Favorite foods from Thailand’s cuisine, which is widely regarded as one of the world’s most savory and varied cuisines thanks to the deft use of spices and other components to produce dishes that are rich, aromatic, and frequently do not include a significant amount of heat. If you don’t speak Thai, ordering food at one of the many night markets in Thailand may be like playing Russian roulette since you have no idea what you’re getting, and you have no idea if it will set your mouth on fire. The following is a list of the 11 dishes in Thailand that are considered to have the highest level of heat. This list should be required reading for anyone who is considering traveling to the Land of Smiles.
Phat Phrik Khing
Nuea phat phrik, which comes in at number 11, is a dish that is extremely fiery and contains more chile than the majority of people can stomach. The meat of your choice (beef, pork, chicken, or fish), as well as bell peppers, onions, garlic, basil, and of course, bird’s eye chilies, will be braised together in this dish. What is the result? A dish so spicy that it will make you break out in a cold sweat and have you grabbing for more rice in an effort to cool down the heat. It is a fantastic dish for those who are able to withstand the heat, but if you are a bit scared, you can always ask for fewer chilies or replace bell peppers. If you are able to handle the heat, it is a delicious dish.
Khao Pad Nam Prik Pao
Despite its menacing name, which translates to “chili paste fried rice from hell,” this dish only just manages to sneak its way into the top 10. Before being fried with rice and served, sun-dried chilies are pounded in a pestle and mortar along with garlic, palm sugar, prawn paste, and chunks of fish. Other ingredients include garlic and sun-dried chillies. Rice typically provides a respite from the powerful chilli qualities that are characteristic of Thai food; however, there is no way to avoid these flavors in this dish because the rice is covered with this diabolical “chilli paste from hell.” The flavor is fantastic if you are able to withstand the bitterness, but unfortunately, many people who come here are forced to endure it.
Phat Kaphrao
Pad ka prao is a very hot food when it is correctly made, despite the fact that many varieties of the dish may not appear to be that spicy to foreigners. Pad ka prao is a popular dish that can be made with fish, chicken, or pork, and it is characterized by the overpowering flavour of holy basil as well as the fiery heat of chilli peppers that are generously added to the dish. These two elements work together to produce a meal that is extremely flavorful and spicy. If you’re feeling bold, ask for it spicy, and you’ll receive the authentic version that has been around since long before Westerners started complaining about how spicy it was. This meal is one of the most well-known and well-loved in all of Thailand.
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Tom Yum Kung
The fact that fried chilli and chilli paste are used to make the base of Thailand’s most popular soup dish, tum yum Kung, places it at number eight on our list. When galangal and lemongrass are added to a dish, the result is a spicy and fragrant concoction that is not for the faint of heart. Its hot reddish-orange colour ought to ring off alarm bells as to your spice level, and it doesn’t disappoint, with heat radiating to every area of your body.
Chicken noodle soup may help you feel better after a cold, but if you have the flu, you should try tom yum Kung instead since it will get you moving much faster than chicken noodle soup ever could.
Laab
In the western world, salads do not typically have a lot of flavour, and they are not at all spicy. The fact that laab, one of the two most popular Thai salads, made it onto this list is evidence that Thailand did not get that letter. The rice is roasted and crushed before being mixed with a mixture of pig or chicken, mashed chillies, and onions to make a dish that is deceptively spicy. This dish is famous in the Isaan region of Thailand as well as in Laos. After the first couple of tastes, the spice might seem tolerable, but it gradually builds up to almost painful levels, and all of a sudden, your “play” salad option has failed terribly.
Tom Klong Pla Grob
The practically clear brown colour of tom klong pla grob, another extremely spicy Thai soup, may give the impression that it is not particularly dangerous, but this is not the case at all. In addition to galangal, kaffir leaves, and lemongrass, this meal is distinguished by its use of a sour and fiery broth, dried fish, and dried chilies as two of its essential components. Many Thais may find this dish to be refreshing, but the reality is that most Westerners won’t be able to appreciate it at all. This is a great shame because the dish is truly rather tasty.
Tom Laeng
As we move on to the top five and the tom laeng, which is less well-known, we are starting to get really horny. Along with spring onions and generous amounts of green chiles, pork bones are cooked until the meat is tender and easily separates from the bone. This process is repeated several times. At first glance, the transparent broth with the meat and green veggies floating in it might look like your grandmother’s homemade chicken soup. However, make no mistake: it is quite spicy, and it will be the next Thai meal that you see splattered all over social media. Consume food at your own peril.
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Gaeng Som
Even if you can’t see it, you’ll definitely be able to smell the gaeng som. This infamous orange curry dish hails from southern Thailand and has a scent that is so distinctive and intense that it will cause the hairs in your nostrils to stand on end. Gaeng som is a type of curry that is very watery and has the consistency of a soup. Its flavor comes from the use of shrimp paste and bird’s-eye chilies, and the inclusion of tamarind is what gives it its characteristic colour and sour taste. Be advised that because of the liquid nature of the curry, it can soon lead to the rice becoming saturated, leaving it with no escape from the substantial heat. It is typically served atop white rice that has been boiled. The dish typically contains fish or shrimp.
Som Tam Thai
The Firely Papaya Salad at Isaan som tam earns the bronze medal on the list of the spiciest dishes to be found in Thailand; but, depending on where you eat it or who cooks it, it very well may have won the gold medal instead. Unripe papaya has a sour taste and is typically prepared by adding a variety of seasonings to it before serving, including a combination of salt, lime juice, fish sauce, coconut sugar, and, of course, a generous amount of flaming hot chilli peppers. The incorporation of all of these distinct components results in a finished product that is not only well-rounded in terms of flavour but also frequently extremely fiery. People in Isaan will eat it like it’s soft boiled rice, but tourists in Thailand will definitely be left sweating and in misery; don’t say we didn’t warn you. People in Isaan will eat it like it’s soft boiled rice.
Khua Kling Gai
In addition to being a delicacy of southern Thailand, Kua Kling gai is a spicy dry curry that spares no one when it comes to its level of heat. When compared to the majority of Thai dishes, its preparation is much more straightforward: a curry paste made of chilli, pepper, lemongrass, garlic, turmeric, galangal, salt, and shrimp paste is added to meat that has been roasted in a pan, and the mixture is then stirred until the meat is fully cooked. There is no “foreigner version” of gaeng Kua kling; the dish can be prepared with pork, chicken, fish, or beef as the meat and is eaten with rice. Although there is no “foreigner version,” whatever version of gaeng Kua kling you try in southern Thailand is guaranteed to knock your socks off. You are prepared, right?
Kaeng Tai Pla
It’s almost like a mirror image of southern Thailand, complete with its own version of gaeng tai pla, which has climbed to the top of the most popular meals in all of Thailand. If you try to order this curry and the server warns you that it is quite spicy, you shouldn’t take it personally because they are just trying to protect you from the heat. In addition to the dried chillies, galangal, turmeric, and kaffir leaves that are common in southern Thai cooking, this dish also includes fermented fish intestines, fish, pumpkin, eggplant, yard beans, and bamboo shoots to produce a curry that is excruciatingly salty and hot. Those in the restaurant who have gathered to watch the farang consume the dish are going to smile wryly when they see them push over the pain barrier and complete the meal despite the fact that it is quite unpleasant. Remove yourself from the heat and get your parents on the line. As soon as you’re done, you’ll need a lot of milk and ice cream to relieve the scorching sensation in your mouth, so make sure there’s a convenience shop not too far away.
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