Thai food is really four regional cuisines: the Central Plains around Bangkok, the North around Chiang Mai, the Northeast (Isaan) and the South. Each has dishes you will rarely find done well elsewhere, so the best way to eat in Thailand is to order what the region you are in is known for, and to know in advance which dishes are mild and which will hurt.
This guide picks the dishes that are worth ordering in each region, explains what is in them and how hot they usually are, and suggests safe first choices for cautious eaters. It is not a guide to street-food safety or to ordering in Thai: our beginner's guide to Thai night markets covers how markets work, and our page on ordering Thai food and spice levels gives the phrases.
Spelling first. Thai is written in its own script, so every menu transliterates differently: larb, laab and lap are the same salad; pad and phat are the same "stir-fried". We use the spellings below throughout this page, with common variants in brackets the first time.
Thai food in brief
- Four regions
- Central, North (Lanna), Northeast (Isaan), South
- Rice
- Jasmine rice in the center and south; sticky (glutinous) rice in the north and Isaan
- Salty base
- Fish sauce (nam pla), shrimp paste (kapi); in Isaan, fermented fish (pla ra)
- Table condiments
- Usually fish sauce with chili, dried chili flakes, sugar and chili vinegar, so you adjust the dish yourself
- Eating style
- Dishes shared, eaten with spoon and fork; sticky rice by hand; chopsticks for noodle soups
- UNESCO listing
- Tom yum kung, inscribed as intangible cultural heritage in December 2024
How a Thai dish is balanced
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) sums up what unites the regions as a balance of spicy, sour, sweet and salty. Chili brings heat, lime juice and tamarind bring sourness, palm sugar the sweetness, and fish sauce or shrimp paste the salt. A good som tam or tom yum hits all four at once, which is why the same dish can taste quite different from one cook to the next.
Two practical points follow. First, most savory dishes contain fish sauce or shrimp paste, even when there is no visible fish, which matters for vegetarians and people with allergies; see our guide to vegetarian and halal food. Second, Thai cooks expect you to season at the table. A noodle soup arrives deliberately plain, and the four-pot condiment set is there so you can make it your own.
Central Thailand and Bangkok: the classics
Central cooking is what most foreigners already think of as Thai food, built on jasmine rice and on curry pastes of chili, garlic, galangal, lemongrass and shrimp paste. Bangkok draws on every region, so you can eat the whole country there, but these dishes belong to the Central Plains.
Tom yum kung (tom yam goong) is the hot-and-sour shrimp soup scented with lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves. In December 2024 UNESCO added it to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It comes clear (nam sai) or creamy with evaporated milk or chili paste (nam khon); the creamy version is usually a little milder.
Green curry (kaeng khiao wan) is made with fresh green chilies and coconut milk, usually with chicken or fish balls and small Thai eggplants. It is hotter than red curry, which surprises people who assume green means mild.
Pad thai (phat thai), stir-fried rice noodles with egg, tofu, bean sprouts, peanuts and shrimp or chicken, is sweet, sour and mild. It is a safe first meal and a good test of a stall. Its cousin pad see ew uses wide noodles and dark soy sauce and has no chili at all.
Pad kra pao (phat kaphrao), minced pork or chicken stir-fried with holy basil and chilies over rice, topped with a fried egg, is what Thais order when they cannot decide. It is cheap, fast and usually properly hot.
Also worth trying: kaeng som, a sour tamarind curry without coconut milk; tod man pla, springy fish cakes flavored with red curry paste; boat noodles (kuay tiew reua), small bowls of dark, rich broth; and khao man gai, the Thai version of Hainanese chicken rice that Singaporean and Malaysian visitors will know, served with a spicier ginger and fermented-soybean sauce. Bangkok's Chinatown (Yaowarat) is the place for Thai-Chinese dishes.
The North: khao soi and Lanna cooking
Northern food, also called Lanna cuisine after the old kingdom based in Chiang Mai, is less sweet than central cooking, uses less coconut milk and is eaten with sticky rice. Neighboring Myanmar, Laos and southern China have all left their mark.
