Unique street foods you should try in Phuket

In Phuket, you can find market stalls, large carts, motorcyclists and street vendors carrying rattan baskets full of Thai street food. These groups of vendors often gather in certain areas in the evenings, creating a spontaneous and mobile food court. Here are the best Thai street foods that you should try in Phuket.

1. Noodles

Noodles are made from eggs or rice flour served with soup, often with beef, chicken, pork, fish balls as well as ground beef, seafood, vegetables or tofu depending on the flavor of the soup. The noodles are often seasoned with a variety of spices including ground chili, fish sauce, and pickled chili. This cheap, filling and delicious dish is very popular in Phuket, most stalls and restaurants serve different types of noodles for you to enjoy.

2. Fried chicken

Many street food stalls in Phuket serve deep fried chicken thighs and wings at affordable prices. The chicken here is fried with Thai-style batter which makes this street food significantly tastier than your usual fried chicken. It's also quite cheap, you can enjoy a large portion of fried chicken (with sticky rice) for around 60 baht. Fried chicken stalls are especially popular on the streets and night markets of Phuket.

3. Moo ping and longing

Moo ping is marinated and grilled pork on skewers often served with khao niao (sticky rice). This dish is dipped with a sweet and rich sauce consisting of fish sauce, jaggery, garlic and coconut milk. The meat is exceptionally tender and fragrant, but also quite sticky. Moo ping is commonly eaten by Thais for breakfast, although many street stalls and restaurants offer it throughout the day.

4. Som tam (green papaya salad)

Som tam (green papaya salad) is actually Thailand's national dish that was ranked 46th in the list of 50 most delicious dishes in the world compiled by CNN Go in 2011 and 2018. The main ingredients of this dish are: Green papaya, mixed with chili, lemon, fish sauce and jaggery. There are also other ingredients to make this salad: salted field crab, tomatoes, green beans and carrots... Som tam is a familiar taste for most visitors, thanks to the combination. of sweet, sour, spicy and salty flavors. Although this dish originated in the Issan region, northeastern Thailand, you will find a lot of it in Patong beach, Phuket.

5. Roti (Thai style pancake)

Roti is actually a type of Thai-style pancake, you can enjoy with sweet or savory filling. It is often served as a dessert. People who prepare sweet rotit often stuff banana slices, mix in condensed milk and cut into small squares. While Thais often enjoy savory roti for breakfast with curries. Street food vendors offering roti often have their carts with large electric stoves to cook on the spot.

6. Kanom jeen

The main ingredient of Kanom jeen is glutinous rice noodles served with curry juice and crispy vegetables. This is the main breakfast dish in Phuket, often sold by food carts and large breakfast stalls. The flavored curry broth is made from beef, chicken, fish, and crab, along with radish, pea pods, and green beans.

7. Satay

Satay is one of the most convenient street foods in Thailand. It consists of thinly sliced or diced chicken, beef or pork stabbed into each skewer and grilled with mildly spicy spices. You can also find vegetarian satay made with tofu. It is often served with peanut sauce, sometimes with a salad dressing.

8. Hokkien noodles

There are two distinct types of Hokkien noodles, mee Hokkien (fried dry noodles) and mee nam Hokkien (water noodles). The main ingredients of this dish, besides noodles, are seafood and thinly sliced grilled pork, sometimes with eggs and crackers. This dish originated in China's Fujian province, arriving on the island with immigrant families a few centuries ago. Since then, it has become a staple of Phuket, especially in the Old Town.

9. Look chin

Look chin is the word for grilled skewers such as beef, pork, chicken and fish. You'll also see sausages and even a squid skewered and grilled. All are served with chili sauce or nam jim (spicy dipping sauce). Look chin is an affordable and convenient snack, a grilled skewer usually costs around 15 BAHT

10. Haw mok

Haw mok is a unique dish made from steamed crab or fish, curry mixed with chili sauce and coconut milk. Similar to Nem chua in Vietnam, it is packaged in a small piece of banana leaf. This snack is usually served with rice or kanom jeen (thin rice noodles).

11. Por pia

Por pia is similar to spring rolls in Vietnam, only it's not deep-fried. This street food contains fresh ingredients wrapped in a thin layer of rice flour cake. It's usually vegetarian, with carrots, cucumbers, roasted peas, lettuce and herbs, but there are street vendors in Phuket who make it with grilled chicken. Por pia are often dipped with chili sauce or peanut sauce.

12. Cream bread

Cream bread is one of the most popular snacks in Phuket. This simple dessert consists of a variety of fillings stuffed inside a bread. You can enjoy it like a meatloaf in Vietnam. Filling options include banana, sweet taro, sweet corn, glutinous rice, raisins, peanuts, and jackfruit.