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Tom Kha Gai Recipe |
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| Ingredients : |
| 5 cm Fresh galangal 2 cups Coconut milk 1 cup Chicken stock 600 g Chicken breast fillets, cut into thin strips 1-2 teaspoons Finely chopped red chili 2 tablespoons Fish sauce 1 teaspoon Soft brown sugar 1/4 cup Fresh coriander leaves |
Method :
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Friday, November 19, 2010
Tom Kha Gai Recipe
Tom Yam Soup Recipe
Tom Yam Soup Recipe |
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| Ingredients : |
| 500 g Raw shrimps 1 tablespoon Cooking oil 2 liters Water 2 tablespoons Curry paste 2 tablespoons Tamarind concentrate 2 teaspoons Ground turmeric 1 teaspoon Red chili, chopped 4-8 Kaffir lime leaves, whole or shredded 2 tablespoons Fish sauce 2 tablespoons Lime juice 2 teaspoons Soft brown sugar 1/4 cup Fresh coriander leaves |
Method :
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Water Chestnut Salad Recipe
Water Chestnut Salad Recipe |
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| Use fresh water chestnuts if possible, otherwise canned ones make a suitable substitute.
Ingredients : |
| 250g (8 oz) fresh water chestnuts or 1 small can, drained 1/4 cup diced cooked pork 1/4 cup chopped cooked prawns 2 fresh red chilies, seeded and chopped |
| Method : Wash and peel fresh water chestnuts and cut into slices, then into strips. If using canned chestnuts, drain and cut in similar fashion. Fry the onion and garlic in hot fat on medium heat, taking care not to let them burn. Combine fish sauce, lemon juice and sugar in a dressing with the onions and garlic. Combine chestnuts, pork, prawns and crab meat in a bowl and pour the dressing over. Toss to mix, arrange in serving dish and garnish with the chopped leaves and chilies. |
Whole Fried Fish with Ginger Sauce Recipe
Whole Fried Fish with Ginger Sauce Recipe |
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| A simple and delicious way of serving fish. Prepare ingredients for sauce before starting to cook the fish. Sauce can simmer while the fish is being fried and the dish served immediately the fish is cooked, while at its best. |
| 1 whole fish, about 1 kg (2 lb) (snapper, bream, jewfish) 1 tablespoon cornflour |
| Method : Buy fish cleaned and scaled, but with head left on. Trim fins and tail with kitchen scissors, and wipe out cavity with kitchen paper dipped in coarse salt. Wash well and dry thoroughly. With a sharp knife slash the fish diagonally on each side almost to the centre bone, forming diamond shapes in the flesh. Dip fish in seasoned flour, then dust off excess flour. Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown, drain on absorbent paper, then transfer fish carefully to serving dish, spoon sauce over and serve immediately. |
How to cook... Chicken Tom Yum
Chicken Tom Yum (tom yum gai)
ต้มยำไก่
By popular demand, we will now start a series of Thai Food Blogs where we show some of the ingredients needed to cook Thai food. We are starting this week with "tom yum gai" which is something I often cook. For most people, tom yum is a hot and sour soup cooked with prawns. However, when I am cooking, I prefer to use chicken instead! The word "tom" means to boil and "yum" is to mix together. The main ingredients, as you can see in the picture below, are the kaffir lime leaves, galangal, bird's eye chilies, a lime and lemon grass stalks. I also added straw mushrooms, plum tomatoes, coriander and red shallots. I have noted that some recipes for the chicken version don't have any galangal. However, I ignored that as galangal is good for your health.
