Asia · Traditional

Thai cuisine

Thai cuisine is built on movement between sour, salty, sweet, bitter and hot flavours rather than on making every dish equally spicy. Rice, noodles, fresh herbs, fermented seasonings, coconut and grilled foods take different forms across the central plains, north, north-east and south.

Explore recipes Build a Thai menu Wine pairings

Food history

Why Thai cuisine is worth exploring

Thai cuisine developed at the meeting point of mainland Southeast Asian trade routes, royal court cooking, Buddhist culture and regional agriculture. Chinese migration influenced noodle and stir-fry traditions, while chillies from the Americas became so thoroughly absorbed that they now feel inseparable from many Thai dishes.

Why it is famous

People often come to Thai cuisine through green curry, massaman curry, pad thai, tom yum, som tam, satay, larb, mango sticky rice and fragrant grilled dishes. Stay with it a little longer and a more interesting pattern emerges, where famous dishes sit alongside deeply local cooking and recipes tied to particular landscapes, communities and occasions.

Regional food story

Central Thai food includes many coconut-rich curries and royal-influenced dishes; Isan in the north-east is known for sticky rice, som tam and larb; the north has dishes such as khao soi and herbaceous relishes; the south uses abundant seafood, turmeric and often intense heat.

How to cook it

Flavours, ingredients and menu ideas

Signature ingredients

A Thai pantry often starts with fish sauce, lime, chillies, lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime, coconut milk, palm sugar, Thai basil, coriander, rice and fermented seafood products. Not every region uses them in the same way, and that variation is part of the point: the cuisine changes with climate, agriculture, coastlines and local habits.

Cooking style

Thai cooking is about dynamic balance rather than a fixed formula. Sweetness, sourness, salt, heat and bitterness can shift from dish to dish, while pounding curry pastes, grilling, stir-frying and finishing with fresh herbs keep flavours vivid.

Build a menu

A good Thai table mixes, rather than repeats, sensations: perhaps a hot-and-sour soup, a curry, a grilled or fried dish, a vegetable plate and plenty of rice. Let condiments adjust heat and acidity at the table instead of forcing every dish to the same intensity.

Starters Mains Desserts

Cook by course

Thai recipes

Start with a starter, choose a main, then finish with a dessert to build a complete country-inspired menu.

Starters

Thai starters

Som Tam Thai

Som Tam Thai is a pounded green-papaya salad balancing lime, fish sauce, palm sugar, chilli and peanuts.

Starter 25 mins

Larb Gai

Larb Gai is a warm minced-chicken salad sharpened with lime, fish sauce, chilli, herbs and toasted rice.

Starter 30 mins

Yam Wun Sen

Yam Wun Sen is a bright glass-noodle salad with herbs, lime, chilli and savoury seafood or meat.

Starter 33 mins

Tom Yum Goong

Tom Yum Goong is a hot-and-sour prawn soup scented with lemongrass, galangal and makrut lime leaves.

Starter 40 mins

Miang Kham

Miang Kham is small leaf-wrapped bites combining coconut, lime, ginger, chilli, peanuts and a sweet-savo…

Starter 45 mins

Tod Mun Pla

Tod Mun Pla is springy fish cakes flavoured with red curry paste, makrut lime and long beans.

Starter 45 mins

Poh Pia Tod

Poh Pia Tod is crisp fried spring rolls filled with vegetables and glass noodles.

Starter 1 hr

Gai Satay

Gai Satay is charred turmeric-and-coconut chicken skewers served with peanut sauce and cucumber relish.

Starter 1 hr 45 mins

Main courses

Thai main courses

Pad Pak Boong Fai Daeng

Pad Pak Boong Fai Daeng is water spinach flash-fried over fierce heat with garlic, chilli and fermented…

Main 20 mins

Pad Krapow Moo

Pad Krapow Moo is fast-fried minced pork with holy basil, garlic and chilli, usually served with rice an…

Main 25 mins

Pad See Ew

Pad See Ew is wide rice noodles stir-fried with dark soy, egg and Chinese broccoli.

