Thailand has a sweet tooth with a lot of delicious desserts. Thai desserts play an integral part of Thai cuisine. Thailand’s desserts are made with numerous fresh and high-quality ingredients such as palm sugar, coconut milk, rice flour, and tropical fruits. Although the ingredients are similar, each dessert in Thailand has its own flavor.
Why Are Thai Desserts So Special?
Delicious Thai Desserts
Thai desserts are famous for their unique blend of flavors, vibrant colors, and intricate presentations, making them a delightful experience for the senses. One key aspect that makes Thai desserts special is the use of fresh, local ingredients like coconut milk, pandan leaves, sticky rice, and tropical fruits such as mango and durian. These ingredients contribute to the rich, creamy textures and exotic flavors that define Thai sweets.
Another distinctive feature is the balance of sweet, salty, and sometimes slightly sour flavors, which creates a harmonious taste profile. Traditional methods and recipes passed down through generations add a layer of cultural heritage and authenticity to these desserts.
Moreover, desserts in Thailand often incorporate symbolic shapes and colors, making them visually appealing and culturally significant. For instance, desserts like “Thong Yip” (Pinched Gold Egg Yolks) and “Foi Thong” (Golden Threads) are believed to bring good fortune, highlighting the deep cultural connections and traditions embedded in Thai culinary art.
Top 10 Thai Desserts Awakening Your Taste Buds
Khao Niao Mamuang (Mango Sticky Rice)
Khao Niao Mamuang (Mango Sticky Rice)
Khao Niao Mamuang or Mango sticky rice can be considered Thailand’s national dessert and can be found in almost every eatery in Thailand. Khai Niao Mamuang comprises sticky rice and delicious mangoes. In Thailand, the mango season is between March and May. Mango nam dok mai gains the most popularity and is usually sweet and juicy.
The second key ingredient in this dessert is sticky rice, which is closely related to Thai culture. Sticky rice is cooked with coconut milk to give the dessert its distinctive flavor.
Khao Niaow Tu-rean (Durian Sticky Rice)
Durian sticky rice
Khao Niaow tu-rean, also called Durian Sticky Rice is a classic Thai dessert, especially for those who love durian. A delicious sweet mix of coconut and durian is poured over fluffy sticky rice totally out of this world!
Khao Niaow tu-rean is always on top of the Thai desserts list, both in the durian category and in the traditional Thai dessert category. The creamy texture of the milk pairs perfectly with the sweet flavor of the fruit and sticky rice will awaken your taste buds.
Tub Tim Krob (Red Ruby)
Tub Tim Krob (Red Ruby)
Tub tim krob also known as red ruby, is a refreshing Thai dessert made with water chestnut and coconut cream. With the crispy, slightly nutty cream, you can enjoy this sweet food every day.
This sweet is made by using crispy water chestnuts coated in a thin layer of tapioca flour tinged with a bright red color. They are similar to gorgeous red rubies, served with fresh, white coconut milk. The creamy taste of coconut with the aromatic sweetness of chestnuts will surely delight the taste buds of the guests.
Karom Krok (Thai Coconut Pancakes)
Karom Krok (Thai Coconut Pancake)
Karom krok, a delicious sweet coconut pudding is the best choice for breakfast in Thailand. The main ingredients are coconut milk, rice flavor, and sugar.
This is a typical food street that can easily be found on carts in small alleys or Thai markets. It is easy to make Karom Krok, by mixing rice flour and coconut milk in specific proportions and then grilling over charcoal.
Luk Chup (Thai Mung Bean Desserts in the Shape of fruit)
Luk Chup
Luk chup can be considered both cake and sweet due to its sweetness. This sweet unique is in Portugal in this manner it is colorful and made from green beans and coconut milk.
Having an interesting shape, these little mung bean cakes are carefully molded to take after smaller-than-expected natural products and vegetables such as mango, chili, mangosteen, strawberry, tiny wild melon, orange peel, and many more.
They are at that point secured in dynamic colors to emphasize their imperativeness. The appearance of these desserts is so engaging that they appear uncommonly planned to request to children. This is the reason why these sweets continuously capture a parcel of consideration.
Thai Roti (Thai Pancakes)
Thai Roti
Thai roti is a kind of pancake that is ordinarily enjoyed as a dessert. It can be delighted either with sweetened condensed milk or by topping it with banana, chocolate, or other ingredients depending on individuals’ preferences.
After including the filling of your choice, such as banana or chocolate, the hotcake is topped with a meringue made with beaten egg white and sugar, then topped with minced egg yolks. At that point, it is collapsed and toasted to accomplish a delicious combination of flavors and textures.
There are differences between Thai pancakes and feathery French ones. When you taste them, you will be astounded by their crispy, melt-in-your-mouth surface. This is their special flavor that can only be found in Thai desserts!
Thong Muan (Thai Crispy Rolls)
Thong Muan
Thong Muan is a conventional Thai sweet snack of a fresh wafer form like a cigar. The title deciphers to “gold roll”, referencing the dessert’s brilliant color and rolled shape.