To cook is quite easy. Bring some chicken stock to the boil. Prepare the first wave of ingredients. Trim the bottom of the lemon grass and then peel away the outer layer. Then cut the lemon grass in diagonal slices. Some people discard the top two inches but I slightly crush it with the back of the knife and add it to the pot. Do about four or five fine slices of the galangal. Tear up the kaffir lime leaves which releases the flavour. I usually also add a slightly crushed red shallot. Add these to the stock and bring back to the boil. While this is boiling I am preparing the next wave of ingredients. I chop up the straw mushrooms. I sometimes use oyster mushrooms. Depends on what you have. These go in next. Then I slice the chicken into small pieces and add to the pot. I save these for last because if you cook too long it gets tough. Almost straight away I am adding the seasoning. This is fish sauce and sugar. Then I add the chili jam (nam prik pao) and a little bit of coconut milk. I usually turn the heat off by now. I then add the tomatoes and chopped coriander. Finally I add some lime juice. It is important the latter is only added at the last moment and is not cooked. The taste should be salty, sour and hot.
There are two versions of tom yum. If you don't say anything when ordering at the restaurant they will give you the clear soup version. However, I prefer the thick soup called "nam kon". To make this, you need to add some coconut milk and chilli jam (nam prik pao). The chili paste in the jar on the right is specifically for making "tom yum". I always put a good table spoon into my soup hence the red texture. You can then lighten it with the coconut milk. You need to experiment with this dish a lot in order to get the right mixture of ingredients. In Thai cooking, most cooks don't do any measurements. They add a little at a time and then give it a taste. Also, don't be afraid to experiment because that ispart of the enjoyment of Thai cooking.
If you have any questions about Thai food, then you are welcome to post them in our Thai Food Forums. Make sure that you check out the thread on lemon grass where I am posting pictures of my attempt to grow lemon grass in my garden.
Surviving the Thai Street Food Challenge
 pathongko with nam tao hoo Recently I gave myself the challenge of only eating Thai street food for a period of 30 days. This might seem like heaven and such an easy task to do, but in reality it was difficult and at times I wished I hadn't started. Right from the beginning I set myself some conditions to make the challenge more difficult but interesting at the same time. As I was going to document in pictures my daily food diary (see here), I decided it would be more interesting for my followers that each day I would eat something different. I think like many other people who live in Thailand, I probably only eat about a dozen different street food dishes at the most and usually just repeat these. For this challenge, I would have to eat more than 90 different dishes within a period of a month. My concern was not only finding enough to eat, but also being able to name them all.  khao mun gai todbr /> Before I started, it was important to clarify the meaning of Thai street food. Straight away I crossed out any restaurants with menus and waiters, and food courts in shopping malls. The obvious source of street food are the mobile vendors who either carry food around in baskets strung over their shoulders or on carts that they push around town. The next kind are the vendors that pushed their cart to a certain place, usually in front of a shop that is about to close for the day or a public place like a hospital or maybe a big school. Others kept their carts at their locations more permanently and probably had a financial agreement with the shop owner or the district council. One vendor told me that he paid a daily rental of 40 baht to the local council. Others said that they paid more than a hundred if it was in front of a shop.  pad si ew The other kind of place that I was allowing myself to eat at were the night markets and wet markets where stalls are a bit more permanent. These often had tables and chairs set up all the time unlike the vendors with carts that had to bring along their own tables and stalls each time. The final place on my list were the food shops that some people said don't really sell street food. I disagree. Many of these people started as mobile vendors but had saved enough money to buy a small shophouse. They often still sold the same food as they did before. Many still set up their cart in front or had a counter with food on it. As long as it was an open fronted food shop and didn't have a proper menu, other than on the wall, then I allowed myself to eat at these places.  johk This Street Food Challenge started because I was just wandering why my electricity bill was still so expensive even though summer was now over. I like cooking meals myself so I guessed it might have something to do with the electric oven that I had recently bought. I knew also that the electric cooker was expensive to use compared to say gas. That is when I came up with the idea of not cooking for one month to see if the electricity bill went down by a significant amount. At first I thought I would just eat out all the time but then decided to take it a step further and make it into a challenge which I would document on my food blog at www.EnjoyThaiFood.com. In the end, it turned into a quest to see if it was really true that in Thailand it is cheaper to eat out every day rather than prepare meals yourself.  pad gra pao moo sup kai dao I tried to pace myself right from the beginning. The last thing I should do is eat all my favourites the first week leaving dishes like entrails for the last week. I also had to think about where I was going to buy the food. Some dishes were only sold during the early morning and then their shop would be closed for the rest of the day. Also, more of a variety of food would be on offer in the evenings. What most Thai people would do is buy food on their way home from work and then for breakfast they would eat whatever is left over. I couldn't do that as I wasn't allowed to repeat meals, plus, to start with, I wasn't that keen on eating spicy food so early in the morning. But, as the challenge progressed, I soon realized I couldn't be so fussy about what I ate and when.  rat naa mee grob There are a number of Thai dishes that were easy for me to eat in the morning for breakfast. These included johk, a thick rice porridge, khao tom, the rice soup often sold with pork, pathongko, deep friend x-shaped pastry sold with soy milk, and bread sold with a sweet Thai style custard. But that was only four dishes for four days out of a total of 30 days! After a while I got used to eating just about anything for breakfast. That included spicy food and noodle dishes. As I couldn't always find enough to eat in my local area early in the morning, I had to be at school by 7.15 a.m., I started buying food in the markets in the evening and then eating it cold in the morning. Later on I found a food shop near my school that had pre-cooked dishes in trays on the sidewalk. So, I also worked my way through these as quite often they would have different dishes each day.  som tam thai For noodles I would normally only eat egg noodles. I was never really that keen on the other sizes like sen lek, sen mee and sen yai. But, this food challenge forced me to try something different for the first time. Which, in the end, turned out to be the best thing for me. I now quite like to eat sen lek noodles. I also like some of the beef noodle dishes that I tried but never really cared for before. Of course, I still don't like eating giblets that much and certainly don't want to eat any more blood cakes. But, there are some dishes that I will now certainly repeat. I'm also happy that I discovered a Vietnamese noodle dish called guay jub yuan. I've already been back to have more of that.  gaeng gari gai People keep asking me what my favourite dishes are. Very difficult to answer that but I have illustrated this article with some that I enjoyed and will be repeating. Another question that people keep asking is about my health during the challenge. Many people likened this challenge to the "Supersize me" movie where someone ate a diet of McDonald meals. At the beginning people were saying that I would suffer health problems or put on weight with all the rice and curries. In the end, I never really had any serious health worries. To be truthful, there were about three occasions in the first week when I had the runs. But it was nothing to write home about and I was always better in the morning. As far as weight goes, I in fact lost just under four kilos and that was without trying. It was never my intention to lose any weight. But, it backs up my theory that if you only eat Thai food then you won't put on weight, no matter how many curries or desserts you eat. But, if you mix Thai and Western food and then you will have a problem.  pad thai kung sod The final question to answer is whether it is really true that in Thailand it is cheaper to eat out every day. Of course, in the West, we wouldn't go to restaurants that often. If we go out, we would take a packed lunch or buy a sandwich at the corner shop. In the West we cook at home to save money, but here, it is easier and often cheaper to buy on the streets. Families often buy curries and other time-consuming dishes on the street then cook stir-fried vegetables and other simple dishes themselves. For myself, I cook a lot and I'm fussy about the quality of ingredients. Some of which are imported. So, my weekly food bill is at least $50. Sometimes more depending on how many I'm cooking for. For this challenge, I was spending an average of $20 a week on street food. Yes, you heard right, my daily food budget was often less than $3! That includes drinks but not alcohol. My electricity bill has also just come for last month. It is not as low as I thought it would be, but I saved about $20 on the average.  baa mee giao nam moo daeng + pu So, my challenge is finally over. Secretly I'm glad as it was getting difficult in the mornings, particularly when it was raining and I had to go out to look for food. It is so much easier to cook something or eat some leftovers in the fridge. Sometimes I'm just too lazy to go out looking for food. But, this food challenge has changed me. I'm now being more adventurous and I'm actively looking for new dishes that I haven't tried before. I'm also visiting some of the local food shops that I had given a miss before. What is happening is that I'm having a variety of street food and doing some home cooking. The risk, of course, is that by having fusion food and Western meals, I will be putting the weight back on. But, in the meantime, I have already started my next food challenge which is ten days of vegan food. That is going well. Once that is over I have about a week's break and I will start the next challenge which is ten days of temple fair food. Not really looking forward to the grilled chicken butt that I mistakenly ate last year. But, I think that is still preferable to the deep fried baby bird. |
Pad Puk Boong Fai Daeng
Flamed Swamp Cabbage
This light tastes just as good with spinach, if swamp cabbage is not available.
Recipe:
2 tablespoons oil
1 Ib (500 g) swamp cabbage or spinach, cut into 1-in (2.5-cm) pieces
6 garlic cloves (kratiem),minced
2 tablespoons black bean sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce (nam pla)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup sliced green jalapeno pepper (prik chee fa)
How to cook:
- Heat a large skillet until very hot; add the oil and all the remaining ingredients.
- Quickly stir-fry for 30 seconds and serve.
Tom Kha Gai
Chicken Coconut Soup
A rich, aromatic dinner soup, which is enjoyed throughout the meal. Whenever possible, fresh kaffir lime leave should be used, and their flavor and aroma is increased when they are torm insted of cut with a knife. Young galangal (Kha orn) is pale yellow, with firm unwrinkled pink shoot. Fresh young ginger can be substituted if necessary, but the flavor will not be quite the same
Recipe:
2 cups (16 fl oz/500 ml) coconut milk
6 thin slices young aglangal (kha orn)
2 stalks lemon grass/citronella (ta-krai), lower 1/3 portion onlym, cut into 1-in (2.5-cm) lemghts and cruhed
5 fresh kaffir lime leave (bai ma -grood), torn in half
8 oz (250 g) boned chicken breast, sliced
5 tablespoons (2 1/2 fl oz/75 ml) fish sauce (nam pla)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup (4 fl oz/125 ml) lime juice
1 teaspoon black chili paste (nam prik pow)
1/4 cup cilantro/coriander leave (bai pak chee), torn
5 green Thai chili peppers (prik khee noo), crushed
How to cook:
1. Combine half the coconut milk with the galangal, lemon grass and lime leave in a large saucepan and heat to boiling. Add the chlicken, fish sauce and sugar.
2. Simmer for about 4 minutes, or until the chlicken is cooked. Add the remaining coconut milk to the saucepan and heat just to boiling.
3. Place the lime juice and chili paste in a serving bowl then pour the soup into the serving bowl.
4. Garnish with the torn cilantro leaves and crushed chili pepper, and serve.
READ MORE »»Yam Nuea
Beef Salad
In Bangkok, this recipe is one of the favourite in restaurants and home kitchen alike.
Ingredient:
1 Ib (500g) tender beef steak
Salad Ingredients:
1/4 cup sliced onions
1 tomato, cut into wedges
1/4 cup sliced cucumber
1/4 cup thinly sliced red and green Thai chili peppers (prik khee noo)
Sauce Ingredients:
1/4 cup (2 fl oz/60 ml) fish sauce (nam pla)
1/4 cup (2 fl oz/60 ml) lime juice
2 tablespoons mined garlic (kratiem)
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro/coriander leaves (bai pak chee)
1/4 cup chopped green onions/scallions/spring onions, in 1-in (2.5-cm) pieces
How to cook:
1. Barbecue the beef over charcoal or broil/grill until medium to well done. Slice thinly and set aside.
2. Combine all the salad ingredients and add the sliced beef.
3. Make the sauce by mixing together all the ingredients, and toss with the salad just before serving.
SERVES 4
READ MORE »»Nam Prik Ong
Vegetables with Chiang Mai Dipping Sauce
In the North most meats are barbecued and vegetables are served fresh on the side. This hearty sauce is a favourite among those used to add variety to the meals.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 cup chopped garlic cloves (kratiem)
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1 lb (500 g) diced red tomatoes
8 oz (250 g) ground/minced pork
1/3 cup (3 fl oz/90 ml) fish sauce (nam pla)
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 cup cucumber slices
1/4 cup cilantro/coriander leaves (bai pak chee)
4 green onions/scallions/spring onions
Vegetables:
broccoli flowerets
carrots, sliced
cauliflower flowerets
shallots, cut into 2-in (5-cm) sections
sugar peas/snow peas
How to cook:
1. Heat a large skillet and add the oil, garlic, shallots and tomatoes. Cook for 3 minutes and add the pork. Add the fish sauce, sugar and lime juice and cook for 4 minutes or until the pork is done.
