Who doesn’t love Thai food. So spicy and exotic. You know who has good Thai food? Thailand. Ok the words “good” and “food” are both being applied loosely herein. Let’s not be fussy eaters and get caught up in details like whether something is tasty or fit for human consumption. For the real culinary experience in Bangkok, cancel the reservation at the hotel restaurant. Fill your fanny pack with breath mints and Pepto, and head to the street vendors. No Pad Thai there my friends. You want exotic Thai food, they got it.
Try sampling these Mr Wanderfool recommended delicacies from the Land of Smiles. Then see if that slogan still applies:
Shocking exotic Thai Food
Mok Huak - Tadpoles
A meal of tadpoles isn’t that extreme really. Ah but the Thai chefs knew that. Therefore they marinate these little treats in some kind of otherworldly rotten sauce. So be careful when you say you can handle a tadpole or two. That sauce will ensure you cannot, and you will be as green as the frogs they never grew into.
Exotic Thai Foods
Larb Leuat Neua - Raw Beef with Blood
Sure we have steak tartare. It’s considered a proper and respectable dish by many, especially in France. The Thais fix that by serving it with a nice broth of raw blood. Safe to say this version would fail to be a hit in the cafes of Paris…unless you happen to be a vampire. Bon appetit counts and countesses.
Exotic thailand food choices
Luu Muu - pig blood
Not impressed with Larb Leuat Neua? Well the Thais take it up a notch by offering a bowl of raw pig blood. They add some other stuff like noodles but does it really matter. Even the vampires turn their nose up at this one. Perhaps better suited for a werewolf.
most exotic thai food
Mang Da - Waterbugs
Waterbugs? Uhhh right. Dems is cockroaches where I come from. And big ones. We are used to people eating insects like grasshoppers. Maybe you even saw them at your state fair next to the fried Twinkie stand. Yeah but those little guys were sizzled down to a crunchy crisp. Basically an organic Cheeto. Grasshoppers are a cute little appetizer. Mang Da is the entrée. These roaches err waterbugs are large and retain their natural plump innards. Crunchy on the outside with a satisfying gooey center. Just like a fried Twinkie!
Kai Mot Daeng - ant eggs
This local delicacy is actually one of the easiest to stomach as far as taste and shock value. It makes the exotic Thai food list as a nod to the farmers who produce the product. Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep those ants sitting on their nests and then collect their eggs? Well worth the price. Please support these hardworking farmers.
Scorpions
Scorpions are definitely the best option at the street market (after stiff drinks) for your social media profile pics. Grab the selfie stick and have a scorpion. How bad can it be. Well pretty bad if the vendor has not removed the stinger and venom. Definitely check their yelp ratings before ordering. If in fact you do ingest venom, please do the right thing and assign a one star review. Either way you will struggle to maintain a cool look on your face for that profile pic while you chomp down a very bitter critter. Hopefully you’ll have enough drinks in you to pull it off.
Exotic Thai foods
Balut - bird in an egg
This one crosses the line. It’s an egg harvested at just the right time with an embryotic bird inside. Bones, beak and all. Apparently you open the shell, make eye contact with the alien inside and then slurp it down. Good Gawd. Even the stray cats and dogs along the streets of Bangkok have higher standards than this. If you are willing to try Balut, I’ll buy it just to watch. Color me impressed but you’re on your own the rest of the trip.
Thai exotic foods
Chicken Feet
Yea those creepy little four appendage units can be eaten. Somehow the outer layer is removed and the foot is slow cooked forever until soft. What’s left is a little bit of skin, tendons, and bones. Seems like a lot of work for not much reward. That’s probably the reason it hasn’t made it to your bucket at KFC (other than a mishap here and there).
So while it may seem bizarre to eat chicken feet, keep in mind we used to throw away the chicken’s wings. Now wings are a whole industry in itself supported by sports bars and servers in short shorts. As such don’t sleep on the chicken feet. Soon a fella might be desperately trying to explain to his wife that he only goes to the chicken foot joint for the football and feet, not the waitresses.
Exotic Thai Food
Rat Kabobs
No way around this. When you have an unlimited supply of furry critters running around, they are going to end up on the menu in Thailand. Duh. Rodents aren’t so bad. Who hasn’t had a bowl of squirrel stew at their country cousin’s house. (You did. They just called it Brunswick stew. You liked it). Ah but the Thais don’t put the rat meat in a stew such that you can convince yourself that its chicken in appearance and taste. Nope, you get the whole thing on a stick. Head to tail. A Thai corndog.
Gross Foods
If you visit the Land of Smiles, you definitely need to try some exotic Thai food. Sure the term “food” is debatable but your sense of adventure will not be. Take as many shots of rice whiskey as you can handle and twice that many of Pepto. Then head to the street market. It’s fun. It’s authentic. And chances are you’ll survive. Just close your eyes, hold your nose and gulp it down. Bonus points if you keep it down. Either way, ignore the stray dog’s disapproving stares. He doesn’t matter. The Facebook likes do!
