One of Thailand’s most iconic dining experiences, quick, simple, cheap, and delicious, these are the key of Cooked to Order stalls. You can say this is the first step to understand Thai people daily life, because most of Thai people goes to Cooked to Order stalls everyday whether they are going for lunch during the break or dinner after work, you will also see Thai people sitting there enjoying their food. Cooked to Order stalls have many menu for you to try with each menus you can custom to your liking for example, you can change the protein in your menu (some will be more expensive), you can tell them to make it a little spicier or tell them not to put MSG in your food, you can order them to cook using water or stock instead of oil if you are on a diet. These are what make ordering food at Cooked to Order stalls so fun since each person has their own ideal image of how each menu should look like or should taste like, they can ask the cook to make it your way and if sometimes it gets more expensive, they are still willing to pay an extra 5-10 THB. But keep in mind that some stalls have their own unique recipe for some menu like some may add long beans to you Pad Kaprao which most Thai people consider in wrong, so you have to be careful while ordering. We can say that these kinds of stalls are the easiest to find, I dare you to go out and find me 5 Cooked to Order stalls and it should take you less than 15 minutes to find, maybe you can find more than 5.
Here is what you have to do if you enter these stalls.
First, I suggest you look through the menu (if there are any photos) or you can ask the cook to suggest something they want you to try. You should also ask them a few about the menu you order like the name of the menu, is it spicy? (you can tell them if you can’t eat spicy food). After you order your food, you can expect around 5-15 minutes wait if it is crowded or during lunchtime. But if you go at another time the food should be ready in less than 5 minutes. Then you can enjoy your meal, and the bill should be about 50 THB per menu. That’s a budget and quick meal, and after you try it once I believe you might just find a comfortable place to dine.
Here are the most popular dishes and How Locals Customize Them.
1. Pad Kra Pao (Stir-Fried Basil):
Meat with holy basil and chilies on rice; fried egg optional.
2. Rad Na (Noodles with Gravy):
Customize the meat, and noodles, add bok choy.
3. Khao Pad (Fried Rice):
You can customize protein and vegetables sometime locals add fried egg to the menu.
4. Kaeng Jued:
Clear soup with tofu, minced pork, and vegetables. Light, comforting, and soothing.
5. Tod Kratiem:
Fried garlic meat mostly with pork or beef, some stalls may just marinate the meat and fried it then top with crispy garlic, some may stir the meat with sauce and chopped garlic and then top with crispy garlic.
But there is one popular protein that the locals always try to get for their meal, that protein is crispy pork belly. It goes well with menus like Pad Kaprao or Pad Kana, since the crispy pork will absorb the taste and sauce to itself and become juicy with sauce.
Cooked-to-order stalls aren’t just about food after one visit, one dish, and you’ll understand why locals return every day, and why travelers often fall in love with them.