Southern Thailand
ภาคใต้
The peninsula: the hottest curries in the country, turmeric, seafood, and Malay and Muslim influences.
The narrow southern peninsula runs between the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand down to Malaysia. Seafood, coconuts and rubber plantations shape daily life, and the large Muslim communities of the far south bring Malay and Indian spices to the table.
Southern food is widely held to be the spiciest in Thailand.
Flavours
Fiery, salty and sour, with fresh turmeric colouring many dishes yellow. Shrimp paste is used heavily, and dry spices such as cumin, cardamom and cinnamon appear in Muslim dishes. Fresh vegetables (phak nam) are always served alongside to temper the heat.
Signature dishes
- Gaeng som / gaeng lueang: sour yellow curry with fish
- Kua kling: dry-fried minced meat with a very hot curry paste
- Massaman curry, linked to the Muslim communities of the south
- Khao mok gai: Thai-Muslim chicken biryani
- Roti with curry or sweet condensed milk
How people eat
With jasmine rice and a plate of raw vegetables. In the far south, breakfast is often roti and curry, or khanom jeen rice noodles with a choice of curries.
Where to eat in Southern Thailand
Street Food
Gai Tod Decha
Hat Yai's best-known fried chicken shop, serving crisp shallot-topped gai tod over fragrant khao mok rice.
Hat Yai · ฿
Restaurants
Tu Kab Khao
Southern Thai home cooking in a restored century-old shophouse facing the Shrine of the Serene Light on Phang Nga Road.
Phuket Town · ฿฿
Restaurants
Mee Ton Poe
The clock tower noodle shop where Phuket Town has eaten wok-fried Hokkien noodles with a runny egg since 1946.
Phuket Town · ฿
Restaurants
One Chun
A Bib Gourmand favourite in Phuket Town, known for creamy crab curry and moo hong served in a vintage shophouse.
Phuket Town · ฿฿
Restaurants
Raya Restaurant
Phuket Old Town's best-known family kitchen, serving crab curry and braised pork belly in a century-old Sino-Portuguese house.
Phuket Town · ฿฿฿
Restaurants
Sorn
Thailand's first three-Michelin-star restaurant, telling the story of the south through Andaman seafood and fierce curry pastes.
Bangkok · ฿฿฿฿
Restaurants
Khua Kling Pak Sod (Thonglor)
Family recipes from Chumphon, cooked by mum and aunt: fiery dry curries, turmeric-yellow fish curries and fragrant southern stir-fries.
Bangkok · ฿฿
Recipes from Southern Thailand
Braises & Stews
Moo Hong (Phuket Braised Pork Belly)
Phuket’s Hokkien-style pork belly, braised in soy sauce, garlic and black pepper until dark, glossy and meltingly soft.
105 min · Easy
Grilled & Fried
Gai Tod Hat Yai (Hat Yai Fried Chicken)
Southern Thailand’s famous fried chicken, marinated in coriander seed, cumin and garlic and buried under crispy fried shallots.
50 min · Easy
Noodles & Rice
Khao Mok Gai (Thai-Muslim Chicken Biryani)
Spiced yellow rice cooked with yogurt-marinated chicken, topped with crispy shallots and served with a sweet-sour green chilli and mint sauce.
90 min · Medium
Curries
Gaeng Lueang (Southern Sour Yellow Curry with Fish)
A bright yellow, very sour and very hot fish curry from the south, with turmeric, tamarind and green papaya or pineapple. No coconut milk.
40 min · Medium
Stir-fries
Kua Kling (Southern Dry Curry)
Minced pork dry-fried in a fiery turmeric curry paste until every grain is coated, finished with shredded makrut lime leaves.
40 min · Medium
Curries
Massaman Curry with Beef
A rich, mild curry with Persian and Indian roots: braised beef, potatoes and peanuts in a cinnamon, cardamom and tamarind sauce.
180 min · Medium