Thai cuisine uses some of the most exotic ingredients you can imagine - coconut, lime, coriander, lemongrass and fish sauce. Chillies also crop up fairly often - you might want a bottle of water on standby!
Thailand is a relatively small country and a lot of the ingredients crop up again and again, but it still has its fair share of regional specialities.
Inherent to all meals is the idea of bringing together spicy, salty, sweet and sour flavours, which is perhaps one of the reasons Thai cuisine is so interesting.
Thai officials have brought in a set of rigorous standards to ensure food is up to scratch, and the market stalls and restaurants that meet them are allowed to proudly display a sign that says ‘Clean Food, Good Taste'.
Thai Cuisine - Savoury dishes Khao Pad - fried rice Jasmin rice is fried with meat or fish, tomato, garlic, egg and a carefully chosen blend of flavourings. Coconut and pineapple are sometimes thrown in, too.
Pad Thai Rice noodles, stir-fried with fish sauce and served with meat, fish such as shrimp, or bean sprouts. Pad Thai comes with a bit of a tang, from lime juice or tamarind pulp (the same stuff that goes into HP sauce!), and a bit of a kick, from chilli powder.
Pad Kee Mao
Also known as drunken noodles, presumably because of the brandy in it, pad kee mao is stir-fried noodles, garlic, some kind of meat and spices.
Tom Kha Gai Chicken, lemongrass, coconut milk and a few extra ingredients are boiled up to make a fragrant, slightly spicy soup.
Gaeng Khiew Waan Gaeng khiew waan, or green curry, is... green. There are meat, fish and vegetable green curries, and they're made from coconut milk, lime, aubergines, the omnipresent fish sauce and more.
Tod Man Delicious fish cakes.
Som Tam
A sort of salad dish that has less greenery and more fire than you'd expect. The main ingredient is papaya, which is grated and tossed with crab, lime, chillies, fish sauce and a small amount of sugar.
Thai Cuisine - sweet things Coconut milk is used to make a variety of desserts, such as kanom chun and kanom tan, but there are plenty of good reasons to opt for the healthy option in Thailand.
As well as coconuts, mangos and pineapples, there's rambutan (imagine a bright pink lychee), sapodilla (a fruit that looks like a potato, but has sweet, brown flesh), guava (whose taste has been compared to pears) and the king of Thai fruits, the durian - a giant, foul-smelling ball which tastes a bit like custard and is revered, for some reason, by many Thais.
Thai Cuisine - drinks Thanks to the abundance of fruit, there are 101 varieties of smoothies and juices, including coconut water. Beer and wine are expensive but whisky is affordable - Mekong is one of the best to try.
If you are thinking about a gap trip to Thailand you'll be able to try Thai cuisine for yourself. Check out our gap trips to Thailand below.
17 trips have been found based on your filter/sort
Learn about the Thai culture, food and people on this unforgettable introduction of Thailand. Enjoy temples, markets, cooking lessons and tours and take part in a variety of volunteer projects or enjoy trekking in the hills of Sangkhlaburi. Spend your last week relaxing on the beautiful island of Koh Pha Ngan.
Choose a diving programme to suit you and learn or hone your skills in Thailand’s beautiful blue waters. Take the instructor programme and gain the necessary qualifications to work in a scuba diving centre.
Get involved in this worthwhile volunteer programme and help develop the resources that Thai school children will be able to benefit from in the future.
Get involved with innovative and highly successful work to enrich the lives of the resident rescued gibbons. Study them, help care for them on a daily basis and just enjoy watching them interact against a stunning natural background.
Help plant crops to feed the elephants of the province, enjoy giving them a wash down at the river and offer support to the local communities on this exciting programme in Surin.
Help support the rural people of Thailand by providing medical care and assistance. As well as assisting existing medical services you will be offering support to the most needy.
Dive around Koh Tao, develop your media skills and earn money! You’ll be taught to record, edit and produce DVDs of the dive centre’s customers, and then to sell them to the customers.
Help with the day-to-day care of sick and disabled wild animals. You might be preparing food for bears, crocodiles, big cats or other animals, or assisting with building enclosures!
Learn some traditional training techniques and develop you overall skills as a Thai boxer on this exciting Muay Thai programme located on the beautiful island of Koh Pha Ngan.
Covering Thailand, China, Malaysia, Africa and Australia, this really is the ultimate wildlife experience! Lend a hand with vital conservation work across the globe and get up close to a variety of animals! Zimbabwe - Thailand - China - Malaysia - Australia - USA
Ideal for animal lovers who want to make a difference while they traverse the globe, this adventure packed conservation gap year will take you from the tropics of Thailand to the beaches of Florida! Thailand - Australia - USA
Make your round the world trip one to remember, visit the world’s most incredible countries including India, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and the USA on a intrepid voyage of cultural and adventurous discovery! India – Thailand - Australia – New Zealand – Fiji – USA
Combine paid work, volunteering and travelling into one fantastic gap year. Take the hassle out of the planning and set off on an adrenalin packed and worthwhile experience through South Africa, Australia and Thailand! South Africa - Australia - Thailand
Experience three very beautiful countries, make a significant contribution to volunteer projects and earn some cash as you go! You can live and work alongside the locals in Australia and New Zealand, and discover the real Thailand! Thailand - Australia - New Zealand
Discover the range of culture, wildlife and amazing landscapes of Asia on your South East Asia gap year! Volunteer in India, spend up to eight weeks exploring Thailand and tour the most famous sights of Vietnam! India - Thailand – Vietnam.
