Thai Food Guide: What to Eat and Where to Learn to Cook It

Thai cooking is built on balance: sour, sweet, salty, spicy and often a little bitter in the same plate. The best way to understand it is to eat in markets and at street stalls, then spend a morning learning to cook a few dishes yourself. Chiang Mai, in the north, is the classic place for that cooking class.

Dishes worth ordering

Most visitors know pad thai and green curry. These are the dishes that make people fall for Thai food on their second or third day.

Dish	What it is	Spice level
Tom yum goong	Hot and sour prawn soup with lemongrass, galangal and lime leaf	Medium to hot
Tom kha gai	Coconut chicken soup with galangal, creamy and gently sour	Mild
Pad kra pao	Stir-fried minced pork or chicken with holy basil and chilli, served on rice with a fried egg	Hot, can be made mild
Som tam	Green papaya salad pounded in a mortar with lime, fish sauce, palm sugar and chilli	Ask for it mild; it is usually very hot
Massaman curry	Rich, slightly sweet curry with potato and peanuts, of Persian and Muslim influence	Mild
Khao soi	Northern curry noodle soup with crispy noodles on top	Mild to medium
Larb	Minced meat salad with toasted rice, lime, mint and chilli	Medium to hot
Khao man gai	Poached chicken on rice cooked in chicken fat, with ginger sauce	Mild
Mango sticky rice	Sweet sticky rice with coconut cream and ripe mango, in season roughly March to June	None

How the regions differ

Central Thailand and Bangkok

This is the Thai food most of the world knows: coconut curries, tom yum, stir-fries and royal-court dishes with careful presentation. Bangkok is also the best city for variety, with Chinese-Thai cooking in Chinatown (Yaowarat), roast duck, noodle soups and seafood. The night stalls along Yaowarat Road are the city's most famous street-food strip. Our evening tuk-tuk tour with Chinatown street food is a good way to try many small plates in one night without guessing which stalls are good.

Northern Thailand

Chiang Mai and the north eat milder, earthier food, often with sticky rice. Look for khao soi, sai oua (herb-packed grilled sausage), nam prik ong (a tomato and pork chilli dip eaten with vegetables) and gaeng hang lay, a Burmese-influenced pork curry. Northern markets are excellent for trying small portions.

Isaan (the northeast)

Isaan food is often the favourite of Thais themselves: som tam, grilled chicken (gai yang), larb and sticky rice eaten with your hands. It is bold, sour and often very spicy. You will find Isaan stalls in every Thai city, usually recognisable by the mortar and pestle and charcoal grill.

Southern Thailand

Phuket, Krabi and the south cook the hottest curries in the country, with turmeric, lots of seafood and strong Malay and Muslim influences. Try gaeng som (sour orange curry), kua kling (dry-fried curried meat) and, in Phuket, Hokkien-style noodles and dim sum breakfasts in the old town.

Spice, and how to order

Thai cooks adjust spice to the customer. Useful phrases:

• Mai phet – not spicy.
• Phet nit noi – a little spicy.
• Phet mak – very spicy (only if you mean it).

Tables usually have a condiment caddy: chilli flakes, fish sauce with chilli, vinegar with chilli and sugar. Thais season their noodle soup themselves, so taste first and adjust. If a dish is too hot, sticky rice or plain rice helps more than water.

Street food: how it works

• Choose busy stalls. High turnover means fresh food, and locals queue where it is good.
• Specialists are better. A stall doing one dish, such as only chicken rice or only boat noodles, usually does it well.
• Timing matters. Many stalls sell out; breakfast and lunch stalls close by early afternoon, evening stalls open around 5 or 6 p.m.
• Pay in cash. Small notes and coins. QR payment is common for locals but not always set up for foreign cards.
• Allergies: peanuts, shellfish and fish sauce are everywhere. If you have a serious allergy, carry a written card in Thai.

As of 2026, Bangkok has restricted street vending on some main roads, but Chinatown, Victory Monument and many sois remain full of stalls.

Why take a cooking class?

A cooking class is the most useful thing a food-loving traveller can do in Thailand. You learn how the core ingredients taste on their own, how to pound a curry paste, and how to balance a dish rather than follow a recipe. You also go home able to reproduce three or four dishes with supermarket ingredients.

Why Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai has the deepest choice of classes in the country, many set on small farms just outside the city with their own herb gardens. A typical class starts with a market visit to learn ingredients, then a walk through the garden to pick herbs, then cooking at your own station. Our Chiang Mai Thai cooking class with market and herb garden follows this format over about four hours, and you choose which curry, soup and stir-fry you want to make.

What you usually cook

1. A curry paste, pounded by hand, and the curry made from it (green, red or khao soi).
2. A soup, often tom yum or tom kha.
3. A stir-fry, such as pad thai or chicken with cashew nuts.
4. A starter such as spring rolls or papaya salad.
5. A dessert, often mango sticky rice.

Vegetarian and vegan versions are easy to arrange in most classes if you say so when booking.

Eating well in Bangkok in one evening

If you only have a couple of nights in Bangkok, combine one street-food night with one more relaxed dinner. A Chao Phraya river dinner cruise with buffet and show is not where you will find the city's best cooking, but it pairs an easy dinner with views of Wat Arun and the Grand Palace lit up at night, which many visitors find a good first or last evening.

Halal, vegetarian and other diets

• Halal: widely available in Bangkok and very common in the south, especially Krabi and parts of Phuket, which have large Muslim communities. Look for the green Thai halal logo.
• Vegetarian: say "gin jay" for vegan food in the Chinese-Thai tradition (yellow flags mark jay stalls) or "mai sai nuea sat" for no meat. Fish sauce is in almost everything, so mention it.
• Gluten: soy and oyster sauces contain wheat. Rice noodles and grilled meats are safer bets.

FAQ

What is the most famous Thai dish?

Internationally, pad thai and green curry. Inside Thailand, dishes such as pad kra pao, som tam and tom yum are eaten far more often.

Is street food in Thailand safe to eat?

Generally yes. It is cooked at high heat in front of you. Choose busy stalls, avoid food that has sat out uncovered in the heat, and drink bottled water.

Where is the best place in Thailand for a cooking class?

Chiang Mai has the widest choice, with many classes on farms with their own herb gardens. Bangkok, Phuket and Krabi also offer good classes.

Is Thai food always spicy?

No. Many dishes such as tom kha, massaman curry and khao man gai are mild, and cooks will adjust the heat if you ask for "mai phet".

Do I need cooking experience for a class?

No. Classes are designed for beginners, with everything prepared and explained step by step. Children often enjoy them too.