My 4th – favourite cuisine: Thai

As a self-proclaimed foodie, Thai food hits the sweet (and sometimes fiery) spot just right. As a Singaporean I’ve travelled to Thailand a few times – and even in Singapore there are many Thai food stalls/outlets.

I’d say Thai food is categorised by three taste profiles: Spicy and sweet/Spicy and sour; Sweet on its own; and Umami. I have a low spice tolerance which means I generally avoid foods which are overly spicy. Despite that, I still enjoy most Thai dishes – recommendations below!

Thai dishes I love:

Thai boat noodles: It’s honestly damn simple, but it hits every time. A bowl of handmade glass noodles, meatballs, pork slices, herbs, and beansprouts. This is an umami dish on the sweet side which is enhanced by the pork slices. For me, the bits of chilli flakes immersed within the broth are manageable and complement well with the pork slices.

Pad Thai: Another noodle dish that slaps without the actual slap on the tongue! Pad Thai is made of rice-noodles with shrimps, peanuts, scrambled eggs, tofu, and other sides. I’d say this is a sweet-savoury dish which is enhanced by the sugar and shrimps that are added. Similar to boat noodles, it’s usually not spicy, but I actually prefer a drizzle of Thai chilli which goes so well with the smoky wok flavour of this dish.

Khao pad: This dish is basically the Thai version of Chinese fried rice. Now, I don’t want to start a verbal war over which type of fried rice was first to originate - so I’m gonna evaluate Khao pad as it is. I love Khao pad because it’s so versatile – you could add different types of ingredients be it seafood, pork, or chicken and it’d taste amazing. This dish essentially combines fried rice with vegetables e.g. onions/garlic, herbs e.g. basil/lemongrass, and proteins. My favourite proteins are basil chicken and shrimps.

P.S.: Thai chilli is a local-made chilli which is slightly sweet and (for my standards) not too spicy.

Thai dishes I like:

Tom yum shrimp soup: You may be surprised – why do I like this dish when tomyum is spicy and sour? Well, for one, this soup isn’t purely spicy because there are herbs such as lemongrass and lime juice added within the soup, and these side flavours help to alleviate the “hotness” of the chilli. I find that this dish is also rather versatile because, (1) you could add other types of proteins e.g. mixed seafoods/fish/chicken, and (2) you can complement the spiciness of this dish with other milder dishes e.g. white rice/khao pad.

Khao Niew Ma Muang: Confused by the name? Well, it’s the humble but ever-popular mango sticky rice. This is one of the classic dishes which the world associates with Thailand. Who could hate this dish? It’s sweet yet simple and satisfies every sweet tooth out there. This dish is simply made from glutinous rice, coconut milk, and sweet mangoes. The sweetness of mangoes pairs well with the slightly-sweet but grounded taste of coconut milk, and glutinous rice serves to allow the flavours of both the mangoes and coconut milk to coagulate and permeate throughout every bite.

Food recommendations (Bangkok):

Chathuchak:

The most famous tourist attraction in Bangkok definitely earns a spot on my list. There are so many food stalls, some of which don’t have names (or names which I can’t read), serving a ton of different street food. I had mango sticky rice costing 80 Thai baht at one of the street stalls which is as local as you can get. It was a welcome sweet treat amidst my shopping spree at the market.

Mango stick rice from Chathuchak

Khao @ Ekkamai:

This is a one Michelin star, full-service restaurant on the pricier side of things but definitely worth the visit if you prefer somewhere that is comfortable and serves local fare. We had several dishes that were shared amongst 6 persons. One dish I really enjoyed was the Thai glass noodles with river prawns which was a generous portion topped with huge prawns (and I mean HUGE). Another standout dish was the pork belly marinated with fried fish sauce served with Thai chilli sauce – the crispy yet tender pork belly was complemented well with Thai chill sauce!

Crispy pork belly was SO good

Thanee Khao Moo Daeng Roasted & BBQ Pork Rice:

An unassuming stall in a commercial/retail district, this restaurant serves amazing roast and barbequed pork which is pretty similar to the Chinese style barbecued pork dish that my friends and I are familiar with back in Singapore. The portions were extremely generous, even for sharing amongst 6 persons. The stall serves other dishes too, such as noodle soups with fishballs/meatballs. Those were good but a little too spicy for my palate!

Barbecue pork (which comes with a sweet sauce at the side)

So, there you have it – Thai cuisine is characterised by its fiery yet earthy nature, with pork/chicken/seafood blending well with sauces/broths which are usually spicy and sometimes sweet.