Have you ever wondered what a traditional Thai breakfast looks like? While Thai cuisine is famous for its strong flavours, when it comes to traditional Thai breakfasts the rule of spices is almost completely out of question. Instead, the first meals of the day in Thailand are all about simple savoury flavours. We say ‘meals’ because it’s not unusual for people in Thailand to have multiple breakfast meals. This is due to the fact that Thai breakfasts are often enjoyed in smaller portions. There are also some common ingredients you will find recurring in a variety of Thai breakfast options such as eggs, pork, sticky rice and spring onions. Meanwhile, tea and coffee are the favoured beverages of choice to accompany food, much like western breakfast meals. Want to know more? Continue reading as we share 5 meals to try for a truly authentic Thai breakfast experience.
Jok (Congee)
One of the most popular breakfast dishes is Jok, a rice porridge dish originating from China, typically known as congee and popularly eaten across various Asian countries. In Thailand, Jok is a savoury porridge made with glutinous rice and is either served plain or topped with spring onions, minced pork, raw or partially cooked eggs. This is a great breakfast to enjoy during the winter months and is actually the preferred breakfast of choice during Thailand’s cool season. While Jok is relatively easy to prepare, another option is to try instant jok soup pots. This is a great time-saving way to enjoy this Thai breakfast in a range of flavours with minimal effort.
Grilled Pork with Sticky Rice (Moo Ping)
Moo Ping or Grilled Pork is more often thought of as a street food snack but is actually also a Thai breakfast option and with good reason. Because it is so readily available on the streets, it makes for the perfect grab and go breakfast meal. This is essentially tender grilled pork skewers marinated with milder Thai flavouring such as coriander root, pepper, garlic, although recipes for this can vary. Moo Ping is also served with sticky rice for breakfast which makes it not only delicious but also filling.
Thai Donuts (Paa Tong Koo)
Those of you who have more of a sweet tooth when it comes to breakfast will be pleased to know that Thailand has its very own version of breakfast donuts. Not the circular kind however, instead these donuts are joined strips of deep-fried dough until golden and crispy. They can be lightly salted and the Thai way to eat them is to dip or dunk them in sweetened condensed milk or regular/soy milk blended with sugar to a milder sweet taste. These donuts can also be enjoyed savoury and are also found served with jok/congee dishes.
Thai Omelette with rice (Khai Jiao)
A Thai omelette may be the most familiar breakfast choice since this is an option in many variations across the west but of course with it being Thai, there is certainly a twist in comparison to the omelettes you may be used to. So what exactly makes an omelette Thai? In this instance, it’s mostly in the ingredients and partially in the cooking method. Thai omelettes are usually seasoned with fish sauce, spring onions and optionally chillies and almost deep-fried in vegetable oil until golden and crispy in contrast to the softer and more tender western omelettes. And of course, this wouldn’t be a complete Thai breakfast if this omelette wasn’t served with classic steamed rice.
Thai Fried Bread with Minced Pork (Khanom Pang Na Moo)
In England there’s beans on toast but in Thailand there’s pork on toast. You might have gathered by now that pork can be found across many breakfast dishes in Thailand and this one is no different. Thai pork toast is also referred to as ‘Thai Fried Bread with Minced Pork’ or in Thai ‘Khanom Pang Na Moo’. This is actually a popular finger food recipe among Thai families and one of the first things kids learn to make with their parents. Outside of being a kid-friendly snack, Thai pork toast can also be found as a breakfast option among street vendors and cafes across Thailand. It’s light, crispy and full of savoury pork flavour, definitely a Thai breakfast worth trying!
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