# The best Thai dishes to try

The Thai dishes that every Thailand food guide, cooking school and Lonely Planet list tells you to eat, from Bangkok street stalls to the northern khao soi.

- 74 votes · 20 items
- Nov 11, 2025 · Madison Weaver
- https://even.best/en/l/91/the-best-thai-dishes-to-try

## Top 20

1. **Tom yum goong** (8 · ▲8 ▼0) — Hot and sour prawn soup with lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime and chilli; UNESCO intangible heritage since 2024.
2. **Som tam** (5 · ▲5 ▼0) — Pounded green papaya salad with chilli, lime, fish sauce and palm sugar, from Isan and Laos.
3. **Massaman curry** (4 · ▲5 ▼1) — Mild southern curry with beef, potatoes and peanuts, influenced by Muslim cooking.
4. **Pad thai** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — Stir-fried rice noodles with tamarind, egg, tofu or prawns, peanuts and bean sprouts.
5. **Khao man gai** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — Hainanese-style poached chicken on rice cooked in chicken fat, with ginger-soy sauce.
6. **Larb** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — Minced meat salad with lime, fish sauce, toasted rice powder and herbs.
7. **Gaeng som** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — Sour orange curry with fish and vegetables, from the south.
8. **Khao soi** (3 · ▲5 ▼2) — Northern curry noodle soup with crispy noodles on top, the dish of Chiang Mai.
9. **Tom kha gai** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — Coconut milk chicken soup with galangal and lemongrass.
10. **Pad see ew** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — Wide rice noodles stir-fried with dark soy, Chinese broccoli and egg.
11. **Moo ping** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — Grilled marinated pork skewers, a Bangkok breakfast with sticky rice.
12. **Yam woon sen** (2 · ▲3 ▼1) — Spicy glass noodle salad with shrimp and pork.
13. **Green curry (gaeng keow wan)** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Coconut curry with green chillies, Thai basil and aubergine.
14. **Pad kra pao** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Minced pork or chicken stir-fried with holy basil and chilli, over rice with a fried egg.
15. **Boat noodles (kuay teow reua)** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Small bowls of rich, dark noodle soup once sold from boats on Bangkok's canals.
16. **Panang curry** (1 · ▲2 ▼1) — Thick, slightly sweet red curry with kaffir lime leaves.
17. **Khao pad** (1 · ▲2 ▼1) — Thai fried rice with egg, lime and nam pla prik.
18. **Mango sticky rice** (0 · ▲2 ▼2) — Sweet coconut sticky rice with ripe mango, the classic Thai dessert.
19. **Gai yang** (0 · ▲1 ▼1) — Isan grilled marinated chicken, eaten with sticky rice and som tam.
20. **Roti gluay** (-1 · ▲0 ▼1) — Street roti with banana, condensed milk and sugar.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.