5 Delicious Thai Dishes

Thai food in America has recently become the next big sensation. Restaurants serving Thai dishes have appeared everywhere across America. They have opened their doors to a bewildered and sometimes intimidated audience of eaters. If you’re not sure what you should try at your local Thai restaurant, then here are some suggestions.

1. Phat Thai

Pronounced “pad tie,” it is considered the most popular and common dish, Phat Thai is a pan fried dish of noodles with fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, chopped peanuts, and egg combined with chicken, seafood, or tofu. To add spice to this dish, Thai chefs will also add red chilis, which are the premier ingredient when it comes to adding heat to a Thai dish. Phat Thai is very easy to enjoy for someone who has never experienced Thai food, and you will be wowed by its unique flavor. It’s an excellent dish for beginners to Thai food and one that you can enjoy over and over. It is also simple enough that you may want to try cooking it yourself, if you can find the Thai ingredients at a store near you.

2. Basil Rolls

These are not served in all Thai restaurants, but are a treat when found. Basil rolls are like a salad of basil, shrimp, some crunchy rice noodles, and lettuces all wrapped within a translucent rice paper into an egg roll like shape. This delicious dish is light and flavorful and usually is served with a delicious dipping sauce. Often served as an appetizer, this dish will not fill you up too much because it’s so light and you’ll enjoy the crispness and simplicity of it compared to the spice of most other Thai dishes.

3. Thai Iced Tea

This drink is maybe not for everyone, but if you enjoy a creamy, sweet drink with a unique flavor then this may be for you. Thai Iced Tea is a mixture of their unique brewed tea, cream, spices such as orange blossom water and tamarind, and sugar. It is pale brown color normally. This drink is very popular with American Thai eaters, so you should definitely try it.

4. Coconut Soup

Also called Tom Kha Phrak or sometimes Tom Kha Gai. This is a delicious soup of coconut milk, galangal root, lemon grass, red chili, chicken, and often mushrooms. This dish is my personal favorite because of its levels of flavor. It works very well as a small soup before your larger meal. You may enjoy it so much that you’ll want to get some to go for later.

5. Massaman Curry

This dish is Muslim in origin, but it is one of the most popular Thai dishes. It is most commonly made with beef, but it can be made with any meat. Massaman curry is made with a unique curry powder (mix of spices) that is different from red, yellow, and green curry. This dish is made with coconut milk, roasted peanuts, potatoes, bay, cardaman, cinnamon, palm sugar,fish sauce and tamarind sauce. It is a sweeter curry than most, and you will be sure to enjoy it. It is served with rice.

There are many Thai dishes out there for you to try. I also recommend that Mango with sticky rice for dessert. This dish is simply cut up slices of fresh mango and specially prepared chilled creamy and sweet rice. Thai food gives us the opportunity to experience a whole new set of flavors. Enjoy!