10 Popular Thai breakfast
Thai breakfast may not be clearly distinguished from lunch or dinner as most of the menu usually has 'rice' as a combination. Many Thais may as well have some of the mentioned menus for lunch or dinner. However, the listed menu below is the most popular for daily Thai breakfast.
1. Fried Rice
One of the easy & quick menus for homemade Thai breakfast is Fried-rice. It could be just plain fried rice or mixed with some meat like chicken, pork, or prawns for example. Some people may as well have fried rice with a fried egg on top. What many Thais usually have with fried rice besides fried egg is lime & fish sauce with chili.
2. Thai style Omelet with rice
Omelet is certainly a popular breakfast for any nationality in any continent. For Thai style, we have an omelet mixed with some other ingredients such as minced pork, onions, green onions, carrots, etc served with some rice. Together with this menu, do not forget to also provide some ketchup & chili sauce alongside. We always like to have an omelet with some sauce or some people prefer it with some fish sauce with chili :)
3. Grilled Pork / Chicken with sticky rice
One of the menus you can find literally everywhere in the morning on street food stalls or in the morning markets is Grilled pork or chicken. We cannot deny that this menu is one of the most popular menus for Thai breakfast. It is usually prepared and served in takeaway plastic bags or some vendors may use banana leaves instead. When it comes to Thai grilled menus, it usually comes with some spicy sauce (fish sauce, chili & lime).
Many shops may just simply use the ready-made Chicken sauce which is sweet and could also be a bit spicy. This menu can be quickly bought on the way to school or to work. It's also why it's one of the most popular menus for Thais.
4. Congee / "Joke"
Thai congee or what we call "Joke", is basically a rice porridge that is commonly served with pork meatballs or chicken and a variety of Thai condiments and topping such as fried garlic, chiles flakes, fish sauce, sliced ginger, green onions, and cilantro.
5. Pa Thong Ko
Pa Thong Ko or fried savory donuts are sold in most of the morning markets in Thailand. They are usually sold together with congee.
You may have Pa Thong Ko with some coffee or warm milk or soy milk for breakfast. The best and original way to have it is to dip it with some condensed milk or pandan cream.
Tip: We can also put Pa Thong Ko with congee / Joke as well. Many Thais do this including me :) It is a good combination with a Joke which helps with more taste and also adding more texture to the Thai congee.
6. Pan-Fried Eggs / Khai Gratha
Khai Gratha or Pan Eggs is a street breakfast that is popular in the north and northeastern and central parts of Thailand. It is basically fried eggs topped with some ingredients like minced pork, chopped sweet/Chinese sausage served in a cute little pan. You may have this menu with ketchup/chili sauce or just with some pepper & salt, Easy & Yummy.
7. Dimsum & Buns
Dimsum & Buns are a good combination for light breakfast for Thais. This menu is also suitable for our rush days that we can just drop by at the morning market or even at 7-11 nearby to quickly grab some food and go to work. Popular buns for the breakfast menu for Thais would be minced pork with salted eggs, BBQ pork & cream. For dim sum, we usually have it with Shoyu / soy sauce.
8. Khanom Krok (Coconut-rice pancakes)
Khanom Krok or coconut-rice pancakes, a traditional Thai dessert that can be found in any morning market in Thailand. They are made of flour, sugar, and coconut milk to form a dough topped by various toppings like corn, taro, green onions. Khanom Krok is usually crispy on the outside and soft, warm, and custardy on the inside. This is one of my favorite Thai breakfasts & dessert.
9. Khai Luak (Coddled egg)
Khai Luak or coddled egg is usually served in a cup or a small bowl or some places may also just serve in its shell seasoned with some pepper and salt (many Thais would use soy sauce) . Very easy & tasty breakfast. You may want to have it with some bread as well which is a good combination of this menu.
10. Eggs & Sausage
Thai Breakfast menus are simple as it also depends on whatever is left in the fridge. Therefore, just fried eggs with some sausages served with rice and some coffee or warm milk will also do. The importance is, do not forget to provide some ketchup or chili sauce or even soy sauce with this sort of menu.
