Rice in Thailand

ข้าวในไทย

[ khao-nai-Thai ]

South-East Asian cuisine and rice are like Romeo and Juliet of the culinary world. It is hard to imagine one without the other. Almost every dish in Asia contains some traces of this magic cereal. Rice noodles, rice cakes, a variety of rice drinks and milk, you name it. And then there is the rice itself, served alongside many Thai dishes.

Following are the 3 most popular ways of serving rice in Thailand:

Steamed White Rice 🍚

Served as scoops of steamed, plain, white rice, locally called [ khao suay ], and written in Thai as ข้าว สวย.

Sticky Rice

Served as sticky rice, locally called as [ khao njiao ], and written in Thai as ข้าว เหนียว.

Boiled Rice with Water

Served as the bowl of boiled rice mixed with a generous amount of water, locally called [ khao tom ] and written in Thai as ข้าว ต้ม.

Of course, there are many other variations such as oily rice, sweet sticky rice with mango and so on. But the above 3 are the most common types of rice, served almost everywhere as a popular side dish.