Thailand

A small intense Thai bowl of rice noodles dressed without much broth in a dark pork- or beef-blood (nam tok) sauce, tossed with meat, herbs, fried garlic, and pork crackling.

Gaeng Daeng is a Thai red coconut curry soup characterized by a rich, fragrant red curry paste, creamy coconut milk, tender protein, bamboo shoots, and fresh Thai basil.

A Thai wet curry of protein and vegetables simmered in coconut milk enriched with fresh green chili paste, seasoned with fish sauce and palm sugar, and finished with Thai basil and kaffir lime leaves.

Thai griddled half-sphere cakes of rice flour and coconut milk batter, crisp at the edges with a soft, custardy coconut center, made in a special dimpled pan.

Poached chicken served over rice cooked in chicken fat and stock, with a pungent ginger-chilli-fermented-soybean dipping sauce and clear broth on the side.

A Thai dessert of glutinous rice steamed and then soaked in sweetened, salted coconut milk, served alongside sliced ripe mango and finished with a drizzle of thickened salted coconut cream.

A Thai stir-fried rice dish in which day-old jasmine rice is tossed in a hot wok with egg, aromatics, and fish sauce until separate, smoky, and lightly seasoned.

A Thai brothy rice soup in which cooked rice grains stay whole and loose, simmered in seasoned broth with pork or fish and finished with ginger and fried garlic.

A small, intensely flavored bowl of Thai rice noodles in a dark, spiced pork (or beef) broth enriched with blood, served with braised meat, meatballs, and crisp aromatics.

A Lao and Thai (Isan) minced-meat salad seasoned with toasted ground rice, fish sauce, lime, chili, and a heap of fresh herbs.

A Thai dessert of steamed glutinous rice seasoned hot with salted-sweet coconut cream, served alongside slices of fresh ripe mango and finished with a second pour of thickened coconut cream sauce.

A rich, mild Thai-Muslim coconut curry of slow-braised beef with potato and peanuts, scented with warm dry spices uncommon in other Thai curries.

A Thai wok stir-fry of minced or finely chopped meat — most commonly pork or chicken — with pounded garlic and bird's-eye chilies, finished with fresh holy basil and seasoned with fish sauce and oyster sauce, served over jasmine rice and crowned with a crispy-edged fried egg.

A Thai stir-fry of wide flat rice noodles charred in a hot wok with dark sweet soy sauce, egg, Chinese broccoli, and a single protein.

A Thai street-food dish of sen lek rice noodles stir-fried at high heat with egg, firm tofu, and dried or fresh shrimp, seasoned with a tamarind–fish sauce–palm sugar sauce, and finished tableside with roasted peanuts, bean sprouts, and lime.

Small pieces of marinated skewered meat cooked over charcoal and served with a spiced peanut sauce.

A pounded raw salad of shredded green papaya in a punchy, balancing dressing of fish sauce, lime, and palm sugar, finished with dried shrimp and chilies.

A Thai chicken soup in coconut milk perfumed with galangal, lemongrass and kaffir lime, balanced sour and salty with lime and fish sauce.

A Thai hot-and-sour prawn soup built on a light broth steeped in bruised lemongrass, galangal, and kaffir lime leaves, balanced at the finish with fresh lime juice, fish sauce, and bird's-eye chilies.