food, you’ll love the many flavors that will greet your tastebuds, which make your dining experience more memorable.
But if there’s one thing that gives Thai dishes a little something extra, it’s the spicy flavor that most of them have. You know how Thai people love to use chili peppers in their dishes, right? All the heat they bring can surely spice up your dining experience. Here are five dishes that you must try when you visit Thailand.
Kua Kling
Let’s start with Kua Kling, a classic dish from Southern Thailand. Kua Kling is a dry curry mixed with stir-fried meat. The meat is usually chicken or minced pork, while the curry paste is made of different ingredients, including chilies, galangal, garlic, lemongrass, pepper, salt, shrimp paste, and turmeric. Such rich ingredients and flavors! The meat and curry paste are mixed together when cooking to create a spicy yet delicious treat.
Gaeng Som
Let’s proceed to the next hot dish from Southern Thailand called Gaeng Som, which is a yellow curry. You can smell it from afar, and the delicious aroma it gives off will make anyone rush to the dining table. Gaeng Som is a thin, soup-like curry made with fish such as black-banded trevally and bamboo or coconut shoots. This dish is also sprinkled with turmeric, garlic, shallots, and lime juice. Some cooks add tamarind to make it sour. But its spiciness comes from bird’s eye chilies and shrimp paste. It’s best served with a bowl of sticky hot rice.
Kuay Tiew Mu Tom Yum
Let’s go to the third dish. Kuay Tiew Mu Tom Yum is served hot and spicy in a bowl. It is a great example of Thai street food. This dish is a perfect combination of rice noodles, spicy soup, and tom yum. It has a blend of salty, sour, spicy and sweet flavors, not to mention ground pork and roasted peanuts. Kuay Tiew Mu Tom Yum is bursting with character and flavor. That said, it isn’t for the faint-hearted, or those with sensitive taste buds, because it’s really spicy.
Pad Prik King
Next on the list is Pad Prik King, which is another popular stir-fried dry curry. But this one has a vibrant dark red color brought by the hot red chilies, which make up the base of its thick paste. This dish has cuts of beef, chicken, fish, or pork sprinkled with basil, bird’s eye chilies, garlic, onions, and peppers. It has a pungent aroma, as well as a salty and sweet flavor, but it’s so spicy that you’ll need plenty of extra rice to dilute the taste.
Som Tum
Last on the list is Som Tum, a known staple in Thailand. It’s also famous all over the world. This dish is comprised of green papaya salad and a pounded mixture of coconut sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, and salt, and not to mention a handful of fiery chilies. But here’s the catch: the spicier it is, the better it tastes! That said, it goes hand in hand with sticky rice and Thai grilled chicken to tone down the spiciness. If you visit Thailand, this is one great dish that you shouldn’t miss. Be careful, though, as it’s only for the brave!
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