Thailand is well-known for its unique and distinctive cuisine. The Thai dishes have been popularized all around the world. It features original recipes expertly combined to create a balance between salty, spicy, bitter, sweet and sour tastes, guaranteed to delight your taste buds. However, the most authentic Thai dishes can of course be tried within the country.
Because of its outstanding cuisine, Thailand is now attracting more tourists each year, arriving in the country for food tourism. If you are visiting Thailand for a vacation, tasting the local cuisine is an inevitable part of your holiday. Fortunately, the island of Koh Samui is one of the main hubs in Thailand, where you can have an authentic and extremely tasty Thai meal.
We have prepared a list with the best and most authentic Thai dishes you can taste in Koh Samui.
Pad Thai
Probably one of the most recognizable and outstanding Thai dishes, Pad Thai is a traditional stir-fried rice noodle meal. The main ingredients in this dish include stir-fried rice noodles, tofu, fish sauce, tamarind pulp, egg, shallot, soybean, palm sugar, red chilli pepper and garlic. The Pad Thai can be prepared with shrimps or crab and with chicken, depending on the taste.
What makes this Thai dish so extraordinary is the specific taste and the mixture of authentic Thai ingredients. The Pad Thai is available in many of the Thai restaurants and recreation establishments but also it’s quick street food – a little spicy, a little sweet, and utterly delicious.
Tom Yum
Tom Yum is one of the best-known Thai dishes, a spicy, sour, and aromatic soup that is traditionally served with rice. It consists of shallots, lemongrass, fish sauce, minced fresh ginger or galangal, shrimps, mushrooms, kaffir lime leaves, lime juice, and minced Thai chili peppers. Due to its popularity, different versions of the soup started to appear over the years, such as tom yum gai, with added chicken. It is usually served as an appetizer.
Tom Som
This unusual Thai meal has become popular, due to its distinctiveness of food combinations. It is a clear fish soup with many other ingredients. The recipe for this dish varies but the broth is usually made from chilli paste that contains krill paste (kapi), shallots, coriander roots, sour tamarind (som makaam), palm sugar and fish sauce.
Fish is the meat of choice and it can be anything found in abundance in Thailand such as mackerel (pla tu), mullet, sea bass or tilapia. The mixture of tastes is outstanding, therefore the Tom Som Pla Taling Pling is often chosen as the best Thai meal by many locals and tourists.
Som Tam
Som Tam is a spicy papaya salad made with shredded green papaya, mixed with eggplant, beans, garlic, dried shrimp, crab paste, roasted peanuts, and chilli. It has a distinct flavor and is without a doubt one of the most delicious dishes in the world.
Most restaurants serve the Som Tam salad as an appetizer. It is a suitable option for entertaining moments among friends and family.