2. Remove to a serving dish with the cucumber, cilantro and green onions on the side. Serve with the vegetables for dipping.
READ MORE »»Tom Jubchai
Ten Vegetable Stew
A very hearty dish, this can also be served as a complete meal.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil
6 garlic cloves (kratiem), minced
1 lb (500 g) pork, cut into cubes
1/2 cup minced cilantro/coriander leaves (bai pak chee)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
4 cups (1qt/1 l) water
1/2 cup (4 fl oz/125 ml) light soy sauce
1/3 cup (3 oz/90 g) sugar
Vegetables:
4 oz (125 g) bok choy
4 oz (125 g) cabbage
4 oz (125 g) Chinese broccoli
4 oz (125 g) napa cabbage
4 oz (125 g) celery
4 oz (125 g) green onions/scallions/spring onions
4 oz (125 g) sweet chard
4 oz (125 g) swamp cabbage
4 oz (125 g) carrots
4 oz (125 g) spinach
How to cook:
1. Heat a large pot and add the oil and garlic. Add the pork and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add all the ingredients except the vegetables. Heat to boiling, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.
2. Slice all the vegetables, add them to the pot and cook for 10 minutes longer. Serve in a large soup tureen.
READ MORE »»Gai Pad Met Ma-Muang Himmaphan
Chicken with Cashew Nut
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Vegetables can be added while the chicken is cooking if desired.
Recipe:
1/4 cup (2 fl oz/60 ml) oil
4 garlic cloves (kratiem), minced
1 lb (500 g) boned chicken, thinly sliced
Recipe (Sauce):
2 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla)
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon cornstarch/cornflour dissolved in a little water, optional
1/2 cup (70 g/2 1/2 oz) roasted cashew nuts
1 green onion/scallion/spring onion, chopped
1/4 cup sliced red bell pepper/capsicum
How to cook:
1. Heat a large skillet then add the oil, garlic, chicken, the sauces, sugar and pepper.
2. Turn the heat to high and reduce the sauce until a glaze forms. If the sauce is not reduced and is thin, add enough of the cornstrarch mixture to produce a thick sauce. Add the cornstarch and water mixture only if you prefer a richer looking sauce.
3. Mix in the roasted cashews and then turn the mixture onto a serving dish. Garnish with the green onion and bell pepper.
READ MORE »»Hor Mok
Steamed Fish in Banana Leaf
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While these folded packets are a delight to serve in small numbers, for a larger group the leaves can be folded into a large boat shape and the mixture steamed in larger portions with an extended cooking time.
Ingredients:
1 lb (500 g) white fish fillets, cut into chunks
1 large banana leaf, cut into 4 pieces, each 8 X 8 inches
1 cup shredded lettuce, blanched
1 cup sliced zucchini/courgette, blanched
1 cup sweet basil leaves (bai horapa)
2 green jalapeno peppers (prik chee fa), sliced
1/4 cup cilantro/coriander leaves (bai pak chee)
Sauce's Ingredients:
1/2 cup (4 fl oz/125 ml) red curry paste (nam prik gaeng ped)
2 cup (16 fl oz/500 ml) coconut milk
4 egg yolks (reserve whites for topping)
2 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla)
2 tablespoons cornstarch/cornflour
Topping's Ingredients:
1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) coconut cream
4 eggs white
How to cook:
1. Marinate the fish chunks with the combined sauce ingredients and place in the refrigerator to chill for about 15 minutes.
