Thailand

Recipes by the places recorded in their sources.

Thailand

35 recipes

AI-generated illustration of a grilled Som-fak serving in banana leaf with rice and fresh accompaniments; visual context only, not a safety endpoint.
High risk

Som-fak

Som-fak is a Thai fermented freshwater-fish cake. JIRCAS records its ingredients, proportions, wrapping and 3–5-day fermentation, but does not validate a safe household process or endpoint.

Thailand
· Fish and seafood
Photograph of Sato dong.

Sato dong

Thai pickle of stink bean seeds, Parkia speciosa, with the testa left on, held in a 10 percent salt brine in a glass jar in shade. JIRCAS records a three to four day ferment and a separate seven day flavour note.

Thailand
Illustrative light-purple, semi-solid fermented young taro-stalk preparation in a plain bowl; appearance based on JIRCAS, not an exact batch or safety claim.

Lam phueak dong

Thai pickle of young taro leaf stalks, salted, kneaded and held in rice-washing water in an earthen jar at room temperature. JIRCAS records it as a home-level product with no validated endpoint.

Thailand
Vegetables
Compact hand-tied bundles of softened, yellowish-green fermented Assam tea leaves in a banana-leaf-lined woven basket.

Miang

Northern Thai fermented tea leaf: Assam tea leaves tied in bundles, steamed, packed in a lined tank and held under weight for three to four months. Eaten after meals.

Northern Thailand
Tea, cocoa and coffee
Photograph of Tao-jiew (Thai fermented soybean condiment).

Tao-jiew (Thai fermented soybean condiment)

Tao-jiew is a salty, semi-solid soybean condiment from Thai cooking, made with koji and maturation in salt solution. The JIRCAS entry gives one method with key quantities left out.

Thailand
Condiments
Illustrative fully cooked pla som tilapia serving; the cited video documents an unvalidated fish batch, not this cooked presentation.
High risk

Pla som, tilapia batch

Thai pla som made from tilapia salted, filled with sticky rice and garlic, bagged and held at room temperature for about three to four days.

Thailand
Fish and seafood
Thai Naem portions wrapped in banana leaves, one parcel partly open to show the dense pale pinkish-beige pork-and-rind mixture.
High risk

Naem

Naem is a Thai sour pork preparation made with minced pork, rind or ear, glutinous rice, garlic and salt. Its documented room-temperature method has no validated food-safety endpoint.

Thailand
· Meat
Illustrative Northern Thai thua nao khaep: a small stack of flat, dry brown fermented-soybean discs, one tilted upright to show its thin profile; visual interpretation, not a verified batch.

Thua nao (dried)

Northern Thai fermented soybean shaped while still soft into flat cakes and dried, so the bacterial soybean ferment becomes a durable, shelf-stable seasoning reserve.

Northern Thailand
· Legumes and seeds
Photograph of Pla ra.
High risk

Pla ra

Thai salt-fermented fish paste, matured with rice bran or roasted rice and used as a seasoning in the Northeast and across Thailand. Raw pla ra must be cooked before eating.

Thailand · Traditional method
· Fish and seafood
A whole grey-white plaa-som fish with rice grains on a plain ceramic plate.

Plaa-som (pla som)

Plaa-som is a Thai sour fish: freshwater fish salted overnight, then mixed with cooked rice and garlic and fermented for about five to seven days at ambient temperature.

Northeast Thailand
Fish and seafood
A small bowl of thick dark-red nam prik pao, Thai roasted chilli paste, with fine chilli flecks and a restrained oil sheen.

Nam prik pao

Nam prik pao is a Thai roasted chilli paste, sweet, salty and sour with only mild heat, used as a dip, a spread and a seasoning for cooked dishes.

Thailand
· Condiments
A chunky bowl of nam prik ong, cooked Northern Thai minced-pork and tomato chili dip, with a restrained vegetable accompaniment.

