Step off the beaten path, venture beyond familiar favourites and discover these lesser-known Thai treats!

Thailand—the Land of Smiles and a paradise for food lovers. While iconic dishes like pad thai and green curry are adored worldwide, there’s a treasure trove of lesser-known delights hidden in Bangkok’s streets and tucked-away alleyways, just waiting to be explored. Don’t let these delicious eats slip past your radar. Ready to dig deeper? Let us take you beyond the usual favourites.

Khao Kriab Pak Moh

This traditional Thai snack features translucent rice flour encasing a savoury filling. While minced pork and preserved radish are classic choices, peanuts have become a popular addition commonly seen on the streets today. The delicate wrappers contrast with the rich, savoury filling. Typically these dumplings are served with fried minced garlic and accompanied by fresh lettuce and coriander plus chillies.

The preparation involves steaming the rice flour batter on a cloth stretched over a pot, adding the cooked filling and wrapping it around the mixture. Many vendors prepare this in front of you, offering a spectacle to behold during the process.

Khanom Buang

These bite-sized crispy Thai crepes are crafted from batter cooked to golden perfection and folded over a filling. Vendors typically offer two tempting flavours: sweet or salty. Can’t decide? Go for a mix! The sweet version is filled with meringue cream, shredded coconut and egg yolk threads, while the savoury option features minced shrimp and a fresh sprinkle of coriander.

Sai Krok Isan

These fermented pork sausages from Thailand’s northeast are meaty bites you can grab on the streets of Bangkok. They showcase the region’s use of garlic and sticky rice which feature prominently in many of their dishes. Made by combining sticky rice with pork, garlic, shallots and fiery chillies, the mixture is left to ferment, developing complex and nuanced flavours. The fermentation process imparts a distinctive sourness to the meat, setting it apart from other sour flavours like citrus or vinegar. This unique, subtle tanginess is a hallmark of the dish, which typically pairs well with young ginger slices, bird’s-eye chillies and fresh cabbage. In Khon Kaen province, the night markets are renowned for serving the most authentic versions.

Khanom Krok

Another bite-sized sweet with crispy edges and a velvety coconut pudding in the centre. These are essentially coconut cups. Traditionally these treats have just a subtle coconut flavour, but today vendors are incorporating sweet corn, taro or pandan into the cups. Wander the streets and watch them being prepared right before your eyes.

Nam Pla Wan

This dipping sauce is a traditional Thai condiment often paired with unripe mangoes. The term nam pla wan translates directly to ‘sweet fish sauce.’ This combination, which also includes shallots and chillies in the sauce, has been a popular Thai snack for decades. You might not always find them at roadside fruit stalls, but supermarkets have got you covered with freshly cut green mangoes served with a side of nam pla wan, all neatly packaged for your convenience. And if you’re craving a quick fix, bottled versions are also ready and waiting on the shelves.

Nang Kai Thot

Literally translated as ‘fried chicken skin’, it’s a beloved street food in many places and often found on the menu at local noodle parlours. Even if chicken skin isn’t available, there’s a good chance you’ll be offered an alternative, such as crispy fish skin (nang pla thot, with pla meaning fish). It can be enjoyed on its own as a salty, crunchy treat or paired with noodles—or really anything your heart desires. The process involves marinating the chicken skin in a fragrant mix of herbs and spices then deep-frying it to golden, crispy perfection.

Khaep Mu

This is the famous crispy pork rind from Northern Thailand, a well-loved snack among Thais. In the bustling streets of cities in the North, like Chiang Mai, these delectable morsels are often paired with nam phrik num—a zesty green chilli paste that adds a fiery kick to this crispy bite. The preparation of khaep mu is an art form in itself. The pork skin, with a layer of fat, is first cured in salt for several days, then soaked in water to ensure the fat cells expand. This process results in the signature puffed texture after frying. Once cooked, it is cut into smaller pieces and baked until crispy, creating a contrast between the crunchy exterior and the tender interior.

Mieng Kam

This is a one-bite wrap, a traditional Southeast Asian snack often found in Thailand as well as Laos. In one bite, you take a fresh leaf—typically from the cha plu plant—then fill it with a medley of ingredients such as roasted coconut shavings, shallots, fresh bird’s eye chillies, ginger, garlic, key lime (including the peel), chopped unsalted peanuts or cashew nuts and small dried shrimps. To elevate the taste, a sweet and savoury syrup often infused with lemongrass, galangal, ginger and fish sauce, is drizzled over the assembled ingredients. While these may be a little trickier to track down at street vendors, they are still very much a part of the city’s culinary scene and can be found at local traditional Thai eateries.

Thailand’s Exclusive Flavour Crisps

Lay’s is shaking up the snack scene with a bold, flavour-packed foray into Thai gastronomy, transforming local tastes into crisps. First up, their Classic Mieng Kam crisps—now a year-round treat rather than a limited edition. Inspired by the previously mentioned Thai appetiser Mieng Kam, these crisps capture that zesty, salty medley of flavours just like the real deal.

Next, we have Lay’s Grilled Prawn and Seafood Sauce crisps, channelling the smoky allure of Thai riverside prawn grills and the zesty kick of tangy seafood sauce. And let’s not forget the Stir-Fried Crab crisps, a true tribute to Thailand’s rich seafood culture. These crisps encapsulate the stir-fried crab with curry sauce dish, bringing an umami-packed taste of Thailand’s culinary coastline straight to your snack stash.