Throughout our travels in Thailand, we tried countless new foods and dishes.  Some became group favorites, while other foods might be more of an acquired taste.  Though it is impossible to touch on all of the foods we tried in Thailand, I’m going to highlight a few common dishes or items that we encountered throughout the three weeks!

First, the fruits in Thailand were much different (and fresher) than those that are commonplace in the U.S.  We were familiar with fruits like banana, pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe, and mango, but we also encountered others like durian, mangosteens, lychee, green mango, dragon fruit, and more.  Durian is perhaps the most polarizing of the fruits, beloved by many but notorious for its pungent smell.  A handful of us tried in one day at the mall, and it was definitely a very unusual taste and texture.   Fortunately, the Thai students had no problem finishing the durian we couldn’t eat!  Every other fruit I tried was delicious, however, and I frequently enjoyed it at breakfast or in a smoothie.

Durian

Dragonfruit

Now I’ll move on to a typical lunch or dinner that we had in Thailand.  We would frequently begin with a lemongrass coconut soup called tom kha gai.  It usually had chicken, mushrooms, tomatoes, and other ingredients, and sometimes it was spicy.  There were a few other soups we tried throughout our travels, but this was my favorite.

Another popular dish among the group were the omelettes.  Rather than a breakfast dish like it is in the U.S., fried omelettes are frequently enjoyed as part of lunch or dinner.  Sometimes they were stuffed with pork, shrimp, or crab.  Pictured below is an omelette on the left and mushrooms on the right, which was also a common side dish at our meals.

One of my personal favorite dishes for lunch or dinner was mango salad, made with shredded green mango.  Papaya salad and bamboo shoot salad are two variations and are equally delicious.  However, usually mango salad is also extremely spicy – so don’t dig in before making sure you have something to drink!

Mango salad

Mango salad on the bottom, and morning glory on the top.  Morning glory was a very popular dish among our group that we frequently enjoyed at lunch and dinner!  I think it tastes like spinach stir-fried in a really good sauce.

Our group ate many meals at various cafeterias and night markets at Kasetsart University.  One common dish that I bought there was chicken or pork over rice, sometimes with a spicy sauce on the side.  The second picture is minced meat over rice with a fried egg on top, another similar essential meal.

Lastly, I tried many Thai desserts throughout the past 3 weeks.  One ubiquitous treat was coconut ice cream, often topped with peanuts, coconut jelly, and other unique toppings you don’t see in the U.S.  You can’t wander for too long in Chatuchak market with passing a coconut ice cream stand.

Banana roti, a treat similar to a crepe or pancake, was also easy to find throughout Thailand.  It was often cut into pieces like pictured below, making it a great snack to share!

Finally, one of the most unique desserts we tried was roti sai mai, a signature food of Ayuthaya.  It resembles cotton candy in a wrap (roti).  Though it looked strange at first, it was actually really good!

This is just a sampling of the common dishes and foods we had in Thailand.  You’ll have to visit Thailand to try these and all of the other dishes that I missed!