Northern Thai Food

Northern Thai food is a cuisine influenced by the Burmese, and one of the first things you’ll notice is that Northern Thai people eat sticky rice instead of the plain rice of and Southern Central Thailand, which is traditionally kneading into a ball and eaten with the hands.

The influence in the cooking from the Burmese is evident using spices such as turmeric, tamarind and ginger. Traditional Northern Thai dishes are Nam Prik Ong, Nam Prik Num, as well as chilli soups like Gang Hangle, Gang Hoh and Gang Kae.

A popular noodle dish in Northern Thai food is Khanom Jeen Ngeow which comes directly from the Mon people in South Burma. There are many noodle dishes in Northern Thai food, and one of the most popular dishes is Khao Soi or Egg Noodles in Curry Sauce, which came from the Chinese and is unique to North Thailand. Different from noodle dishes in other regions Khao Soi has coconut milk added to the soup.

Another influence is the cool climate in the mountainous North, and curries are often cooked in fat rich coconut milk which gives people warmth. The curries are generally milder in the North of Thailand, and an interesting point to note here is that tomatoes which are used only for salads in other Thai dishes are often used in the curries in Northern Thai food.

Northern Thai people also dine on Mor Yor and Haem which are spicy pork sausages. Traditional Northern Thailand is called a "khantoke" dinner where everybody sits round a small table for their meal, often accompanied by traditional Thai Lanna dancing.