Thong Muan is made from a hitter that regularly incorporates rice flour, coconut drain, sugar eggs, and sesame seeds. This hitter is spread meagerly on a hot pan and cooked until it gets too fresh. When cooked, this lean, firm wafer is rolled up into a little sort of shape while it’s still hot and flexible. The result is a light, firm, and somewhat sweet snack that’s often delighted in tea or coffee and sold at the roadside shops.
Khanom Chan (Steamed Coconut-Pandan Cake)
Khanom Chan (Steamed Coconut-Pandan Cake)
Khanom Chan is an interesting Thai dessert made with a steamed player of a few starches, ordinarily rice, custard, arrowroot flour, coconut drain, sugar, and a squeeze of salt.
The hitter is isolated into two parts, one flavored as it were with jasmine, while the other is flavored both with jasmine and pandan. The pandan leaf extricate gives the latter a typical green color and a nutty flavor. The dessert is at that point steamed into a few mere layers, customarily nine, shifting between the coconut-infused hitter and the coconut and pandan-infused one, which leads to its unmistakable two-toned appearance.
Chao Kuai (Grass Jelly)
Chao Kuai (Grass Jelly)
Also known as grass jelly, Chao Kauai is a conventional Thai dessert regularly served with smashed ice and sprinkled with brown sugar. This reviving dessert is made with a jelly base which is arranged by cooking the take-offs and stalks of Mesona chinesis – a part plant of the mint family.
Apart from Thailand, Chao Kauai is well known all across Southeast Asia, China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Depending on the region, Chao Kuai is either delighted in on its claim, soaked in condensed or vanished drain, or served blended with jackfruit, mango, sago, watermelon, cantaloupe, and other fresh or canned fruit.
Sangkhaya Fak Thong (Thai Pumpkin Custard)
Sangkhaya Fak Thong (Thai Pumpkin Custard)
Sangkhaya fak thong is a traditional dessert made by local people in Thailand. It is made from pumpkin that’s filled with velvety custard. The fixings incorporate entirely pumpkin, duck or hen eggs, sugar, coconut drain or cream, pandan leaves, cornstarch or rice flour, and salt.
Before handling, the pumpkin is cut so that the seeds and the tissue are evacuated. After that, the coconut drain, sugar, and pandan clear out are delicately warmed, and at that point, they are blended with whisked eggs and a small bit of cornstarch. Subsequently, the custard is put interior the pumpkin, which is then steamed, cooled, and cut into slices, and now you can enjoy its taste!
>>> Immerse in the food paradise of Thailand with our 11-day culinary adventure. Or, if you have more time, join in this Foodie adventure in Vietnam & Thailand for 15 days.
Best Places to Enjoy Thai Dessert in Bangkok
Sukhumvit Soi 38
Sukhumvit Soi 38
Sukhum vit Soi 38 is Bangkok’s perfect starting point for street food. You can find several open-air restaurants, street food stalls, carts, and hawkers at the intersection of Sukhumvit Soi 38. This place has a good reputation for decent street-side dining.
Address: 38 Sukhumvit Street, Phra Khnong, Khlong Toei, Bangkok, Thailand.
Chatuchak Weekend Market
Chatuchak Weekend Market
Chatuchak Weekend Market is home to a whopping 15,000 stalls spanning 26 sections and is the world’s largest weekend market. At this colossal market, visitors can find everything, from local delicacies, clothing, second-hand merchandise, antiques, and home decor. This is also heaven for food lovers because there are a lot of delicious desserts and traditional Thai cuisines.
Address: 587, 10 Kamhaeng Phet Street 2, Khwaeng Chatuchak, Khet Chatuchak, Krung Thep Maha Nakkho, Thailand.
Yaowarat (Bangkok Chinatown)
Yaowarat (Bangkok Chinatown)
Yaowarat, also known as Bangkok Chinatown, is one of the oldest and most unique cultural areas of Bangkok. Established by Chinese merchants in the 1780s, the streets of Chinatown are full of colorful buildings and decorations as well as Chinese-style attractions, restaurants, and markets. Yaowart is a good place to stay for food lovers as here you can enjoy a huge variety of food all day and night.
Address: Yaowarat Street, Khwang Samphanthawong, Khet Samphanthawong, Bangkok 10100, Thailand.
Sam Yan Market
Sam Yan Market
Sam Yan Market is located in the heart of Bangkok. This place and its surrounding neighborhoods are full of Thai street food. Although famous for grilled, fried, and cheap meat dishes, visitors can also enjoy sweet desserts, such as a cup of coconut cream or mango and durian sticky rice.
Address: Khwaeng Wang Mai, Khet Pathumwan, Krung Theo Maha Nakhon, Thailand.
It would undoubtedly be an unforgettable experience, especially for those who are food lovers to taste these delicious Thai desserts. By tasting these desserts mentioned above, you can also have a more well-rounded perspective on Thailand’s culture and history. So, how about contacting us and planning your trip around these spectacular places to immerse yourself in this dessert heaven?
Read more:
