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Next: 13 to 15 Apr 2027

Songkran

Thailand's water festival, with khao chae, rice in jasmine-scented iced water, served with sweet fried sides.

Songkran Location : Wat Khung Taphao Ban Khung Taphao , Khung Taphao subdistrict, Mueang Uttaradit , Uttaradit Province , Thailand .
Photo: ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เ, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Spices for Songkran

At Songkran, water is poured over Buddha images and over elders' hands as a blessing, and in the streets it is thrown at everyone. A seasonal speciality is khao chae, rice served in cold jasmine-scented water with accompaniments including stuffed shallots, sweet pork, shredded dried fish and fried salted radish with a hint of white pepper. Spice pastes for northern Thai dishes use dried chilli, garlic, galangal and lemongrass, while the spice mix in sai ua (herbal sausage) includes kaffir lime and turmeric. The meal is designed to calm the heat of the season.

The spices

GalangalUsed in curry pastes.Black pepperWhite and black pepper season stuffed shallots.

Also part of it, and being written: Lemongrass (Fresh stems go in northern sausage and pastes.).

About this page

Written by the EveryMasala desk with AI assistance. Background: "Songkran (Thailand)" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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