eating street food in Thailand

It doesn't take long for visitors to Thailand to realise that street food is practically a way of life there.

Considering that many houses aren't equipped with full kitchens, and raw ingredients can cost more than prepared meals, it's no surprise that eating out is more common than eating in.

If your priority when travelling is to experience the culture or enjoy the food (or to save money), the Thai street food scene will be a dream come true. Bangkok is indeed the country's mecca of street food, but there are plenty of stalls, carts, and markets all across Thailand.

From noodles to curries, soups to salads, dumplings to spring rolls, and roti to sticky rice, you could spend weeks sampling Thai cuisine. Some of the top street food to eat in Bangkok or elsewhere in Thailand includes pad thai, pad see ew, massaman curry, papaya salad, banana roti, and mango sticky rice.

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Grilled chicken in Khao Kalok south of Hua Hin, Thailand.

Whatever dishes you choose, it will probably be the tastiest and cheapest food of your trip.

Of course, a street food cart on the side of the road in Thailand isn't going to follow the same hygiene regulations as your favourite restaurant back home. Some travellers wonder whether they should eat street food at all, or if it's a guaranteed way to get sick.

Contrary to popular belief, though, street food in Thailand (and many other countries) is no riskier than restaurants. When you eat on the street, you're more likely to be served fresh food and to get to see it being prepared, both of which go a long way toward keeping you healthy.

In fact, I consider myself lucky to have gotten sick abroad only three times in years of travel, and the culprit every time was a "nice" restaurant that catered to foreigners – never a food cart.

While travelling in a developing country carries some inevitable risk, these tips have helped me enjoy the street food of Thailand without getting sick.

Watch your food being cooked

One big benefit of street food is that you can often see the food being cooked, so take advantage of it! Are there bugs near the ingredients or the pans? Did the vendor wipe their nose while they were preparing food? Does the cooking area seem generally dirty?

If so, look for another option. Some larger stalls in Thailand prepare food in the back and then bring it out to customers, so avoid those in favour of places where you can see what's going on.

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Watch the vendor serve other customers

In addition to seeing the food being cooked, watch the people in front of you being served. Is the same person handling both cash and food? Did they touch their face and then the food? Is the food being served in dirty containers?

Again, if the answer is yes, head elsewhere. There are so many street food options in Thailand; you won't have any problem finding something else.

Look for food stalls with long lines – especially of locals

A cart or stall that's unhygienic and regularly makes people sick probably won't be teeming with customers, especially locals, who will know if certain places are unsafe to eat. If you notice an empty food stall, there may well be a reason it's empty – and that's a good reason for you to avoid it.

Beyond that, one of the biggest risks of street food comes from food that isn't fresh. If a dish has been sitting out in the sun for hours, it's much more likely to make you sick. But long lines usually mean quick turnover; unless you can see an enormous stockpile of food sitting there; the vendor has to keep preparing new food to serve up to all the customers.

If you get in the back of a line, you'll probably get food that's fresh, and that means it's safer.

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Street f

Eat at regular local meal times

Of course, there might not be lines anywhere if you're there at the wrong time. Going out for street food in the mid-afternoon may mean getting a dish that's been sitting out since the end of the lunch rush, which is plenty of time for bacteria to form. Instead, eat at local meal times, since that's when food will be the freshest.

Be careful with drinks made with water or ice

Juices and smoothies are common street foods, but they're made with tap water (or ice made from tap water) in most places, meaning they should be avoided. There's an exception in Thailand, though: factory-produced ice made from purified water is quite common, even at street food stalls.

But it's not everywhere, so check what's being used before you order a drink with ice. The purified ice is usually cylindrical and has a hole in it, so look for that; if you see ice chips or shaved ice instead, steer clear of it.

Skip raw fruit and vegetables unless they can be peeled

The bad news is that fruits and vegetables can easily carry bacteria, making them unsafe to eat raw. Two top foods to avoid in Thailand are fresh leafy greens and berries, which are especially likely to be contaminated.

But the good news is that fruit with a peel is safe, because the skin protects the edible inside, even in unclean environments. And with all the Thai fruits that have a peel – dragonfruit, mangosteen, rambutan, not to mention bananas, mangos, and pineapple – you won't be missing too much.

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Beware of the spice level in your food

Eating spicy food when you're not used to it isn't quite the same as getting food poisoning, but it may leave you feeling less than great. And in Thailand, the food can be hot. Even if you're a spicy food fan at home, I recommend starting with mild or medium spice levels until you have a better idea of what to expect.

And if you don't typically like spicy food, make sure your food in Thailand is as mild as possible.

Some stalls that prepare food to order will ask how spicy you want it, and even if not, you can always try to make a special request. When you order, say "Mai sai prik" (don't add chilli) or "Mai pet" (not spicy). Of course, a dish that's "mai pet" to them might not be to you!