Khao soi is the dish everyone in Chiang Mai tells you to eat, and they are right. It is a coconut curry broth with soft egg noodles, chicken on the bone (or beef), and a nest of crisp fried noodles on top, served with lime, shallots and pickled mustard greens to add yourself. It is warm rather than fiery; add the chili paste on the side if you want more.
Khanom jeen nam ngiao is fresh rice noodles in a tomato and pork broth with dried flowers and a tangy depth from fermented soybean. Kaeng hung lay (gaeng hang le), a slow-cooked pork curry with ginger and tamarind and no coconut milk, shows the Burmese influence and is mild. Sai ua, a coarse pork sausage full of lemongrass, kaffir lime and chili, is sold grilled at every northern market.
Start a northern meal with the chili dips: nam prik ong, a mild tomato and pork dip, and nam prik num, a smoky green chili dip that can be very hot, both eaten with crispy pork rind (khaep mu) and boiled vegetables. A khan toke dinner, a set of small northern dishes served on a low round tray, is the tourist-friendly way to try several at once. Our guides to Chiang Mai's night markets and a cooking class in Chiang Mai go further.
Isaan: som tam, larb and grilled chicken
The Northeast is Thailand's largest region, and its food has spread all over the country with workers who moved to Bangkok and the resorts. It is built around sticky rice, grilled meats, herbs and sharp, salty, sour salads. TAT notes it is often the easiest regional cuisine to find outside its home region.
Som tam, green papaya salad pounded in a clay mortar, is the best-known Isaan dish. It comes in styles that differ a lot. Som tam thai is sweeter, with peanuts and dried shrimp, and is the usual choice for first-timers. Som tam pu adds salted field crab, and som tam pla ra (or som tam Lao) uses fermented fish sauce for a strong, funky taste that many visitors find hard work. A vendor makes it to order, so you can ask for fewer chilies.
Larb (laab, lap) is a salad of minced meat, usually pork or chicken, dressed with fish sauce, lime, chili flakes, mint, shallots and toasted ground rice. Nam tok is the same idea with sliced grilled beef or pork; the name means "waterfall", for the juices that drip as the meat grills. Both are eaten with sticky rice by hand.
Kai yang, grilled marinated chicken with a sweet-and-sour chili dip, is the gentle partner to som tam. Sai krok Isaan, a fermented pork-and-rice sausage with a sour tang, is eaten with raw cabbage, fresh ginger and chilies. Isaan markets also sell insects such as crickets and silkworm pupae as a snack. Our Isaan guide covers the region.
Isaan "mild" is not central Thai mild. Som tam and larb are made to order with fresh chilies, and a standard order can contain several. If you are not used to chili, ask for one chili or none, and order kai yang and sticky rice alongside to cool things down.
The South: the hottest curries in the country
Southern Thai food is the spiciest and sharpest of the four. It leans on seafood, turmeric, fresh chilies and sour tamarind, and it shares a great deal with Malaysia and Indonesia, partly through the region's large Muslim population. If you come from Penang or Kuala Lumpur, a lot of it will feel familiar, only hotter.
Kaeng som in the south is a fiercely sour and hot fish curry colored yellow with turmeric (also called kaeng lueang), quite different from the central version. Khua kling is a dry stir-fry of minced meat in curry paste, with no sauce to hide behind, and it is one of the hottest dishes in Thailand. Kaeng tai pla, made with fermented fish innards, is pungent and very spicy.
Gentler southern choices exist. Massaman curry, with Muslim roots and spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and star anise, is rich, sweet and mild, usually with chicken or beef and potatoes. Khao yam is a rice salad of herbs, toasted coconut and a sweet fermented fish dressing you add to taste. Roti, flatbread from Muslim stalls, comes sweet with banana and condensed milk or savory with curry.
Phuket adds its own Hokkien Chinese layer, with noodle dishes and dim sum breakfasts in the old town; see our guide to Old Phuket Town. Further south, Hat Yai is known among Malaysian and Singaporean visitors for its fried chicken and southern Thai-Chinese food.
