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.

Exotic Thai cooking

If we are talking about internationally famed food, Thai takes an important part. The Thai cuisine is famous in the whole world because of its taste. It can attract an array of tourists because of its unique blending of plants, aquatic animals and herbs. All the five elementary tastes are present in Thai food and these are bitter, spice, sweet, sour and salty. A typical Thai dish contains lime juice, lemon grass, chilies, garlic, and fish sauce as common ingredient and it is on these ingredients that the taste of the Thai food matters. Basically the specialty of Thailand food depends upon, by whom it is cooked and for what occasion it is cooked. A little influence of Chinese cuisine can always be seen on Thailand food.

In Thailand you will get fresh fruits and vegetables in almost all departmental stores. People love to take fresh salad along with lunch and dinner. Rice is one of the principal food ingredients. This is omnipresent in all kind of Thailand food. Thai people love to take the jasmine rice and sticky rice. Chicken curry is a famous Thai dish which is best accompanied with sticky rice. The fresh herbs are generally used while preparing Thai food. This mainly increases the quality of the aroma of the food. In a single time a Thai people consume a hot cup of soup, a dip accompanying fish and vegetables and a curry dish with condiments. Some spicy salad can be added to the meals to make it heavier. The garnishing of Thai food is always colorful and that’s why it is very attractive to others. A proper balance is always maintained in Thai food such as the balance between bland and spicy taste is kept by the cooks while serving the spicy and non spicy dishes. For desserts one can enjoy the Thai sweets and fresh fruits. The ice crèmes are also very popular in Thailand and you can get a wide variety of it throughout the year.

The process of preparing Laab

Laab is a famous Thai dish which is relished by most of the Thai people. This is very popular in Thai feasts. Laab is also known as Larb and Laap which is a northeastern food. Laab is usually eaten as a part of a set such as salad made of papaya, laab, and sticky rice. The set is accompanied by string beans, water spinach, sliver of cabbage and Thai basil. Laab can also be served as an appetizer as well as a main course along with some other non-northeastern food. Some of the variations of Laab can be named as chicken laab, duck laab, and normal laab. Sometimes pieces of livers are added in the Laab to make it tastier.

One third of the lime should be squeezed on to the ground pork. Afterwards it should be marinated for just a couple of minutes. Thai people need small pots to cook this dish. Cast iron pans can also be used to cook the food because they become heated very soon and retain it for long. The pan should be placed on high flame until it becomes very hot. Two tablespoons of water should be added which is followed by adding marinated pork. Then the whole thing should be stirred well. At first the pork sticks to the pan but later when the juice comes out the meat loosens from bottom. The stirring should be continued. Traditionally the pork should be undercooked but it is not advisable due to health reasons.

The pork should be put in a large mixing bowl. The other ingredients should be added afterwards which include green onion, cilantro, shallot, fish sauce, lime juice, chili pepper, toasted rice, etc. Toasted rice can also be used to garnish the dish from top. It should be mixed well and tasted later. The dish is hot with little bit of tartness. All the mixed ingredients should be added to a serving bowl and then should be garnished with spearmint and toasted rice. Various vegetables like lettuce, cabbage, Thai basil, and green beans are usually added from top.

Eating and Ordering Thai Food

Thai food is really tasty if you can eat proper food in proper time. You should also know proper etiquette of having Thai food. Thai food is usually eaten with a fork and spoon. Some of the single dish meals such as steamed rice topped with roasted duck or fried rice with pork are served in slices or chunks. The spoon is used to take the food in to mouth. Thai food is internationally famed. People from around the world relish this food with great interest. Sometime Thai foods are chili-hot while sometimes they are bland. Thai cuisine can be interpreted as a combination of Eastern and Western types and now these are uniquely Thai. Thai cooking depends on many aspects such as who is cooking it, for whom is the dish being cooked, for which specific occasion, etc.

In has been seen from past that waterborne e.g. aquatic animals, herbs, plants, were the major ingredients of Thai food. Large pieces of meats are usually avoided. And that is the reason why sizeable chunks of meats are introduced to Thai food. Eating Thai food is ideal with two or more people in a group. This is useful because greater the no of the persons, greater the no of dishes ordered. When the diners are two, they should order three side dishes besides their own steamed rice plates. When the diners are three, the side dishes should be four and the counting should continue like this. Soups can be a good starter in most of the cases. Spicy dishes are usually taken to balance with the bland dishes.

The ideal Thai dish is a mixture of hot, sour, sweet and spicy. It should definitely be satisfying to nose, eyes and also palate. A typical Thai meal includes a clear soup like melons stuffed with minced pork, a steamed rice, a hot salad made of onions, lettuce, chilies, lemon juice, and mint, a fried dish, and different kinds of sauces into which food is dipped. All these dishes would be followed by some fresh fruits such as jackfruit, mangoes, grape, papaya and melon. A sweet dessert can also be added to the end part of a nice meal.

