Eating ranks high on the thai scale of pleasures and meals are informal affairs, usually involving a number of congenial people. The staple is rice, either ordinary or glutinous, accompanied by a bariety of dishes that can be eaten in almost any order and seasoned to individual taste with several condiments such as fish sauce and chilli peppers. Most often there will be a soup of some kind, a curry, a steamed or fried dish, a salad, and one or more basic sauces; dessert may consist of fresh fruit or on of the many traditional Thai sweets. A century or so ago, meals were eaten by hand, pressing the rice into small balls and then dipping into the other dishes; today a large spoon and a fork are used, as well as chopsticks for Chinese-type noodles.

Thai Dishes
Rice Dishes
Khao Soo-ay - Steamed rice
Khao Tom - Mild rice soup
Khao Pahd - Fried rice flavored with meat and egg
Khao Mun Gai - Sliced boiled chicken served with rice mixed with chicken dipping sauce
Khao Na Pet - Sliced roast duck with plain rice
Khao Na Gai - Sliced chicken with bamboo shoots, spring onions in gravy over plain rice
Khao Moo Daeng - Sliced barbecued pork and gravy over plain rice
Khao Moo Thort - Fried Pork over plain rice
Khao Pahd Kaphrao - Fried meat and sacred basil over plain rice

Noodles Dishes
Kuaitieo Pahd Thai - Thai fried noodles; thin white noodles fried with bean sprouts and a variety other ingredients including dried shrimps, peanuts, tofu.
Kuaitieo Rat Nah - Fried broad rice noodles with meat, vegetables and topped with gravy.
Bah-mee Krob Rat Nah - Crispy fried yellow noodles with meat, vegetables and topped with gravy.
Kuaitieo Pahd See-eew - Broad rice noodles fried with soy sauce, vegetables and egg.  Can be cooked usually with a choice of meats: chicken, beef, prok, shrimp, squid, seafood or vegetarian.
Kuaitieo Nahm - Noodle soup with meat balls and bean sprouts
Kuaitieo Haeng - Same as above but without broth.
Kee-o Nahm - Wonton soup
Bah-mee Nahm - Boiled yellow egg noodles, meat and broth
Bah-mee Haeng - Same as above but without broth

Egg Dishes
Khai Luak - Soft boiled egg
Khai Tom - Hard boiled egg
Khai Dao - Fried egg
Khai Chieo - Plain Omelette
Khai Chieo Mu Sap - Omelette filled with chopped pork
Khai Yat Sai - Stuffed omelette; omelette filled with meat, onions and sugar peas
Khai Luk Khoei - Hard-boiled eggs with sweet and sour tamarind sauce
Khai Pa-loh - Boiled eggs in sweet brown sauce
Khai Khem - Salted eggs
Khai Toon - Steamed eggs

Curry Dishes
Kaeng Kari - A mild flavoured indian type curry made with potatoes and chicken
Kaeng Kai - Chicken spiced curry
Kaeng Nua - Meat spiced curry
Kaeng Pla Dook - Cat fish spiced curry
Phanaeng Gai - Chicken dry curry
Kaeng Matsamun - A rich beef or chicken curry with peanuts (not spicy)

Soups
Tom Yam - A spicy hot and sour soup made with either shrimp, fish or chicken
Kaeng Jeud - A mild flavored soup made of vegetables and meat
Kaeng Som - A hot and sour soup made of vegetables and fish or shrimp
Tom Kha Gai - Chicken with galanga in coconut soup
Tom Khlong - Fish boiled with tamarind and onions
Kaeng Liang - A typical Thai style soup of vegetables
Phet Toon - Duck soup
Neu-a Toon - Beef Soup

Fried Dishes
Pahd Pahk - Fried vegetables
Pahd Pree-o Wahn - Fried vegetables and meat in sweet and sour gravy
Neu-a Pahd Nahm Mun Hoy - Fried beef with oyster flavored sauce and onion
Gai Pahd Met Manuang - Fried chicken with cashew nuts
Mee Krob - Crisp thin noodles (vermicelli) with bits of shrimp, egg and sweet and sour sauce
Poh-pia Thod - Fried egg roll containing bean sprouts, pork, crabmeat and shredded jelly
Pla Thod Sam Rod - Fried fish with sweet and sour sauce
Thod Mun Goong - Fried curried shrimp cakes
Thod Mun Bplah - Fried curried fish cakes
Bplah Thod - Fried fish
Gai Thod - Fried chicken
Gai Ho Bai Toei - Fried marinated chicken wrapped in Pandunus leaves
Khanom Pahng Na Moo - Savoury minced pork topped on fried bread

Special Dishes
Nahm Prik Ka-pi - Spicy shrimp paste dip served with vegetables
Yan Thua Phlu - Winged bean salad
Po-pia Sod - Egg roll containing bean sprouts, pork, crabmeat
Bpoo Cha - Fried stuffed crab shell
Gai Yung - Roasted chicken
Khao Tang Na Tang - Crisp rice with savoury minced pork sauce
Yam Neu-a - Beef salad in typical Thai style
Som Tam - Raw papaya salad in typical Thai style
Yam Woon Sen - Spicy shredded jelly salad with shrimp and minced pork in typical Thai style
Kam Bpoo Nung - Steamed crab claws
Goong Op Woon Sen - Baked prawns with shredded jelly
Bplah Ka-phong Nung Manao - Silver sea perch steamed with chillies in lime sauce
Goong Pao - Grilled lobster with savoury sauce
Hor Mok Bplah - Steamed curried fish wrapped in banana leaves

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Eggs, mung beans, rice flour, glutinous rice, lotus seeds, palm sugar, cassava roots and coconuts are common ingredients of Thai sweets. The Thai prefer their desserts to have fragrance. Accordingly, they soak jasmine and other aromatic flowers in water and use resultant scented water to make a syrup. Bland seeds or beans are cooked in the syrup to make liquid sweets. Aromatic candles often burned next to cakes or cookies in closed containers to impart scents, or desserts are placed next to fragrant flowers overnight. Cookies are sometimes garnished with silvers of gold leaf.