Main 30 mins

Rad Na

Rad Na is wide noodles topped with a glossy savoury gravy, greens and meat or seafood.

Main 35 mins

Khao Pad Sapparot

Khao Pad Sapparot is pineapple fried rice combining sweet fruit, savoury seasoning, egg and often prawns…

Main 37 mins

Nam Tok Moo

Nam Tok Moo is grilled pork salad with lime, fish sauce, chilli, herbs and toasted rice powder.

Main 40 mins

Goong Ob Woon Sen

Goong Ob Woon Sen is prawns and glass noodles baked or steamed together with ginger, pepper and soy.

Main 45 mins

Panang Curry with Pork

Panang Curry with Pork is a thick, fragrant pork curry with coconut cream, red chilli paste and makrut l…

Main 45 mins

Pla Rad Prik

Pla Rad Prik is fried fish covered with a glossy sweet, sour and chilli sauce.

Main 45 mins

Tom Kha Gai

Tom Kha Gai is coconut chicken soup perfumed with galangal, lemongrass and makrut lime.

Main 45 mins

Gaeng Keow Wan Gai

Gaeng Keow Wan Gai is green curry of chicken, coconut milk, Thai basil and aromatic green chilli paste.

Main 50 mins

Gaeng Som Pla

Gaeng Som Pla is a sour, chilli-forward fish curry with vegetables and little or no coconut milk.

Main 50 mins

Pad Thai Goong

Pad Thai Goong is stir-fried rice noodles with prawns, tamarind, fish sauce, egg, beansprouts and peanut…

Main 50 mins

Pla Pao

Pla Pao is whole salt-crusted fish grilled over charcoal and served with a sharp herb-and-chilli sauce.

Main 50 mins

Hor Mok Pla

Hor Mok Pla is steamed fish curry custard enriched with coconut milk and red curry paste.

Main 1 hr 5 mins

Gaeng Tai Pla

Gaeng Tai Pla is an intensely savoury southern curry made with fermented fish innards, chilli and vegeta…

Main 1 hr 10 mins

Khao Soi Gai

Khao Soi Gai is northern coconut curry noodles with chicken, soft noodles, crisp noodles and sharp pickl…

Main 1 hr 20 mins

Khao Man Gai

Khao Man Gai is poached chicken with fragrant rice, clear broth and a punchy fermented-soy dipping sauce.

Main 1 hr 25 mins

Sai Ua

Sai Ua is northern herb sausage packed with pork, lemongrass, makrut lime and curry spices.

Main 1 hr 25 mins

Khao Mok Gai

Khao Mok Gai is Thai Muslim spiced chicken rice with turmeric, fried shallots and a fresh green sauce.

Main 1 hr 30 mins

Moo Ping

Moo Ping is sweet-savoury grilled pork skewers marinated with garlic, coriander root and coconut milk.

Main 1 hr 45 mins

Moo Palo

Moo Palo is pork and eggs braised in a gently sweet five-spice soy broth.

Main 1 hr 50 mins

Massaman Beef Curry

Massaman Beef Curry is a slow beef curry combining coconut milk, warm spices, tamarind, potatoes and pea…

Main 2 hr 25 mins

Gaeng Hung Lay

Gaeng Hung Lay is a northern slow-cooked pork curry with ginger, tamarind and Burmese-influenced spices.

Main 3 hr

Desserts

Thai desserts

Khanom Tuay

Khanom Tuay is small steamed coconut custards set in cups with a sweet base and lightly salted top.

Dessert 50 mins

Khanom Krok

Khanom Krok is small coconut-rice pancakes with crisp edges and creamy centres.

Dessert 55 mins

Tub Tim Grob

Tub Tim Grob is crunchy water-chestnut pieces in red tapioca coating, served in coconut milk with ice.

Dessert 55 mins

Bua Loy

Bua Loy is soft glutinous-rice dumplings served in warm sweet coconut milk.

Dessert 1 hr

Foi Thong

Foi Thong is fine golden egg-yolk threads cooked in fragrant sugar syrup.

Dessert 1 hr

Lod Chong Nam Kati

Lod Chong Nam Kati is pandan rice-flour noodles served cold with coconut milk and palm sugar.

Dessert 1 hr 20 mins

Khanom Chan

Khanom Chan is steamed, layered coconut-and-tapioca cake with a soft, elastic texture.

Dessert 1 hr 40 mins

Khao Niew Mamuang

Khao Niew Mamuang is sweet coconut sticky rice served with ripe mango and salted coconut cream.

Dessert 4 hr 35 mins

Wine and drink pairings

What to drink with Thai food

Thai food usually works best with aromatic whites, off-dry Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Grüner Veltliner, sparkling wine or chilled light reds. Match sweetness and acidity to chilli, coconut and lime rather than choosing heavy oaky wines.

White

Albariño / Vinho Verde

Fresh coastal white wine with citrus, peach, sea-spray minerality and bright acidity. Excellent with seafood, salt cod…

Grape: Albariño, Alvarinho, Loureiro, Arinto Region: Rías Baixas, Minho, Vinho Verde

White

Assyrtiko

Greek white with piercing acidity, lemon, salt and volcanic minerality. Ideal for tzatziki, feta, seafood, grilled fish…

Grape: Assyrtiko Region: Santorini, Macedonia, Crete

White

Chablis / Unoaked Chardonnay

Lean Chardonnay with citrus, apple, chalk and shell-like minerality. Perfect with white fish, butter sauces, shellfish…

Grape: Chardonnay Region: Chablis, Mâcon, Margaret River, Limarí

White

Dry Riesling

A precise, high-acid white with lime, green apple, blossom and mineral tension. It loves pork, fish, cabbage, spice and…

Grape: Riesling Region: Mosel, Rheingau, Alsace, Clare Valley

White

Gewürztraminer

Highly aromatic white with lychee, rose, ginger and spice. Works with fragrant dishes, rich cheese and lightly sweet de…

Grape: Gewürztraminer Region: Alsace, Alto Adige, Germany

White

Off-Dry Riesling

Slightly sweet, high-acid Riesling that balances spice, salt, smoked pork and sweet-sour sauces without tasting heavy.

Grape: Riesling Region: Mosel, Pfalz, Alsace, Austria

White

Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi

A crisp central Italian white with lemon, almond and firm acidity.

Grape: Verdicchio Region: Marche

Sparkling

Cava / Crémant

Affordable dry sparkling wine with bright acidity, citrus, apple and a savoury edge. Excellent for fried food, tapas an…

Grape: Macabeo, Xarel-lo, Parellada, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc Region: Catalonia, Loire, Burgundy, Alsace

Local beers

Thai beers

Wine can lead the meal, but local beer tells another story: what people drink in bars, restaurants and shops alongside everyday food.

Explore local beers

Singha

Lager 5% ABV

Boon Rawd Brewery

Thailand’s classic premium lager and a common restaurant choice.

Chang Classic

Lager 5% ABV

ThaiBev

A hugely recognisable Thai lager, strongly linked with casual food and nightlife.

Leo

Lager 5% ABV

Boon Rawd Brewery

A popular everyday Thai lager found widely in shops and bars.

Phuket Lager

Lager 5% ABV

Phuket Beer

A Thai island lager with a more regional, travel-friendly feel.

Cheers Beer

Lager 5% ABV

Thai Asia Pacific Brewery

A mainstream Thai lager sold through convenience stores and supermarkets.

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Plan the full table

Build a Thai menu

Shop for aromatics first. Lemongrass should be firm, galangal clean and peppery, and makrut lime leaves glossy. Keep fish sauce, palm sugar, tamarind, rice, noodles, coconut milk and dried chillies, then buy fresh herbs close to cooking. Ready-made curry paste can be useful, but check that its salt and chilli level suits the recipe.

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