TasteAtlas, a website that compiles restaurants, recipes, dishes, and local ingredients from around the world—along with reviews from global food critics and recognized as an encyclopedia of local cuisine—published an article on April 13, 2025, to recommend must-try Thai flavors for travelers visiting Thailand.
This time, it ranked the Top 100 Thai Dishes, while also highlighting fascinating aspects of Thai cuisine, categorized into five sections:
• Best Thai Foods
• Best Thai Food Producers
• Best Thai Food Products
• Thai Foods Database
• Thai Foods map
In the Best Thai Foods category, 100 dishes were ranked. We selected the Top 10 Thai dishes along with the reasons why TasteAtlas recommends tourists to experience these flavors in Thailand.
Phanaeng Curry
Phanaeng curry is a rich and flavorful Thai curry known for its thick texture and a distinctive salty-sweet peanut taste. The dish features meat—typically beef, chicken, duck, or pork—stewed in a combination of coconut milk, phanaeng curry paste, makrut lime leaves, fish sauce, and palm sugar. Traditionally, phanaeng curry does not include vegetables.
The name "phanaeng" is believed to derive from the word "panang," which refers to an ancient method of preparing chicken with its legs crossed and upright. While the true origins of phanaeng curry are unclear, it is often linked to the Malaysian state of Penang, though there is limited evidence to substantiate this connection.
Tom kha gai
Tom kha gai is a beloved Thai soup that hails from the central region of Thailand, influenced by neighboring Laos. The name translates to "chicken galangal soup," and it features a fragrant blend of coconut milk, tender chicken pieces, galangal (a ginger-like root with a pinkish hue), lemongrass, garlic, bird’s eye chili, kaffir lime leaves, fish sauce, and shiitake mushrooms.
The peppery, slightly sour, and floral notes of galangal beautifully contrast with the rich creaminess of coconut milk, resulting in a deeply aromatic and flavorful dish. Beyond its delicious taste, tom kha gai is also praised for its health benefits, especially its soothing effects on the digestive system.
Roti canai
Roti canai is a traditional pan-fried flatbread made from flour, water, eggs, and fat. Though of Indian origin, it is most commonly associated with Malaysia and neighboring countries such as Indonesia, Brunei, and Thailand. The dough is repeatedly folded to create a flaky, layered texture, with a soft, chewy center and a crisp, golden exterior.
The fat typically used is ghee, a clarified butter central to Indian cuisine. It’s believed that roti canai was introduced to Southeast Asia by Indian laborers who brought both the recipe and cooking tradition with them when they migrated to Malaysia.
Pad Thai
Pad Thai is widely regarded as Thailand’s national dish—a savory stir-fry made with rice noodles, tofu, dried shrimp, bean sprouts, and eggs. When prepared with meat, chicken or pork are the most common additions. The dish offers a perfect harmony of sweet, sour, and salty flavors, paired with a delightful contrast of textures.
Today, Pad Thai is one of the most internationally recognized Thai dishes. Its origins date back to the post-1932 revolution era, during a wave of Thai nationalism. A nationwide contest was held to create a new national noodle dish, and the winning recipe featured rice noodles, radish, bean sprouts, peanuts, and eggs, forming the foundation of the beloved Pad Thai we know today.
Thai Grilled Chicken (Kai yang)
Kai yang is a flavorful Thai grilled chicken dish, traditionally made by barbecuing a whole marinated chicken over an open flame. While it originates from the Lao communities of northeastern Thailand, it has become a beloved staple enjoyed throughout the country.
Typically served with sticky rice, dipping sauces (a sweet version in Central Thailand and a tangy, sour one in the Northeast), and the famous green papaya salad known as som tam, kai yang is a street food favorite found at countless stalls across Thailand.
What sets it apart from other grilled chicken dishes is its rich, aromatic marinade—often made with ingredients like soy sauce, ginger, white pepper, fish sauce, vinegar, hoisin sauce, and fresh herbs such as cilantro, lemongrass, and garlic.
Phat kaphrao
This classic Thai stir-fry features minced meat or seafood sautéed with holy basil, along with aromatic ingredients like shallots, garlic, and chili peppers. It’s seasoned with a savory blend of soy sauce, sugar, and fish sauce, and is typically served with steamed rice, a crispy fried egg, and extra fish sauce on the side.
Phat kaphrao is notably the fourth most ordered dish among foreign visitors in Thailand.
Khanom khrok
This bite-sized Thai dessert—often described as a pancake, pudding, or cake—is made from a batter of rice flour and coconut milk. It’s cooked in a cast-iron pan with small, round molds and typically prepared in two layers: a crisp bottom layer and a creamy, lightly sweetened coconut milk topping.
Common mix-ins for the custard-like filling include sliced scallions, taro, corn, or pumpkin. Known as khanom khrok, this street food favorite is a quick, satisfying snack that beautifully blends sweet and savory flavors.
Khao niao mamuang (Mango Sticky Rice)
This classic Thai rice pudding is a beloved dessert that perfectly ends any Thai meal. It features steamed glutinous rice soaked in sweetened coconut milk, served alongside slices of fresh, ripe mango. Simple yet delicious, this treat is incredibly popular and widely available at nearly every eatery across Thailand.
Pla thot
Pla thot, which means deep-fried or pan-fried fish in Thai, is a beloved fish dish known for its perfectly crispy texture both inside and out. The fish is often fried whole—head, fins, bones, skin, and tail included—though it can also be cut into pieces before cooking.
Popular choices for this preparation include catfish, mackerel, snapper, white perch, rock cod, and grouper, as well as smaller fish like anchovies, smelts, and sand dabs. Although it takes time to achieve the ideal crispiness, the result is surprisingly light and non-greasy, with a satisfying crunch in every bite.
Thot man kung
TasteAtlas describes thot man kung as a classic Thai dish made from a shrimp or prawn mixture, shaped into small round cakes or balls, coated in panko breadcrumbs, and deep-fried to a golden crisp.
While shrimp is the most common ingredient, some variations use other types of seafood, fish, or even meat.
With their crispy exterior and tender interior, these flavorful shrimp cakes are typically served as appetizers, accompanied by a spicy sweet-and-sour dipping sauce, along with fresh cucumber and tomato slices on the side.
