Our best-ever Thai recipes (2024)

There's nothing more satisfying than making your own pad Thai.

Apr 24, 2023 4:00am

Sweet, salty, sour and spicy, Thai food hits all the right notes and then some. There are fragrant soups and Thai curries to savour, and noodles swimming in broth or stir-fried with a touch of heat. You'll recognise some classics such as chicken green curry and papaya salad, but have a crack at other less-familiar (but equally delicious) choices like stir-fried angle gourd or sour orange curries. You won't regret it.

Here are our best Thai recipes.

1 / 0

Stir-fried beef and gai lan with rice noodles

Photo: Kirsten Bookallil

2 / 0

Chicken stir-fried with holy basil and chilli

Photo: William Meppem

3 / 0

Fast pad Thai

Photo: Ben Dearnley

4 / 0

Snapper curry with green beans and coriander

Photo: William Meppem

5 / 0

Palisa Anderson's gaeng keow wan gai (Thai green chicken curry)

Photo: Kara Rosenlund

6 / 0

Sunda's Thai-style chicken larb

Photo: Kristoffer Paulsen

7 / 0

Amy Chanta and Palisa Anderson's bpla neung manow (steamed fish with spicy chilli and lime dressing)

Photo: Elise Hassey

8 / 0

Amy Chanta and Palisa Anderson's kor mhu yaang with nahm jim jaew (grilled pork neck with smoked chilli sauce)

Photo: Elise Hassey

9 / 0

Amy Chanta and Palisa Anderon's choo chee pumpkin

Photo: Elise Hassey

10 / 0

Amy Chanta and Palisa Anderson's padt pedt gai (stir-fried spicy chicken wings and bamboo shoots)

Photo: Elise Hassey

11 / 0

Amy Chanta and Palisa Anderson's padt cha bpla (stir-fried fish with holy basil, wild ginger and green peppercorns)

Photo: Elise Hassey

12 / 0

Larb gai

Photo: Ben Hansen

13 / 0

Martin Boetz's khao soi

Photo: Chris Chen

14 / 0

Chiang Mai chicken curry

Photo: William Meppem

16 / 0

Pineapple and dried prawns with kanom jin noodles (Kanom jin sao nahm)

Photo: Earl Carter

17 / 0

Beef and potato Massaman curry

Photo: William Meppem

18 / 0

Grilled chicken wings with nahm jim

Photo: William Meppem

19 / 0

Crisp barramundi fillets with roasted chilli, mint and coriander

Photo: William Meppem

20 / 0

Stir-fry of young angled gourd and tendrils

Photo: Kara Rosenlund

21 / 0

Seared beef and green papaya salad

Photo: William Meppem

22 / 0

Hor mok

Photo: Kara Rosenlund

23 / 0

Sour orange fish curry (gaeng som)

Photo: Kara Rosenlund

24 / 0

Grilled eggplant salad with prawns

Photo: Kara Rosenlund

25 / 0

David Thompson's stir-fried Siamese watercress

Photo: Ben Dearnley

26 / 0

Kanom jeen nahm yaa gai (noodles with fish curry and shredded chicken)

Photo: William Meppem

27 / 0

Red duck curry

Photo: Lucy Weight

28 / 0

Betel leaves with accoutrements (mieng kham)

Photo: Kara Rosenlund

29 / 0

Crab, coconut and kaffir lime on betel leaves

Photo: William Meppem

30 / 0

Muu yang with nahm jim jaew (barbecued pork with chilli dipping sauce)

Photo: William Meppem

31 / 0

Pork neck, snake bean and peppercorn curry

Photo: William Meppem

32 / 0

Fragrant chicken and coconut soup (Tom kha gai)

Photo: Chris Court

33 / 0

Ma hor (Galloping horses)

Photo: Chris Court

34 / 0

Mussel, clam and chilli jam salad

Photo: Chris Chen

35 / 0

Stir-fried minced beef with chillies and holy basil (Neua pat bai grapao)

Photo: Earl Carter

36 / 0

Crisp snapper and snake bean salad with Thai basil, soy and ginger

Photo: Ben Dearnley

37 / 0

Chicken and prawn salad with caramelised coconut and lime

Photo: Chris Chen

38 / 0

Red curry of beef with green peppercorns, wild ginger and holy basil

Photo: Chris Chen

39 / 0

Charred rice noodles and chicken with thickened "gravy" (Raat nar gai)

Photo: Earl Carter

40 / 0

Pork pad kra pao with fried egg

Photo: Chris Chen

41 / 0

David Thompson's prawns baked with vermicelli

Photo: Ben Dearnley

42 / 0

Larb ped (minced duck salad)

Photo: William Meppem

43 / 0

David Thompson's green papaya salad

Photo Ben Dearnley

44 / 0

Pad Thai

Photo: Earl Carter

45 / 0

Prawn and pineapple tom yum with rice noodles

Photo: Ben Dearnley

46 / 0

Amy Chanta and Palisa Anderson's bua loy (warm coconut cream pudding with taro dumplings)

Photo: Elise Hassey

47 / 0

David Thompson's grilled sticky rice with banana paste

Photo: Ben Dearnley

48 / 0

Coconut jellies with banana and coconut sugar caramel

Photo: William Meppem

49 / 0

Pandan, tapioca and young coconut pudding

Photo: Kara Rosenlund

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Our best-ever Thai recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the most popular Thai dish in the world? ›

Pad Thai is one of Thailand's most recognized dishes. Fistfuls of small, thin or wide noodles, along with crunchy beansprouts, onion, and egg are stir-fried in a searing hot wok. The dish is also flavored with condiments such as fish sauce, dried shrimp, garlic or shallots, red chilli, and palm sugar.

