Some titbits of Thai food

Thai people always use spoons and forks to have their meals. They show proper respect to the elders while having food in any occasion. Most of the population in Thailand is Buddhist and that is the reason why the impact of Buddhism can be seen in Thai food. Usually the Thailand food is served with roasted pork or duck topped on it. In that case the fork becomes a must to eat such food. If you are having a noodle soup then chopsticks would be the best choice. The influence of Chinese, Indian and Japanese styles can be prominently seen in Thailand food culture. Some of the Thai dishes are really delicious and tempting because of its color, aroma and healthiness.

Puffed rice cake, hors d’oeuvre, snacks like rolls, satay etc. are some of the tidbits of Thai food. The dips can be made from lime juice, chilies, garlic, fish sauce, etc. Fish sauce and lime juice bring the sour taste in Thai food while chilies are responsible for the spicy taste. The curries are also important in Thai cuisine. The main ingredients in Thai curries are fresh herbs and powdered dried spices. Thai people love to use fresh ingredients. The tinned products are not readily available in Thailand.

Thai salads are always very colorful. The Thai salads are normally sour, sweet and salty which are topped by different kind of meat textures. Desserts have always satisfied the sweet tooth of the Thais. No typical Thai meal is complete without sweet dishes. The Thai people like to take something very sweet after a spicy treat and that way they try to balance the taste bud. Soups are usually taken as a side dish with rice. The Thai soups are very healthy as the best quality of herbs and spices are used in it. Thai people are very fond of eating rice with their meal. They take it as their principal food. Thai dishes are really exotic if they are taken in a proper way.

Thai Cooking Methods

The authentic Thai food cooking is always a great challenge for all Thai chefs and cooks. The secret of preparing an excellent Thai dish lies in the preparation of the ingredients. It takes a lot of time to arrange the ingredients in preparing Thai food than in actual cooking. If you are using wok, you should be extra cautious. Thai cooking is usually very fast and also furious. Thai stir fries are cooked in high heat and for a short time period. In this type of cooking the important ingredients remain in the food such as vegetables containing vitamin remain intact and it enhances the food value. Thai cooking is usually done in a simple manner. Previously clay pot utensil and natural wood were used in Thai cooking. Now a day they are using gas, microwave oven, glass utensil and many more advanced things but the excellent taste of Thai food remain the same as before. Some of the simple cooking methods are discussed as below:

Boiling: Boiling is regarded as an important part of Thai cooking. Soups and curries are famous all over Thailand. ‘Tom Yam Goong’ is a good example of boiled Thai food.

Grilling: Thai people love to consume fresh seafood and grilled meats. The taste enhances if the grilled foods are dipped into ‘Nam Phrik’ i.e. sweet and sour flavored dips.

Stir Fry: This method of Thai food cooking has been influenced from China. Though stir fried dishes are common in all over Thailand still ‘pad thai’ demands special attention.

Salads: Salad is always specially dressed in Thai style. ‘Yam’ is kind of salad which is very famous in Thailand. simple ingredients like lemon juice, fish sauce, salt, garlic, chili, and also shallot are used to garnish it in a lucrative way. Some of the popular salads of Thailand are pork salad, beef salad, shrimp salad, and papaya salad.

Stews: Thai monarchs were educated in western country like Europe and brought back the western culture as well as the western taste in food. One of such imported dish in Thailand is known as stew. Thai people love eating beef tongue stew.

Street Foods in Thailand

Thai enjoys their food and they love to share their food with guests or strangers. Thai’s normally takes three meals. The meals are light and not that heavy. They like variety in their meals and love to eat different preparations in bits, rather having a single preparation in one meal.

Thailand’s street foods complement this style. You can get the street foods at sideways of any crowded street, marketplace and shopping complex. You can also get street foods at bus stations, residential complexes and office areas.Thai local people set ups small stalls at major streets, complexes, corners and make the place happening. You can also get mobile food stations running on a tricycle or motorcycles or wooden carts. Hawkers are also seen in major streets selling foods to passersby. Sellers also drive their mini shops door to door to sell “boat noodles”. You can see a “boat noodle” man in the street bowls the quantity in lightening speed and serving ten to fifteen people at a time. You can also get men and woman yelling loud to sell chicken and pork from the on spot barbecue. Even one can get fruits on the Thailand street. Fish cakes and fried fish is another attraction in Thailand streets. These are served with yellow jack fruits and shaped banana leafs. In office days office goers try to find quality street foods in shop to shop. Women also sell coconut hot cakes in the crowded market place.