Sweets
Sung-kha-ya - Coconut & egg custard in typical Thai style
Fahk Thong Sung-kha-ya - Thai custard in coconut pumpkin pod
Thong Yip - Sweet egg-petals
Thong Yot - Sweet egg-drops
Foi Thong - Sweet egg-shred
Met Khanoon - Mock jackfruit seed made with mung bean and egg
Khanom Moh Kaeng - Egg sweet plate
Lot Chong - Rice drops in sweet coconut milk
Gloo-ay Buat Chi - Banana in sweet and salty coconut cream
Loo-k Tan Cheu-ahm - Palm seeds cooked in syrup
Woon Ka-ti - Sweet coconut jelly
Ta-koh - Gelatin top with coconut cream
Khao Nee-o Kae-w - Glutinous rice cooked in coconut cream and sugar
Ai-sa-kream Ka-ti - Coconut ice-cream
Ruam Mit - Iced dessert served with the mixture of diced water-chestnuts, gelatin strips and coconut strips with syrup and crushed ice
Thapthim Krob - Mock pomegranate seeds serve with syrup, coconut milk and crushed ice
Khao Nee-o Mamuang - Mangoes with sticky rice
Khao Nee-o Thurian - Durian in coconut cream with sticky rice
Boo-ah Loy Phuak - Taro bolts in coconut cream
Thua Kee-oh Tohm Nahm Tahn - Boiled mung beans in syrup
Gloo-ay Khaek - Fried bananas
Gloo-ay Cheu-ahm - Bananas in syrup

Drinks
Nahm Bplao - A glass of water
Nahm Khaeng Bplao - A glass of iced water
Nahm Rohrn - A glass of hot water
Chah Rohrn - A cup of hot tea
Chah Yen - Iced tea with milk
Chah Dahm Yen - Iced black tea with sugar only
Chah Manao - Lemon tea
Ka-fair Rorn - Hot coffee with milk
Ka-fair Dahm Rorn - Hot black coffee with sugar only
Ka-fair Yen - Iced coffee with milk
O-Liang - Iced black coffee with sugar only
Koko or Oh-wahn-tin - Cocoa or Ovaltine
Nahm Som Kahn - Fresh orange juice
Nohm - Milk

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Ah-ngoon - Grape; both white and black are available; sweet taste; availabel from September to March
Chom Pooh - Rose Apple; many varieties and colours, succulent and crisp, best chilled slightly over ice in the fridge; available from April to June
Farang - Guava; usually eaten fresh, sometimes with salt and sugar; available all-year round
Kha-noon - Jack fruit; yellow or yellow brown flesh, large seed and thick soft thorned skin; boiled seed tastes like a peanut; available all-year round
Gloo-ay - Banana; there are three major varieties; Kluai Hom is long and fragrant; Kluai Khai is small, round and half the length; Kluai Nam Wa is similar length, but fatter; available all-year round
La-moot - Sapodilla; small, brown flesh can be eaten when soft; availabel from October to December
Lamyai - Longan; small, brown-skinned round pod; very sweet and juicy transparent flesh; seeds inedible; availble from July to September
Langsat - Sweet and sour taste; available from May to July
Lin-chi - Lychee; Small red round pod; white and sweet flesh; available from April to June
Mah-lah-goh - Papaya; yellow-brown or yellow green rind; sweet and fragrant pinkish-orange flesh when ripe; raw green flesh used for spicy Thai salads; available all-year round
Mah-phrao On - Young Coconut; tender white flesh; sweet and scented juice; availabel all-year round
Mah-muang - Mango; several varieties; eaten before ripe, or when ripe; popularly served during summer with sweet, glutinous rice; major season is from March to May
Mahng-khoot - Mangosteen; purplish, hard-rinded fruit with segmented, juicy white flesh; available from May to September
Ngoh - Rambutan; green and red hairy pod; sweet transparent flesh; availabel form May to July
Noi Nah - Custard Apple; pale green fruit; sweet, segmented and white flesh; seeds inedible; availabel from July to September
Pooht-sah - Green Plum or Crab Apple; small green plum-like taste; available all-year round
Sahp-pah-roht - Pineapple; green, spiny rind; yellow sweet and sour flesh; available all-year round
Sohm - Orange; Sweet and mildly sour; available all-year round
Sohm Oh - Pomelo; green rind, white pith, segmented yellow, white or pinkish flesh; tastes like grapefruit. Available from October ot December
Taehng Mo - Water Melon; green rind, sweet, juicy red pulp; available all year round
Thurian - Durian ; hard yellow-brown, sharp thorned shell; very sweet thick yellow flesh; fruit has strong, pungent odour; available from March to May
Mah-prahng - Sweet Garsluria; yellow oval pod, sweet and juicy flesh; eaten as fresh fruit; seed inedibel; available from March to April
Mah-kham Wahn - Sweet Tamarind; brown skinned round pod. Brown and sweet flesh; seed inedible; availble from January to February
Ra-kahm Wahn - Sweet Palm; spiny red rind and brown flesh, sweet and sour taste; seeds inedible; available from May to August

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