The guide to Thai cuisine

Food is one of the reasons people return to Thailand, and yet many travellers eat the same three dishes for a whole week. This guide is meant to open that up.

There are no recommendations for specific restaurants here and no prices: those change all the time. What is here is what does not change: how this cuisine works, and how to order in it properly.

How a Thai dish is built

Thai cuisine is built on a balance between four tastes: spicy, sour, sweet and salty. A good dish does not win on one of them: it holds them all together.

That is also why a single dish may feel lacking. A traditional Thai meal is several dishes placed in the middle and eaten together with rice, rather than one dish per diner.

North versus south

The cuisine is not uniform. In the north — in Chiang Mai and the Pai area — the flavours are deeper and less sweet, and sticky rice is more common.

In the south, in the island regions, coconut and seafood take a central place and the spiciness is usually higher. The same dish with the same name will taste different between the two regions, and that is part of the fun.

Street food: how to choose a stall

The simplest rule is also the best: a stall with a local queue. High turnover means fresh ingredients, and that is worth more than any rating.

A stall that specialises in one dish is usually better than a stall with a long menu, and a dish made in front of you is better than a dish that has been waiting.

Spicy, and how to ask for less

The local level of spiciness is higher than most Israelis are used to, and even a request for "not spicy" is not always translated into what you expected.

The safe way: ask for no chilli up front, and add it yourself from the plates on the table. You cannot take heat out of a finished dish; adding it is always possible.

Eating carefully without missing out

Water from a sealed bottle, fruit peeled in front of you, and hot dishes that come out hot: these are the three rules that cover almost everything.

Anyone coming with an allergy or a kashrut requirement needs to plan it in advance and not in the middle of the street; the site also has a kosher cooking class, which is an entirely different approach to the same subject.

Learn to cook it

A cooking class is one of the most sought-after activities in Thailand, and it usually includes a market visit and gathering the ingredients — so it also teaches you what actually goes into a dish.

It is also the best way to bring those flavours home, more than any curry jar bought at the airport.

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Tell us when you plan to fly, with whom, and how much time you have, and we will come back with an itinerary, hotels and attractions that fit exactly that — in Hebrew.