Spice guide: how hot is it usually?
Heat depends on the cook, but these are the usual levels when you order without saying anything. "Mild" means most visitors will be comfortable; "very hot" means many Thais find it hot too.
| Dish | Region | Usual heat | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pad see ew | Central (Thai-Chinese) | None | Add chili flakes yourself |
| Pad thai | Central | Mild | Contains peanuts and usually fish sauce |
| Khao man gai | Central (Thai-Chinese) | Mild | Heat is in the sauce on the side |
| Massaman curry | South / Central | Mild | Often contains peanuts |
| Kai yang | Isaan | Mild | Dip is spicy; chicken is not |
| Kaeng hung lay | North | Mild | Pork, no coconut milk |
| Khao soi | North | Medium | Chili paste served on the side |
| Tom yum kung | Central | Medium to hot | Creamy version is a little milder |
| Green curry | Central | Medium to hot | Hotter than red curry |
| Pad kra pao | Central | Hot | Ask for "phet noi" (a little spicy) |
| Som tam thai | Isaan | Hot (adjustable) | Made to order; ask for fewer chilies |
| Larb / nam tok | Isaan | Hot | Eat with sticky rice |
| Nam prik num | North | Hot to very hot | A dip; take a little |
| Southern kaeng som | South | Very hot | Also very sour |
| Khua kling | South | Very hot | Dry curry, no sauce to dilute it |
Safe first picks and where to find them
If your first day in Thailand is also your first day with Thai food, start with pad thai or pad see ew, khao man gai, massaman curry, kai yang with sticky rice, and a creamy tom yum. Add one hot dish to share and see how you get on. A cold drink does little against chili; plain rice and sticky rice work better.
Where you eat matters as much as what you order:
- Curry-and-rice shops (khao gaeng) display a row of ready dishes; you point at one or two and they come over rice. It is the quickest way to see many central and southern dishes.
- Single-dish specialists, a stall or shophouse that makes only khao man gai, only boat noodles or only som tam, are usually better than places with a long menu.
- Mall food courts have picture menus, fixed prices and air conditioning, a gentle introduction for families.
- Night markets let you try small portions from several stalls in one evening.
For hygiene, our guide on avoiding stomach trouble from street food has the rules of thumb. Finish with fruit: our Thai fruit guide explains what is in season. And if you want to know what a meal should cost, the price level guide gives a sense of the range.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most famous Thai dish?
Pad thai is the best known abroad, but tom yum kung has the strongest claim at home: it was inscribed on UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list in December 2024. Green curry, som tam and massaman curry are close behind in popularity with visitors.
Which Thai dishes are not spicy?
Pad see ew, khao man gai, pad thai, massaman curry, kai yang, kaeng hung lay and fried rice are usually mild. Even "safe" dishes can come with chili on the side, so look before you add sauces, and ask for no chili if you need to.
What should I eat in Chiang Mai?
Khao soi first, then khanom jeen nam ngiao, sai ua sausage, kaeng hung lay and the nam prik dips with pork rind and vegetables. A khan toke dinner is an easy way to try several northern dishes in one sitting.
What is the difference between som tam thai and som tam pla ra?
Som tam thai is the sweeter Bangkok-style papaya salad with peanuts and dried shrimp. Som tam pla ra, also called som tam Lao, uses fermented fish sauce and tastes stronger and saltier. First-timers usually prefer som tam thai.
Is Thai food in the south really spicier?
Generally yes. TAT describes southern cooking as the most powerful of the four regions, with fresh chili, turmeric and sour tamarind. Dishes such as khua kling and southern kaeng som are among the hottest in Thailand, though massaman curry and khao yam are mild.
Sources
- Tourism Authority of Thailand – Discover Thai cuisine through its famous four regions (checked October 2026)
- Tourism Authority of Thailand – Much-loved, must-eat dishes from different regions of Thailand (checked October 2026)
- Public Relations Department (Thailand) – Tom Yum Kung inscribed as UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (checked October 2026)