Four Thai dishes ranked among 100 worst in the world
Four Thai dishes were named among the 100 worst in the world by the TasteAtlas website recently.
Of them, kaeng tai pla (fish-entrails sour curry), a thick and aromatic fish curry originating in southern Thailand, was ranked 10th-worst with a score of 2.2 points.
The dish gained its name from fermented fish entrails and a spicy curry paste, consisting of chilli peppers, galangal, shrimp paste, turmeric, shallots and lemongrass.
“Because of its intensity and strong, pungent aromas, kaeng tai pla is best served with steamed rice on the side,” TasteAtlas said.
The Thai insect dish hon mhai (deep-fried silkworms) was ranked 11th with 2.2 points. “Once fried, the silkworms turn crunchy and greasy, while the flavour is sometimes described as slightly bitter,” it said.
A traditional Thai dish dubbed khai luk khoei (son-in-law eggs) was ranked 35th with a score of 2.5 points. The dish comprises two components: fried hard-boiled eggs and a sauce consisting of shallot oil, fish sauce, tamarind pulp, water and sugar.
“The eggs are then sliced in half, arranged on a platter, and drizzled over with the sauce,” the website said, “Before serving, this sweet-and-sour dish is garnished with cilantro sprigs, chilli peppers and fried shallots.”
Thailand’s simple, clear soup made with vegetables, often enriched with pork meatballs, glass noodles, soft tofu pieces, seaweed and mushrooms, tom chuet or kaeng chuet was ranked 63rd with a score of 2.7 points.
“This dish has a mild flavour that makes it quite different from other Thai dishes, which typically combine several flavours in one,” it said, adding that this clear soup is usually followed by spicier dishes.
Among the 100 dishes around the world, blodpalt, dark-brown dumplings prepared with rye or barley flour and animal blood, which originated in Finland, was named the worst dish with a score of 1.6 points.
Blodpalt was followed by bocadillo de sardinas, a humble Spanish sandwich with a savoury filling of canned sardines, with a score of 1.9 points.
Calskrove, a calorie-laden combination of calzone pizza, hamburgers and French fries that originated in Sweden, was ranked third with a score of 1.9 points.
