Koh Lanta flavors
Khao Yam (Southern Rice Salad)
A Southern Thai breakfast in a bowl — rice tossed with finely sliced raw vegetables and herbs (long bean, kaffir lime leaf, lemongrass, bean sprouts, pomelo, toasted coconut, dried shrimp), dressed with budu, a sweet-salty fermented fish sauce. Light, herbal, and fresh.
About this dish
Khao yam is the South's beloved breakfast salad, a dish that turns rice into something bright, herbal, and almost virtuously fresh. A mound of cooked rice — sometimes tinted blue with butterfly-pea flower for festive versions — is surrounded by little piles of finely sliced raw and blanched ingredients: long beans, bean sprouts, shredded kaffir lime leaf and lemongrass, grated fresh coconut toasted until fragrant, segments of pomelo or green mango, dried shrimp, and torn herbs. The defining element is the dressing: budu, a dark, pungent fermented-fish sauce unique to the South, cooked down with palm sugar and aromatics into a sweet-salty-savoury syrup that is poured over and tossed through everything at the table. The contrast of textures and the sour-sweet-salty-bitter balance make khao yam feel like a salad and a curry at once — a healthy, refreshing start to the day found at halal and local kitchens across Koh Lanta.
Allergen information
Preparation methods may vary by restaurant. Always confirm with staff if you have severe allergies.
Where to try
Halal and local breakfast spots near Saladan and Ban Khlong Tob