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Guide · Thai food

How to order Thai food, for the whole table.

The secret of a great Thai meal is not one dish — it is the table. Something sour, something rich, something crunchy and fresh, rice in the middle, and everyone reaching. Here is how to build that table at a Thai restaurant in Chicago or Bangkok, a cheat sheet of dishes worth knowing beyond pad thai, and the few words that get you the heat you want.

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In short

To order Thai food, share everything: for a group, pick one curry, one stir-fry, one salad and one soup, plus rice for each person, and say how hot you like it — “mai phet” means not spicy and “phet nit noi” a little spicy. Eat with a spoon in your right hand and a fork in your left, pushing food onto the spoon with the fork; sticky rice is eaten by hand.

Checked

The idea

Order a table, not a plate.

In Thailand, group meals are shared: dishes go in the middle and everyone eats with their own plate of rice. Balance is the point — sour, salty, sweet, spicy and fresh across the table, rather than all in one dish.

  • For two: one curry, one stir-fry or salad, two rice. Add a soup if you are hungry.
  • For four: one curry, one stir-fry, one salad (som tam or larb), one soup, and rice for everyone. Noodles as a fifth dish, not instead of rice.
  • Heat check: one fiery dish and one gentle one, so everyone has something to eat.
  • Dessert: one mango sticky rice for the table, a spoon each.

Cheat sheet

Thai dishes worth knowing.

Heat varies a lot from kitchen to kitchen. Many restaurants outside Thailand ask how spicy you want each dish; the words below work in Thailand.

Common Thai restaurant dishes, what they are and usual heat
What it isUsual heat
Pad thaiStir-fried rice noodles with tamarind, egg, peanuts and limeMild
Pad see ewWide rice noodles stir-fried with dark soy, egg and Chinese broccoliMild
Pad kra paoMinced meat stir-fried with holy basil and chili, often with a fried egg over riceHot
Khao padThai fried rice, with lime and cucumber on the sideMild
Green curryCoconut curry with green chili paste, Thai eggplant and basilHot
Red curryCoconut curry with dried red chili pasteMedium to hot
Panang curryA thick, rich red curry with peanut, less soupyMedium
Massaman curryA mellow curry with warm spices, potato and peanutsMild
Tom yumHot and sour soup with lemongrass, lime leaf and galangalHot
Tom kha gaiCoconut soup with chicken and galangalMild to medium
Som tamGreen papaya salad pounded with lime, fish sauce and chiliHot
LarbMinced meat salad with lime, chili, herbs and toasted rice powderMedium to hot
Khao man gaiPoached chicken over rice cooked in chicken fat and stockMild
Khao soiNorthern curry noodle soup topped with crispy noodlesMedium
Mango sticky riceSweet sticky rice with coconut cream and ripe mangoNone

Say it

Thai words for ordering.

A Thai cook’s “a little spicy” can still be a lot. If chili is a real problem, say mai phet and point out the dish, and remember that curry pastes and dips carry chili too.

Useful Thai words for ordering food, as commonly transliterated
Means
Ao …I would like …
An niThis one (point at the menu)
Mai phetNot spicy
Phet nit noiA little spicy
Phet makVery spicy
Gai / moo / plaChicken / pork / fish
KhaoRice
AroiDelicious
Check binThe bill, please
Krap / kaPolite ending: krap if you are a man, ka if you are a woman

At the table

Thai table manners.

  • Spoon right, fork left. Use the fork to push food onto the spoon, and eat from the spoon. The fork only goes in your mouth for things that are not eaten with rice, like fruit.
  • Chopsticks are for noodles. Noodle soups and noodle dishes, yes; rice dishes, no.
  • Sticky rice is eaten by hand. Roll a little into a ball with your right hand and use it to pick up larb or som tam.
  • Take a little at a time. A spoonful from a shared dish onto your rice, not a mountain.
  • Offer the last bite. Don’t take the final piece from a shared plate without offering it round.
  • Season it yourself. Fish sauce with chili, vinegar and dried chili flakes often sit on the table. Adding them is normal.

Keep it

One photo of the whole spread.

A shared Thai table is at its most beautiful for about thirty seconds, before the first spoons go in. Take one photo then. PlateDiary cuts each dish into its own save on your phone, so the curry, the papaya salad and the Thai iced tea each get their name and stars, grouped into one moment at that restaurant. Add who was there on the companions row — Priya, Tom and whoever ordered the one that was too hot.

Trip to Thailand? Our guides to what to eat in Bangkok, Yaowarat and Chiang Mai pick up where this page leaves off. PlateDiary keeps any price you jot down in baht; it never converts.

Sources

Where the facts come from

  1. Learn how to eat like a local: Thai table manners — The Thaiger
  2. How to order food like a Thai: 15 words and phrases — The World of Street Food

Questions

Questions people ask.

How do you say “not spicy” in Thai?

“Mai phet.” For a little heat, say “phet nit noi.” Add “krap” (if you are a man) or “ka” (if you are a woman) at the end to be polite.

What should I order at a Thai restaurant for the first time?

For two: a mild curry like massaman or panang, a stir-fry like pad see ew or pad kra pao, and rice each. Add a som tam or larb if you like fresh, sour and spicy.

Do Thai people eat with chopsticks?

Mostly for noodle dishes and noodle soups. Rice dishes are eaten with a spoon and fork, and sticky rice by hand.

Is pad see ew spicy?

Usually not. It is wide rice noodles stir-fried with dark soy sauce, egg and Chinese broccoli; you can add chili from the table.