Nam prik ong

Nam prik ong is a cooked Northern Thai dip of chilli, tomato and minced pork, seasoned with fermented soybean and eaten with vegetables, pork rind and eggs.

Northern Thailand (Lanna)
· Condiments
Photograph of Nam prik num.

Nam prik num

Grilled young green chillies, shallots and garlic are pounded with salt into a coarse northern Thai dip, finished with coriander and spring onion and eaten with sticky rice and vegetables.

Northern Thailand
· Condiments
Nam phrik kapi, a coarse dark shrimp-paste dip with chilli, served with Thai vegetables and fried fish.

Nam prik kapi

Nam prik kapi is a Thai dip of matured shrimp paste pounded with garlic, bird's eye chilli and lime or tamarind, eaten with vegetables and rice.

Central Thailand
· Condiments
Photograph of Nam jim jaew: Isan roasted-chilli dip.

Nam jim jaew: Isan roasted-chilli dip

Roasted chillies, shallot and garlic are pounded and loosened with fermented and plain fish sauce, boiled water and lime into a sharp Isan dip for grilled meat and fish.

Isan
· Condiments
Luk niang dong shown as whole peeled djenkol seeds in cloudy brine in a sealed jar, documentary context rather than a serving suggestion.
High risk

Luk niang dong

A cultural account of luk niang dong, a Thai djenkol-bean pickle associated with southern Thailand. Not a recipe or eating recommendation: sources do not establish that pickling controls djenkolism.

Thailand
Legumes and seeds
Finished cooked sriracha-style garlic-chilli sauce: a smooth, thick deep red-orange puree with fine chile flecks in a plain ivory bowl.

Cooked sriracha-style garlic-chilli sauce

Ripe red chillies, garlic, labelled 5% vinegar, sugar, water and salt are blended, simmered and blended smooth into a cooked chilli sauce.

Thailand · Modern adaptation
· Condiments
Thai Isan mam sausage, with cut sections showing its coarse reddish-brown filling, on a banana leaf over a woven tray. Garlic and bird’s-eye chilis sit beside it. Representative product image; it does not specify the pork or beef variant or indicate serving safety.
High risk

Mum (mam)

Mum is a Thai family of fermented meat preparations with distinct pork Mam-moo and beef Mam-neua forms. Sources document ingredients, casing and serving traditions, but not a validated home process.

Northeastern Thailand · Traditional method
Meat
Thai-style cooked red chilli-garlic sauce, smooth and glossy in an unbranded terracotta bowl with ripe red chillies and garlic.

Thai-style cooked sriracha sauce

Red chillies and garlic simmer in distilled vinegar, then blend with sugar and salt into a smooth, sharp, sweet-hot table sauce associated with Thailand’s Si Racha coast.

Si Racha · Modern adaptation
· Condiments
Three tied clear packets of Thai mushroom naem on a ceramic plate, with mushroom, rice and chillies visible.
High risk

Nham Hed (Thai Fermented Mushrooms)

A Thai sour mushroom preparation: shredded steamed oyster mushrooms, cooked rice, garlic and salt packed into small parcels and soured by lactic acid bacteria over a few days.

Thailand · Modern method
· Vegetables
Pandan sangkhaya, a glossy green Thai custard dip served with soft white bread.
Elevated risk

Pandan sangkhaya

A green Thai custard of pandan juice, coconut milk, egg yolks and sugar, cooked over a water bath until it coats a spoon and served for dipping soft bread, toast or sticky rice.

Thailand · Modern method
· Condiments
A fully visible bowl of glossy orange-red Thai sweet chilli sauce with chilli and garlic flecks, centered on a wooden table.

Cooked sweet chilli sauce

A cooked Thai-style sweet chilli dip combines red chillies, garlic, sugar and vinegar, then uses a small cornflour slurry to give this batch a glossy, spoonable body.

Thailand
Finished phak sian dong, wilted fermented spider-plant tips and flowers lightly glistening with brine in a plain white bowl.