Places with menus sometimes denote the spiciness of each dish, too, and many stalls also have sauces of varying levels of spiciness that you add yourself. Keep in mind that two of the most popular dishes, som tam (papaya salad) and tom yum (a particular type of soup), are especially spicy by default.

Make sure your food is piping hot

When it comes to temperature, though, hotter is better, because that means it's been thoroughly cooked. Food, especially meat, that isn't fully cooked is one of the riskiest things you could eat, and should probably top the "what not to eat in Thailand" list.

A lot of street food is cooked in a pot of boiling water or a vat of sizzling oil, so most dishes are plenty hot. But if you're served something that's not fully cooked, ask for it to be cooked a few more minutes, and be especially vigilant if it has meat. If that's not possible, toss it – street food in Thailand is super cheap, and it's not worth the risk.

Use hand sanitiser before you eat

When it comes to street food safety in Thailand, there are a lot of factors, but your own hygiene is one that's easily within your control. Every time I use hand sanitiser while travelling, I think of Leonardo DiCaprio's character in Blood Diamond, when he mocks the humanitarian workers by saying: "You come here with your laptop computers, your malaria medicine, and your little bottles of hand sanitider…"

But the stuff works, and it's a reasonable and easy precaution to take when you're eating street food.

Pack oral rehydration salts and activated charcoal

Even if you follow all these tips (or even if you don't eat street food in Thailand at all), there's still a possibility of getting sick. Food poisoning can happen anywhere, and a higher risk of it is just part of travelling in a developing country, so it's a good idea to be prepared.

Oral rehydration salts will help you stay hydrated if you get sick, which is especially critical in Thailand's hot, humid climate, and activated charcoal tablets absorb toxins in your stomach and stop diarrhoea. If you do end up getting sick, you'll be glad you have them. Also, be sure to read up on what to bring to Thailand before going as there are several other packing list items that will help you from getting sick.

Know how to communicate about your allergies

If you have any allergies or other restrictions, eating street food in Thailand is extra complicated. Before you hit the food stalls, look online to see if anything you can't eat appears in everyday dishes. Not every vendor follows the same recipe of course, but that will give you an idea of whether there are dishes you need to be careful with.

For instance, pad see ew typically has eggs, pad thai usually has both shrimp and eggs, and most satay sauces are made out of peanuts. Beyond that, learn how to say and read the Thai names of any foods you can't eat so that you can ask about them.

There's always a chance of miscommunication, or a vendor may not know what's in every ingredient or may just tell you what they think you want to hear, but asking is still a wise step to take.

Here are a few common allergens that are popular in street food in Thailand:

Eggs – khai

Peanuts – tua li song

Wheat – khao sali

Milk – nohm

Shellfish – hoi

Opt for dishes with fewer ingredients

This is admittedly not a rule I follow myself, but choosing dishes with fewer ingredients makes it easier to know what you're getting. It can be hard to tell exactly what all is in a soup, for example, and many vendors use pre-made sauces in their noodle and rice dishes.

Sticking to simpler options – like grilled fish or fresh fruit – is especially useful for people with allergies, but being able to clearly see and understand what's in your food makes it less risky for anyone.

Favour vendors who specialise in one or two dishes

In Thailand, you'll encounter lots of street food vendors who sell just a couple different meals. Stick to them! Food stalls that offer a million different things are less common, but you'll see some of them and might be tempted by all the options.

However, if there are tons of things on the menu, you can bet the ingredients needed won't be fresh for every dish. Stalls that make one or two things probably won't have ingredients that sit around, waiting until someone orders the one dish they're used in. 

Watch out for old or contaminated condiments

It's possible to order hot, fresh street food from a stall with a long line at lunchtime, and then ruin it all with a bad condiment. Many food carts in Thailand have sauces and other seasonings you can add yourself, but the problem is that they're usually sitting out and may never get refrigerated.

If a condiment bottle looks like it never gets used, it's probably old, and there's a higher chance it's breeding bacteria. But if you notice that every person in front of you is adding something, that bottle probably isn't that old, and it's much safer.

Communal bowls of seasoning are something else to be careful with since they can be contaminated if someone dips an unclean utensil in them.

Start with small amounts of street food and dishes you're comfortable with

Whether you get sick depends partly on the food and partly on your own stomach. You might eat the same thing as your friend, only to be green with both nausea and envy later, when you get sick, and they don't.

If you've never had street food before or you know you have a weak stomach, I would recommend starting with small amounts. Similarly, stick with simpler and more familiar dishes at the beginning, until you get used to it.

Another option if you're feeling unsure (or want to learn more) is to try a food tour, which will likely take you to food stalls that have been thoroughly vetted and are safe.

If you've never travelled to a developing country, the idea of eating a plate of noodles or a stick of meat from the side of the road might seem foreign, maybe even crazy.

But for many people around the world, it's a way of life. Just follow these tips to eat the street food in Thailand safely, and you may never want to step foot inside an actual restaurant.