If you’re well versed in Italian pasta, you may be familiar with a dish called spaghetti al nero di seppia, or squid ink noodles. Inky black with a subtle yet distinct taste, squid ink noodles are salty and slightly sweet, creating a flavor combination that’s as striking on the palate as it is to the eye. But squid ink noodles aren’t exclusive to Italy. You can also find them in Thailand, as evidenced by the viral video below of a Thai street food vendor in Bangkok stir-frying a nest of jet-black noodles with shrimp, squid, vegetables, and aromatics.
Photo: foodwtf/TikTok
Squid Ink Stir Fry Is the Thai Street Food You Didn’t Know You Needed to Try
@foodwtf Streetside squid ink noodles in #Bangkok #Thailand 🎥 IG: @ourcollecti0n #streetfood #foodtiktok #thailandstreetfood #squidink ♬ Give It To Me – Timbaland
Noodles are a staple of Thai cuisine. Traditionally, Thai noodles come in a variety of forms, each of which has its own unique flavor and texture. These include rice noodles, egg noodles, glass noodles and even thicker pan-fried noodles. One of the most famous Thai noodle dishes is pad thai, which is made from stir-fried jasmine rice noodles combined with eggs and either chicken or shrimp. Other beloved dishes include pad see ew (stir-fried wide rice noodles in a mildly sweet and savory sauce), kway teow (a type of Chinese noodle that’s usually served in soup), and boat noodles, which are served in a spicy pork broth.
In the video above, the squid ink noodles being prepared are thin and round, more closely resembling spaghetti than Thailand’s typically flatter noodles. Regardless of whether the noodles are made from rice or wheat, which would be more common in Italy, the street vendor is preparing a distinctly Thai dish by stir-frying the noodles with vegetables, seafood, and what appears to be spicy peppers — a classic combination in Thai cuisine.
In general, street food is integral to Thai cuisine. Besides noodle dishes, some of the most popular Thai street food dishes include som tum (green papaya salad), gai tod (fried chicken), moo ping (grilled pork skewers), and khao niaow ma muang (mango sticky rice). Whether or not you encounter squid ink noodles while you’re traveling around Thailand, filling up on as much delicious and affordable street food as you can is a must from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. 