Thai cuisine is known for its liberal use of spices, chilis, and aromatics to create an extensive list of delicious, aggressively flavored dishes. All of your taste buds are guaranteed an exciting tingle, or maybe even a lasting burn, depending on how much spice is thrown into a certain dish. Regardless, the harmonious combination of various herbs, chili peppers, garlic, and ginger will reel you back in for another bite. 

Not only can spicy food be extremely addicting, it also comes with a side of health benefits! Capsaicin, an ingredient found in chili peppers, helps increase metabolism while decreasing the risk of cancer and heart diseases. Other spices like turmeric and cumin, often found in Thai curries, are antioxidants and provide anti-inflammatory effects.

Stop by in Cambridge for a patio dine-in meal or order takeout to try this list of spicy dishes that will surely bring out the fire in you. You might pant and sweat a little from the flames going on in your mouth, but try to sit back and just embrace the heat. Don’t say we didn’t warn you! 

1. Larb Ped

Larb is a minced meat (chicken/beef/duck/pork) salad that actually originated in Laos. However, since a majority of the population in Isan, the northeast region of Thailand, is Laos, this is a very popular street food order amongst the Thai as well.  Larb Ped is a dish with thinly sliced duck breast and crispy duck skin tossed with lots of chilis and fresh herbs. It is intensely seasoned and spicy so it makes sense that this dish comes with a side of lettuce to act as a palette cleanser. 

Spice level: 🌶🌶🌶
Drink Pairing Recommendation: King of Kings*, Singha beer, Fresh Watermelon Frozen Blended Drink

2. Pad Sator

If you are in the mood to try a Thai dish that is less basic than the Pad Thai, the Pad Sator is a great option to go for. Pad Sator is stir-fried sator beans with shrimp, chicken, fresh chili, and shrimp paste. Since sator beans, also known as stink beans, grow well in the South, many southern Thai locals frequently eat this dish accompanied by white rice for lunch or dinner. Don’t knock it until you try it!

Spice level: 🌶🌶🌶
Drink Pairing Recommendation: Iced Honey Fresh Lemonade, Fresh Mango Blended Drink with Boba, Muay Thai*

3. Chili Basil Noodle

Chili and basil are two of the most common ingredients Thai locals use while cooking. Our Chili Basil Noodle is a stir fry dish with shrimp, squid, clams and bacon tossed in a spicy fresh chili basil sauce. These various seafood ingredients provide different textures and flavors to bring the entire dish together! 

Spice level: 🌶🌶🌶🌶
Drink Pairing Recommendation: Elephant’s Blood*, Iced Butterfly Pea Lemonade,

4. Tom Yum Sukhothai

In Thailand, Tom Yum is an iconic hot and sour soup that is usually served with shrimp.  Our Tom Yum Sukhothai is a tom yum based rice noodle soup with a long list of delicious ingredients: chicken, shrimp, boiled egg, fish balls, crispy wontons, vegetables, and crushed nuts. When you add the spiciness, it creates a heavenly combination that you’ve never experienced before.

Spice level: 🌶🌶🌶🌶
Drink Pairing Recommendation: Royal Baby*, Iced Thai Coffee,  

5. Kaeng Som

Kaeng Som is a very spicy and sour yellow curry soup cooked with fish and vegetables. The abundant use of turmeric and chilis in this soup creates a heat that will slowly creep up on you. Since there is no coconut milk in this curry to neutralize the spiciness, the heat will leave an intense burning sensation in your mouth. Consider this a fair warning before fire starts spewing out of your mouth! 

Spice level: 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶
Drink Pairing Recommendation: Queen Power*, Fresh Young Coconut Juice, 

6. Set Nam Prik

If you’re looking for a satisfying set meal for lunch or dinner, you can’t go wrong with our Set Nam Prik! This set meal comes with fried Thai bone-in mackerel, eggplant tempura, cha-om omelette, and mixed vegetables. Spice comes into play with the serving of spicy Southern Thai style shrimp nam prik dipping sauce, that is made with dry chilis and garlic. If you are one of the brave souls who want to drench your mackerel into the sauce, rice will be your best friend in this case. Since it is a naturally starchy substance, the rice helps absorb the oil from the food, which then helps alleviate the heat inside your mouth. Warning: very spicy!

Spice level: 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶
Drink Pairing Recommendation: Iced Thai Milk Tea, Frozen Blended Drink (Fresh Honey Dew, Strawberry, or Taro)

7. Khua Kling Kra Dook Moo

Coming in EXTREMELY hot on the spicy dish list is our Khua Kling Kra Dook Moo. This southern gluten-free Thai dish is an intensely spicy bone-in baby back pork spare rib curry with lime leaf. It is served with rice to help neutralize the ridiculous spiciness that will definitely leave more than just a tingle in your mouth. All the different aromatics and spices thrown into this dish create a heavenly flavor combination that you’ve probably never experienced before! 

Spice level: 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶
Drink Pairing Recommendation: King of Kings*, Sapporo Beer, Iced Blueberry Lemonade Vanilla Float

*dine-in only drinks

Are you a fan of spicy food? Order a spicy Thai dish you would like to try from this list and let us know your thoughts in the comments!

photo credits: Brian Samuels