2. Beat the topping ingredients together with a fork.
3. Wipe each piece of banana leaf with a damp cloth before use. Place a quarter of each of the blanched vegetables and of the fish in the center of each piece of banana leaf. Spoon on a quarter of the topping. Top with a scattering of basil leaves, pepper slices and cilantro leaves.
4. Bring the sides of each square together and fold in the ends. Secure with a small piece of wood or a toothpick.
5. Arrange the packets in a steamer and steam for 15 minutes or until done. Alternatively, the packets can be baked in the oven at 350 Fahrenheit (180 Celsius) for 20 minutes.
SERVES 4
Information from: "Thailand the Beautiful Cookbook". Buy this and other cooks book at amazon.com.
Pad Puk Ruam Mit
Vegetarian Delight
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The variety of vegetables used in this dish gives it an attractive colorful appearance. It is very easy to prepare.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons oil
2 garlic cloves (kratiem), minced
1/4 cup sliced onion
1/2 cup sliced carrots
1 cup sliced cabbage
1 cup broccoli flowerets
1/2 cup cauliflower flowerets
1/2 cup sliced red bell pepper/capsicum
1/4 sugar peas/snow peas
1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup bean sprouts
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
How to cook:
1. Heat a large skillet and add the oil and garlic.
2. Add all the other ingredients. Stir-fry for 4 minutes, until the vegetables are crisp tender.
3. Serve with steamed jasmine rice (khao suay).
SERVES 4
Information from: "Thailand the Beautiful Cookbook". Buy this and other cooks book at amazon.com.
Khai Look-Khuey
Eggs with Tamarind Sauce
Whether just fried, used as toppings, or as an essential component of many desserts, eggs are a favorite food in Thailand. In this dish, deep-frying boiled eggs gives them a different texture while their flavour is enhanced by the accompanying sauce.
Ingredients:
4 cups (1 qt/1 l) water
6 eggs
2 cups (16 fl oz/500 ml) oil, for deep-frying
1/2 cup chopped shallots
Tamarind Sauce's Ingredients:
1/2 cup (4 fl oz/125 ml) tamarind juice (ma-khaam piak)
1/2 cup (4 fl oz/125 ml) fish sauce (nam pla)
1/4 cup (2 oz/60 g) sugar
How to cook:
1. Pour the water into a large pot and boil the eggs for 5 minutes.
2. Remove from the heat and plunge the eggs into cold water. Peel the eggs and set aside.
3. In a large saucepan heat the oil to 325 F (165 C). Dry the eggs and deep-fry them until they are golden brown. Remove and set aside. With the same oil, deep-fry the shallots until golden brown. Drain and set aside.à¹à¹
4. Combine all the ingredients for the sauce. Heat to boiling and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. To serve, cut the eggs in half, lengthwise. Pour the sauce over the eggs and sprinkle with the fried shallots.
SERVES 4
Information from: "Thailand the Beautiful Cookbook". Buy this and other cooks book at amazon.com.
The Meals We Eat
In Thailand, we have 3 meals same as other countries. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are the main meals but Thai people like to have snacks between meals. A lot of snacks. We eat our meals with a spoon and fork or sometimes with chopsticks if we have noodles. All food is cut up when it is cooked so we don't need to use a knife!
In my family, we don't really cook meals ourselves. We often eat takeaway food which we bring back to the house. But if we cook ourselves, my dad will be the cook, he cooks better than my mum. We do not always have our meals together because we are not often home. I always go back home late after working at Srinai school on my web site. On those days I usually eat at a roadside noodle stall. If I go back home early, we shall eat dinner together in front of the TV. Most meals we eat are rice topped with meat and vegetables or noodles. Lunch and dinner are about the same but lunch usually has one dish but dinner it is normal to have three or four dishes to share. It is not polite to put all food on your plate in one go. You just take a spoonfull at a time. This is good when we go out to a restaurant. We can try many different dishes.
