Thailand is one of the world's great rice cultures — the varieties, how they're grown, and what they mean at the table.
The national rice — long-grain, fragrant, slightly floral; grown in northeast Thailand; exported globally; the rice under almost every Thai dish.
Glutinous rice that clumps — eaten by hand in the northeast; used in desserts like mango sticky rice; requires different cooking (steaming not boiling).
Increasingly available as health awareness grows; slightly nutty flavour; most Thai restaurants offer it as an alternative.
'Have you eaten rice today?' (gin khao laew?) is a traditional Thai greeting — rice and eating are synonymous in the language.
Jasmine rice dominates central Thailand while sticky rice is the everyday staple across the north and northeast — a visible marker of regional identity as much as taste preference.
Or Tor Kor Market and specialty rice shops sell single-origin, aged, and heirloom varieties for those curious to taste beyond the standard restaurant jasmine rice.