What are the 4 pillars of Thai cooking? ›

The four essential flavours of Thai cuisine
  • SALTY: fish sauce, shrimp paste.
  • SPICY: chillies, pepper.
  • SOUR: lime, tamarind.
  • SWEET: palm sugar, fruits.
  • Every dish in Thai cuisine incorporates at least two of these – sometimes all four. One flavour may be dominant, but the others will be there too, like notes in a chord.
Apr 24, 2017

What is the unhealthiest Thai dish? ›

Worst: Red or Green Curry

Thai curries are usually made with a hefty dose of coconut milk, and that won't do your diet any favors. One cup of the creamy milk packs in 400 calories. It also has 36 grams of saturated fat -- more than three times the recommended daily amount.

What is Thailand's national dish? ›

Pad thai is a national dish of Thailand loved so much worldwide that has made it into the online Oxford Dictionary since 2022, gaining the same international status as the words “sushi” and “pizza.” Under the category Food C2 the website Oxford Learner's Dictionaries defines “pad thai” as “A dish from Thailand made ...

What is Thai food number one? ›

1. Pad Thai: Stir-fried noodles. An iconic Thai dish, Pad Thai is usually made with flat rice noodles, combined with seafood (or chicken or pork), egg, sauces and vegetables such as bean sprouts and shallots, served with a sprinkle of fresh herbs, chilli and roasted peanuts (optional).

What is the secret of Thai food? ›

So here are the two real tricks to achieving that great Thai taste when cooking at home. Firstly, always use entirely fresh produce whenever you can. Secondly, avoid pre-made or off the shelf seasonings, instead prepare them yourself using the raw ingredients.

What are the four condiments in Thailand? ›

Have you ever noticed the four glasses set up on dining table at restaurants in Thailand? These glasses form a set of must-have condiments which consist of sugar, fish sauce, chili flakes and vinegar with sliced or crushed chilies. Those condiments are similar to salt and pepper in western culture.

What is Thai food etiquette? ›

In Thailand, chopsticks are only used for standalone noodle dishes. Even if you prefer chopsticks and want to show that you know how to use them politely, Thai people don't use them for rice-based dishes. In Thailand, people eat with a spoon in the right hand and fork in the left.

What is a good Thai dish for beginners? ›

What to eat? Here are some popular suggestions: Kway Tio (noodle soup), Pad Thai Goong (Thai fried rice noodles with prawns), Pad Kapow Neua (stir-fried basil with beef), Pad See Iew (noodles in soy sauce) and Kao Pad (fried rice with a choice of meat or seafood).

What is the most famous ingredient in Thai cooking? ›

Traditional Thai cooking calls for a whole range of fresh herbs and spices, from ginger to galangal, and Thai basil to turmeric. However, none is more prominent than the fiery chilli, featuring in just about any Thai dish in its various forms—dried, fresh, pickled, and so forth.

Is Thai food healthy or unhealthy? ›

Traditional Thai cuisine is quite healthy and largely based on vegetables, lean proteins, and fresh herbs and spices. Certain Thai dishes are high in refined carbs and may contain deep-fried foods, added sugar, or high amounts of salt.

What Thai foods to avoid? ›

Luu moo. The base of this soup-like dish is raw pig's blood, which is mixed with spices and sometimes various pieces of offal. The thick concoction is eaten with noodles but the chance of developing a bacterial infection after eating the blood is high and could even be fatal.

Why does Thai food mess up my stomach? ›

There are chilis in a lot of the food here so if your stomach is not used to that, it can cause a pretty good stomach ache. It is definitely not to the extent of getting food poisoning but can give you a run for your money.

What is the famous food of Thailand? ›

Pad Thai. It is the national food of Thailand, served as street food and the main dish in restaurants. Pad Thai is a stir-fried rice noodle dish prepared with chicken, shrimp, or tofu. The rice noodles are stir-fried with your choice of protein – be it tofu or meat and eggs.

What is the most popular Thai noodle dish? ›

Pad Thai. As one of the most popular noodle dishes in Thailand, pad thai is a household name when it comes to authentic cuisine.

What is the most popular Thai curry dish? ›

Green curry is considered the most popular curry. With coconut milk as one of the main ingredients, there is a hint of sweet flavoring as well. Because the green curry paste is made with green chilis, it is far hotter than other curries.

Why is Pad Thai so popular? ›

What makes Pad Thai the most popular of all Thai dishes could be attributed to taste, ease of preparation, low cost, and high availability as street food. It is a dish that hits all the flavorful notes – sour, sweet, bitter, salty and umami.

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