Phak sian dong (pickled spider plant)

Phak sian dong is a Thai pickle of spider-plant tips and flowers (Cleome gynandra), salted and packed with cooked rice. Northeastern Thai and Lao Khrang accounts give different methods.

Northeastern Thailand
Photograph of Prik nam pla.

Prik nam pla

Fresh sliced chillies, fish sauce and lime form a sharp Thai table condiment. Spoon a little alongside rice, eggs or other cooked dishes.

Thailand · Modern method
· Condiments
Small bowl of freshly pounded Thai chilli vinegar with red chilli flecks and seeds, beside a stone mortar and two red Thai chillies.

Pounded Thai chilli vinegar

Pailin Chongchitnant's fresh prik nam som card pounds two or three Thai chillies, optionally with garlic, before stirring in white vinegar; charring is a separate optional step.

Thailand · Modern method
· Condiments
A coarse bowl of fresh green nam jim seafood, with a prawn, lime, Thai chillies, garlic and cilantro alongside.

Nam jim seafood

A Thai seafood dipping sauce of chiles, garlic, cilantro stems, fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar, pounded or briefly blended for a coarse texture.

Thailand · Modern method
· Condiments
Clear golden amber Thai nam pla in a plain white ceramic bowl, shown as the finished filtered fish sauce.
High risk

Nam pla

Thai fish sauce is a clear yellow-brown seasoning drawn from salted fish. Tank maturation produces a first extract, with further brine extractions giving other grades.

Thailand · Traditional method
· Fish and seafood
A small bowl of finished Thai pak-kaat-dorng: yellow-green wilted mustard leaves and broad stems with a slight sheen of brine.

Pak-kaat-dorng (sweet rice-wash method)

Thai sweet mustard greens wilted in sun, packed in earthenware under a salt and palm-sugar brine with rice-wash water, then sunned three to five days.

Thailand · Traditional method
· Vegetables
Finished Thai pak-kaat-dorng shown as yellow-green preserved mustard leaves and ribbed stalks in a small open serving bowl.

Pak-kaat-dorng (dry-salted rice method)

Pak-kaat-dorng is a Thai fermented mustard-green pickle, prepared here by dry-salting and kneading the wilted greens with cooked rice.

Thailand · Traditional method
· Vegetables
Two plain Thai rotis, thin and golden with delicate griddle-browned layers.

Thai roti (stretched griddle bread)

An unleavened wheat dough is rested in oiled portions, stretched almost transparent, coiled, flattened and fried on an oiled griddle. This source batch serves plain roti with optional condensed milk and sugar.

Thailand · Modern adaptation
· Grains and starches
Six short browned sai krok Isan sausage links on an ivory plate.
High risk

Sai krok Isan, starter-cultured

Sai krok Isan is a sour pork-and-rice sausage from northeastern Thailand. This garlic-rich version uses LHP-Dry starter and is cooked after fermentation.

Isan, northeastern Thailand · Modern adaptation
· Meat
A small white bowl of dark olive-green pickled spiderflower greens in their brine.

Pak-sian-dong

Young spider-flower greens packed with salt and cooked rice and left to sour for a few days; a Thai leafy-vegetable ferment eaten as a sharp side dish.

Thailand · Traditional method
· Vegetables
Illustrative finished pak-gard-dong: wilted, fermented mustard leaves from the documented salt-then-sugar method. This image does not establish batch safety or a preservation endpoint.

Pak-gard-dong (salt-then-sugar method)

Pak-gard-dong is a Thai mustard-green pickle salted first and drained, then fermented with sugar added to the drained greens.

Thailand · Traditional method
· Vegetables
Dark brown dried thua nao discs made from black soybeans, stacked on a plain white plate.
High risk

Black soybean thua nao with Bacillus subtilis

Black soybeans cooked, inoculated with a named Bacillus subtilis culture and fermented warm and humid into northern Thailand's thua nao, then optionally dried into thin discs.

Chiang Mai Province, Thailand · Modern method
· Legumes and seeds