Chicken curry of Gang Gai in Thailand

Chicken curry is very common in Thailand. Thai people used to taking it almost every day. You will get this at any street vendors roaming in Thailand. Chicken curry is best goes with rice or ‘kanom jeen’ noodles. The popularity of this chicken curry can be seen in the temples where Thai people bring classic dishes like chicken curry to feed various temple patrons and Buddhists monks. Chicken curry can also be a good dish for your guests. This is very easy to prepare and ingredients are also very simple. It requires three cups water, two tablespoons fish sauce, one cup coconut milk, three to five springs of Thai basil, one and half pound eggplant, one tablespoon red curry paste and one chicken breast.

Thai eggplants are usually golf ball sized but you will not get this always. So, regular eggplants will do which are readily available in the supermarkets. Chicken should be cut into pieces. If the chicken is with bones, thighs and legs can be used as bones make this chicken curry tastier.

A first half of the coconut milk should be poured in a pot. The heat can be set at medium low heat. Red curry paste should be added, followed by mixing the paste with the coconut milk. The mix should be stirred continuously. If it is splattering too much, the heat can be lowered. Chicken is usually added when red oil bubbles on top. Curry sauce is usually used to coat chicken. When the chicken is completely cooked and the flesh turns white, you can add eggplant. Rest of the coconut milk, fish sauce and water can be added later. The dish should be boiled till the eggplants become dark. The thickness of the curry depends on the amount of time you are boiling the dish as because the eggplant thickens the sauce. The basil leaves should be added just before serving. These should be quickly submerged to preserve the color. Your dish is ready to serve with rice noodles or rice.

Green papaya salad in Thailand

Green papaya salad is one of the important dishes in Thailand. This is mainly popular among Thai women. This is a northeastern Thai dish is eatable with sticky rice. The other side dishes are beef salad, laab, bamboo shoot salad, etc. Two most popular green papaya salads are best accompanied with salted crab or shrimp. When dried shrimp or peanuts are added, the salad is named as som tum Thai and when it is added with crab, this is called som tum pbooh. The other ingredients remain same in both the cases.

The ingredients can be summarized as one or one and half tablespoons palm sugar, three fourth lime, 2 cups green papaya, five cherry tomatoes, one and one and half tablespoon fish sauce, two chili peppers, one tablespoon dried shrimp, six green beans, one clove garlic, and two tablespoon toasted peanuts which is optional.

If you are preparing vegetarian som tum, dried shrimp should be avoided. You can use fish sauce or soy sauce in place of that. Sometimes lime can be replaced with tamarind and palm sugar can be replaced with regular sugar. The balance of lime juice, fish sauce, peppers, and palm sugar should be properly maintained. In Thailand shredded green papaya is available in every supermarket. Even if you are getting whole papaya, you can peel it and grate it with cheese grater with medium and large sized holes. The seeds should be discarded if there are any. Green papaya salad is usually prepared with the help of a clay mortar, spatula and a wooden pestle.

At first the clove or garlic should be smashed. Green beans and half cherry tomatoes are added afterwards. Chili peppers should be crushed and added to the salad. It should be followed by adding green papaya, toasted peanuts, dried shrimp, fish sauce, palm sugar and lime juice. The pestle is used to push up the mixture in the mortar while spatula is used to push down in order to mix well the mixture. Not much effort is required to prepare the green papaya salad so just go for it and relish it with yours friends and family.

Thai Food Preparation

Thai food is really good in taste. These are very healthy as you will always get less sweet, less salt and less spice in Thai food. Paste is a real important word while preparing Thai food. Spice can be grounded to make paste. A pastle and mortar help them in doing in an effective way. A food processor helps to grind the dry spices. After that all vegetables should be chopped well and can be kept aside. Lastly chop the meat if that is at all included in your menu. Minimum utensil and cooking tools are used in Thai kitchen. You will get ‘wok’ everywhere because this is regarded as primary cooking tool. This is a sort of deep frying pan. A wooden spoon and spatula like shovels is usually used to stir fry different ingredients. Purchasing of high quality steel wok is really advisable as because this is a one time investment.

Only soft spatula will work well on non stick cook ware. Chefs mainly use peanut and coconut oil for deep frying in Thailand. Some of the organic oils really have nutritional values. Heat tolerant oil like canola corn, sunflower, almond oil and safflower or any other nut oils are also used in preparing different Thai food.

When you are starting the stir fry, please keep that in mind all your ingredients are closely placed. Because when you start something you won’t get time to look back actually. For all the stir fry the flame should be at medium high or high because with this heat the dish is expected to be good. If the oil in your wok splatters sometimes, think that the heat is too high. Lastly garnishing is another important part. Make sure that the serving plate is clean. Also see that your guests are around as Thai foods are at its best when serving hot from the wok.