BREAKFAST:
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| Joke is rice porridge with pork. | Kai Jee-o is omelette. | Khao Mun Khai is chicken and rice. |
LUNCH:
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| Ba-me is egg noodle soup with pork and vegetables. | Pad Pak is fried vegetables. | Pad Bai Kha Praew is spicy basil with chicken (pork, shrimp, etc.) |
DINNER:
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| Pad Nhor Mai is Chicken (pork) with bamboo shoots. | Kaeng Khee-o Whan is green curry with beef. | Tomyam Kung is spicy lemongrass soup with shrimp. |
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| Som-Tam is Papaya spicy salad. | Pla-muk neung ma-nao is steamed squid with lemon and chili. | Pad Mama is fried noodle with beef and vegetables. |
These are just some examples. Check out my Top Ten Thai Food page and also my favourite recipes.
Thai food is internationally famous
Thai food is internationally famous. Whether chilli-hot or comparatively blands, harmony is the guiding principle behind each dish. Thai cuisine is essentially a marriage of centuries-old Eastern and Western influences harmoniously combined into something uniquely Thai. The characteristics of Thai food
depend on who cooks it, for whom it is cooked, for what occasion, and where it is cooked to suit all palates. Originally, Thai cooking reflected the characteristics of a waterborne lifestyle. Aquatic animals, plants and herbs were major ingredients. Large chunks of meat were eschewed. Subsequent influences introduced the use of sizeable chunks to Thai cooking.
With their Buddhist background, Thais shunned the use of large animals in big chunks. Big cuts of meat were shredded and laced with herbs and spices. Traditional Thai cooking methods were stewing and baking, or grilling. Chinese influences saw the introduction of frying, stir frying and deep-frying. Culinary influences from the 17th century onwards included Portuguese, Dutch, French and Japanese. Chillies were introduced to Thai cooking during the late 1600s by Portuguese missionaries who had acquired a taste for them while serving in South America.
Thais were very adapt at 'Siamese-icing' foreign cooking methods, and substituting ingredients. The ghee used in Indian cooking was replaced by coconut oil, and coconut milk substituted for other daily products. Overpowering pure spices were toned down and enhanced by fresh herbs such as lemon grass and galanga. Eventually, fewer and less spices were used in Thai curries, while the use of fresh herbs increased. It is generally acknowledged that Thai curries burn intensely, but briefly, whereas other curries, with strong spices, burn for longer periods. Instead of serving dishes in courses, a Thai meal is served all at once, permitting dinners to enjoy complementary combinations of different tastes.
A proper Thai meal should consist of a soup, a curry dish with condiments, a dip with accompanying fish and vegetables. A spiced salad may replace the curry dish. The soup can also be spicy, but the curry should be replaced by non spiced items. There must be a harmony of tastes and textures within individual dishes and the entire meal.
Thai food is eaten with a fork and spoon. Even single dish meals such as fried rice with pork, or steamed rice topped with roasted duck, are served in bite-sized slices or chunks obviating the need for a knife. The spoon is used to convey food to the mouth. Ideally, eating Thai food is a communal affair involving two or more people, principally because the greater the number of diners the greater the number of dishes ordered. Generally speaking, two diners order three dishes in addition to their own individual plates of steamed rice,
three diners four dishes, and so on. Diners choose whatever they require from shared dishes and generally add it to their own rice. Soups are enjoyed concurrently with rice. Soups are enjoyed concurrently with other dishes, not independently. Spicy dishes, not independently. Spicy dishes are "balanced" by bland dishes to avoid discomfort.
The ideal Thai meal is a harmonious blend of the spicy, the subtle, the sweet and sour, and is meant to be equally satisfying to eye, nose and palate. A typical meal might include a clear soup (perhaps bitter melons stuffed with minced pork), a steamed dish (mussels in curry sauce), a fried dish (fish with ginger), a hot salad (beef slices on a bed of lettuce, onions, chillies, mint and lemon juice) and a variety of sauces into which food is dipped. This would be followed by sweet desserts and/or fresh fruits such as mangoes, durian, jackfruit, papaya, grapes or melon.
