Top 5 Dishes To Try In Thailand

What are some of the main things that people head to Thailand for other than teaching? The beautiful white beaches with crystal clear blue seas, the party life, the unique experiences, and of course, the food. Now it’s a well know fact that Thai food is some of the most flavorsome in the world, attacking your tongues sense by using the four big flavor sense bombs, sweet, sour, spicy, and salty.

Getting just the right balance of these four pillars of Thai cuisine is no easy feat, but when done right it sends your tongue on a taste roller-coaster   They usually tend to lean more to one of these flavors; here are my Top 5 dishes which you must try during your time teaching English in Thailand.

5. Tom Kha Kai

So you have finished a hard day of teaching English in Thailand, you head out to dinner and all you want is something not too spicy to fill you up. Introducing Tom Kha Kai, or Chicken in coconut soup. A little like tom yum soup but without such a heavy bite on the spice, this dish infuses the freshness of lemongrass with the fiery punch of hot chilies which are cooled by a hefty amount of coconut milk. Infused with shallots and fresh young galangal you will find tender chunks of chicken to sink your teeth into. Perfect for an after school dinner by the beach.

4. Som Tum

Or, as us westerners know it, spicy green papaya salad. This is a real split dish, some people love it and can’t get enough, others can’t handle it’s sweet, sour and spicy flavors. Pummeled in a mortar and pestle you can find chilies, garlic, cherry tomatoes, green beans and raw green papaya. The pummeling releases the locked in flavors giving a very aromatic dish. This is a visually deceptive dish, it looks like any standard veggie salad, but what lies in that bowl is a flavor explosion.

3. Yam Nua

If you are salad lover, then be prepared to meet the ruler of all salads, blowing your standard cos lettuce salad right out of the water we have Yam Nua, an amazing blend of onion, spearmint, lime, coriander, dried chili and tender mouth watering strips of beef this really is a flavor king! The spearmint and lime in this salad give it an amazing freshness whilst the chili really gives you a kick in the back of the throat.

2. Soup Neua

Missing home? Had a rough day teaching? Just feeling slightly under the weather? Get yourself a bowl of soup neua, or beef soup. This is comfort food, pure and simple. Food has a lot to do with the culture in Thailand, locations of food are also affected by this. This dish is more popularly found on the south of Thailand due to its higher percentage of Muslims preferring beef over pork, this dish comes in a broth of beef that has been boiled until tender with chilies, lime juice and onions. The broth really gives off a beefy character that with each slurp makes you feel more at home.

1. Hor Mok Ma Prow Awn

This has to be my number one dish to try in Thailand. It gains merits just for its presentation, but once you dive into that young coconut shell you are in for a treat. I love food in Thailand and this one is my number one due to its assortment of seafood that has been stir fried with coconut flesh and coconut milk and an assortment of fresh vegetables you simply can’t go wrong.  The sweetness of this curry will have your taste buds dancing and yearning for more.

Here are just my 5 top dishes to sink your teeth into whilst teaching in Thailand. But don’t just take my recommendations, go out there and discover your own top 5. Thailand offers a great life for an English teacher, food is just one part of it.