Phuket hardcore Thai food
We had โ10 Typical Phuket Dishesโ and โ10 Best Really Local Restaurantsโ, and even โ10 Fried Insects for Gourmetsโ now we need to move on to serious business: โ10 Hardcore Thai Food, only for the Braveโโฆ Will you dare?
I will skip insects and focus on real dishes Thai people cook daily and really enjoy. After 22 years in Phuket, I still canโt eat several of them, but I can tell when someone had some for lunch! Some look weird, some smell really bad, some taste terrible and some get all of it. Be daring! Try some of them when you visit! From the โToughestโ to the โLess scaryโ I give you the โ10 Hardcore Thai Dishesโ you have to try to say you have โReally Been in Thailandโ
1. Duck Feet โ เธเธตเธเนเธเนเธ
Supposed to be great for your skin with a large amount of collagen contained, itโs halfway between chewy, cartilaginous and a bit slimy too. For the rest, wellโฆ look at the photo.
- Aspect: Very Weird
- Smell Level: Good
- Taste Level: Light
2. Phad Sato โ เธเธฑเธเธชเธฐเธเธญ
Sato is a local big seed smelling like cooking gas and growing inside a huge pod at the top of tall trees. Fried in shrimp paste and garlic, chilli, fish sauce and lime.
- Aspect: Appetizing
- Smell Level: Strong and lasting
- Taste Level: Fainting
3. Yum Kai Mang Da Talay โ เธขเธณเนเธเนเนเธกเธเธเธฒ
A really unusual dish made with the eggs of a horseshoe crab (Mang Da Talay) that resembles a prehistoric crawly, mixed with grated green mango, chilli, and lime. Read moreโฆ
- Aspect: Scary to repulsive
- Smell Level: Light
- Taste Level: Light to โVery Fishyโ
4. Kaeng Tai Pla โ เนเธเธเนเธเธเธฅเธฒ
The name means fish kidneys soup but in fact, itโs made with fish guts in generalโฆ add carrots, green beans and fak (donโt laugh, thatโs a Thai veggie! a kind of gourd), turmeric and shrimp paste.
- Aspect: Normal
- Smell Level: Very Strong
- Taste Level: Fainting
5. Kaeng Som โ เนเธเธเธชเนเธก
A fish soup best enjoyed when done with a homemade shrimp paste using garlic, galangal, lemongrass lots of chilli, turmeric roots, plenty of local herbs, shallots, dry fish and curry paste. Put everything in a mortar and reduce to a pulp, which takes hours.
- Aspect: Weird
- Smell Level: Very Strong
- Taste Level: Fainting
6. Soup No Mai โ เธเธธเธเธซเธเนเธญเนเธกเน
Boiled bamboo shoots salad north-eastern style (Isan) with mint leaves, shallots, ya-nang leaves and crunchy rice bits! On the good side: it has very few calories, great for diet! (if you can eat it)
- Aspect: Strange
- Smell Level: Strangerโฆ
- Taste Level: โฆStrangest
7. Tam Sua โ เธเธณเธเธฑเนเธง
Tam Sua means โWhatever goesโ: Small rice noodles, shredded raw papaya, some kind of pickles, raw bean sprouts, chili, fermented fish and salted fermented black crab.
- Aspect: Weird (black crab legs look like a spider).
- Smell Level: Strong to Stinky
- Taste Level: Very Strong
8. Lo Ba โ เนเธฅเธเธฐ
Deep-fried pork giblets: intestines, ears and fat belly, pork skin, well you get the picture: all the least appetizing parts of the pork, served with sweet brown sauce.
- Aspect: Not appetizing
- Smell Level: Eeeeeeew!
- Taste Level: Strong
9. Nom Vou Yang โ เธเธกเธงเธฑเธงเธขเนเธฒเธ
โNom Vouโ is a simple dish made with cowโs udders. Itโs very rubbery and gives you the impression of chewing on your momโs breastโฆ awkward.
- Aspect: Oh my
- Smell Level: Acceptable
- Taste Level: The taste is ok, but the consistency gave me goosebumps.
10. Nam Prik โ เธเนเธณเธเธฃเธดเธ
A pungent violet shrimp paste with chilli dip, served with uncooked strange green vegetables: green beans, raw wing beans, raw eggplants, raw cabbage.
- Aspect: Well-presented and nice-looking
- Smell Level: The paste smells very fishy
- Taste Level: Strong and veggies are bitter.
See also
