Street food and more

Thailand is the land of 1,000 delicacies and world famous for its food stalls. In the markets, on the beaches and in the streets of the capital, all sorts of street food, snacks and meals are offered in small, partly mobile food stalls.

Malaeng Thod

In addition to the classic thaicurries, many (for us) exotic dishes are served. Among other things, "Malaeng Thod" (freshly prepared insects) is one of the more unusual dishes for most Farangs. Deep-fried insects are among the most popular snacks in Southeast Asia (along with Thailand, including Laos, Cambodia). In particular locusts, meal worms, silk worms, cicadas, crickets and beetles are offered - as well as scorpions and frogs.

Especially in Isaan you can find plastic sheets on the fields, which are stretched over pools filled with water. At night the tarpaulins are illuminated with bright light or black light lamps to attract as many insects as possible. Locusts leap for example against the tarpaulins and then fall into the water ...

Then the insects are collected, fried and sold. Before eating, the insects are seasoned properly and refined with soy sauce.

Those who like it even more exotic, can, for example, Also try on fried scorpions. A popular dish is Meng Pong Tord Raad Khao (fried scorpions with rice). Incidentally, the scorpions are no longer poisonous, as the poison bladder is removed before frying.

A wide selection of Thai specialties you will find especially in markets. There are special food-only markets and various markets offering a mix of clothing, some souvenirs and food. Likewise, "food courts" in department stores / malls are a great way to taste Asian food.

Thai Salad

One of my favorite dishes is Som Tam (papaya salad). There are different variations here:

vegan version only with papaya, beans, peanuts, chili, garlic and gravy (these are always the basic ingredients for Som Tam)
Version with crabmeat (and possibly also dried shrimp)
Version with fermented fish (Plaa Ra = "smelly fish") or fermented fish sauce

Thai Curries

Among the Thai curries, there are also different types of preparation. Each curry contains curry paste and coconut milk or water. Alternatively, only vegetables or meat (chicken, beef, pork) or Merrestiere be used and garnished with herbs.

The curries have different degrees of sharpness, i.a. depending on where you eat. In the small food stalls, in Thai markets and partly in the food courts, there are the most authentic dishes, which are prepared quite spicy. In the restaurants you can often determine the sharpness yourself. To do this, just say when ordering:

Mai Pet = not spicy
Pet Nit Noi = slightly spicy (a little bit spicy)
Pet = spicy
Pet Mak = very spicy