If you are roaming in Thailand with a shoe string budget, then you can save a fortune by limiting your meal with the street food. With the help of these delicious street foods, you can plan your lunch or dinner within a dollar. You can enjoy a morning breakfast or afternoon snacks in half dollar. But at the same time you ca be sure of the quality of food, which is at per. Even some of the street cuisines are better than their AC restaurant counterparts if you know them somehow.

Some important Thai cuisines

Thai cuisines are really interesting. People from all over the world come and enjoy Thai food. Thai food has become one of the prime interests of Thailand. Some of the important dishes of Thailand can be listed as below.

• Red curry: This dish of Thailand made with ample amount of red chilies that are fully dried.
• Tom kha gai: This is a hot sweet soup. The main ingredients of this soup are coconut milk and chicken.
• Tom Yam: The Tom Yam soup is a hot and sour soup. When meat and shrimp blend together it is named as Tom Yam Goong or Tom Yam Kung. When it is prepared with seafood it is named as Tom Yam Talae and when it is prepare with chicken it is named as Tom Yam Gai.
• Massaman Curry: This Thai dish has resemblances with Indian dish. Mainly Thai Muslims prepared the dish. The main ingredients are coriander seeds, roasted dried spices, etc.
• Gai Pad khing: This dish is prepared with fried chicken and sliced ginger.
• Green curry: Green curry is usually made of green chilies. This dish is flavored with basil leaves, chicken and fish meatballs are also added extra taste to it. This dish can be called as the spiciest among Thai cuisines.
• Sate: This is a Thai dish with grilled chicken or pork. This is usually served with peanut sauce and green cucumber. This dish was originally from Indonesia but presently it is a popular street food here in Thailand.
• Pad kaphrao: In this Thai dish pork, chicken or beef are fried with basil leaves.
• Panaeng: This is a sort of dry curry mixed with pork, chicken or beef. Some roasted dried chilies are usually mixed with it.
• Pad prik: This dish is made of beef and chilly. This is a spicy dish often called as Neua pad prik.
• Pad pak ruam: In this Thai dish you will get prominence of vegetables. But it depends on the availability of the ingredients.
• Boo Jah: These are crab cakes served with pepper, pork and garlic. Spicy sauce adds extra flavor to it. The variety of sauce can be hot and sweet garlic sauce, Sri rachaa sauce, etc. Chopped green onion or red curry paste are the other added ingredient.

Cooking Thai food - a real art

The art of cooking authentic Thai food include many aspect such as ingredients, preparation, equipments, etc. Cooking Thai food is simple if you have proper knowledge and companion. There are five elements in Thai dishes. These are sweet, sour, spicy, salty and bitter. Thai food recipes are there to prepare Thai food but you should follow a regular Thai food guideline if you are concerned about taste. Taste varies depending on many aspects. Sometimes freshness of the ingredients matters a lot while sometimes it also depends on the cook. If you are preparing a Thai recipe try to concentrate on ingredient but you can also add some flavors according to your own choice. Some of the brands of curry pastes are saltier than the other and so are some fish sauces. In Thai cooking you can do some alteration such as if the taste to too sweet you can add some fish sauce, again if the dish has become too sour you can add some plain water or sugar in it.

Coconut milk is an important ingredient in cooking Thai food. There are two types Hua Ka Ti i.e. creamy coconut milk and Hang Ka Ti i.e. watery coconut milk. Fresh coconut milk can be prepared by soaking grated coconut in warm water. It is then squeezed and the process continues till it becomes dried. The coconut used three times before it is discarded. Freshly prepared coconut milk has better aroma than the tinned one. If using canned coconut milk try to use it in cold temperature. This will help to separate the creamy part and the watery coconut part. The creamy will float in the watery part. In summer you have to refrigerate the can for a long time.

Authentic Thai food is really tasty if you are taking the pain of preparing it in an authentic style.