Thai rice plates
The Thai rice plate is the one-dish lunch of every shophouse: poached chicken rice, stewed pork leg khao kha moo, or curry ladled over rice from a tray. At noon, one plate is the whole order.
Photo: stu_spivack (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Khao man gai is poached chicken on rice. The Pratunam plate is 65 THB on the chicken rice page. Khao kha moo is stewed pork leg, often 50 to 70 THB. Khao gaeng is curry over rice from a tray, often 40 to 80 THB for rice and two dishes. Khao pad is fried rice at about 40 to 70 THB.
Order one plate. This is not the shared-curry dinner. Sauce matters on chicken rice. Point at the tray for curry rice before the best pots empty, which is early afternoon. The curry family is on Thai curries.
Which plate
- Khao man gai when you want mild and fast.
- Khao gaeng when you want to point at curries.
- Khao phat pu only if you accept the crab price. It is not the cheap pork plate.
More food guides
Book
Compare Across Southeast Asia: Thai Food vs. Vietnamese Food
Eating your way across Southeast Asia? Pair Thailand’s wok-fired street stalls and regional curries with Vietnam’s herb-bright broths, banh mi, and specialty coffee.
Vietnamese Food Guide & Dish Directory
Regional dish breakdowns, street-stall addresses, and ordering rules for pho, bun cha, banh mi, cao lau, and egg coffee.
Explore Vietnamese Food Guide →Northern Broths & CoffeeHanoi Street Food Guide
Charcoal-grilled bun cha, beef pho at dawn, crispy crab spring rolls, and Old Quarter café culture.
Read Hanoi Food Guide →Southern Markets & SeafoodHo Chi Minh City & Da Nang Food Guides
Late-night shellfish alleys, broken rice plates (com tam), crispy banh xeo crepes, and Central Vietnamese noodle bowls.
Read Saigon Food Guide →Common questions
- Shared or solo?
- A rice plate is solo. Curries in bowls at dinner are shared.
- Dinner too?
- Yes, but the best curry trays are a lunch trade. Night is more often a wok or a grill.