While it is undoubtedly best to savour Thai dining in a Phuket restaurant, you don’t necessarily need to travel across the globe to enjoy the wonderful flavours you can enjoy here. Sometimes, it’s nice to get those distinctive flavours back at home, as a reminder of a wonderful holiday. However, not everyone has the time and energy to commit hours and hours to cooking. That being the case, we’ve picked out a selection of tasty Thai food dishes you can prepare quickly and without too much effort.

Fried rice

Let’s get the obvious one out of the way first. Khao pad is a very popular staple of Thai cuisine and good as a simple yet filling meal. Here in Thailand, it’s generally used as a means of getting rid of leftover rice. Just dump it in a frying pan, add an egg, some seasoning and a few herbs and you’re pretty much done. If you want to add some meat to make a meal of it, chicken is the favourite and simplest to add, but you could also use tofu, crab meat, pork or shrimp.

Pad see ew

This is kind of like the noodle version of fried rice – a very simple dish with very few ingredients. It’s also a bit like a [very] simplified pad Thai. Instead of fiddling around with about 20 different ingredients, you have five: noodles, meat (optional), garlic Chinese broccoli and an egg. Add a concoction of sauces and you’re done in a matter of minutes. This is a good lunchtime dish that you’ll often find in local Phuket Thai restaurants.

Pad kapow

One of the more iconic Thai dishes, and very popular with locals thanks to its spicy kick, pad kapow is a stir-fried minced meat dish with holy basil. You can use various forms of protein, including chicken and tofu, but pork is usually the favourite. Serve with a fried egg and some rice and you’ve got a nice lunchtime meal in a matter of minutes.

Chicken satay

Satay is a very popular appetiser across a lot of Southeast Asia. It would be hard to call it specifically Thai food, let alone Phuket Thai food, when it’s arguably even more popular in Indonesia. However, it is served in every Phuket Thai restaurant, from the most humble shophouse eatery to the grandest beachfront venue. It’s surprisingly easy to cook as most of the preparation time is spent allowing the chicken to marinade and then getting it on the skewers.