The tastes of modern-day Thailand boast an ancient history. As early as the thirteenth-century, the Thai people had established what might be considered the heart of Siamese cuisine as we know it today: various types of meat and seafood combined with local vegetables, herbs and spices such as garlic and pepper, and served with rice. Later, the Chinese brought noodles to Thailand, as well as the introduction of the most important Thai cooking tool: the steel wok.
Thai cuisine is also heavily influenced by Indian spices and flavors, which is evident in its famous green, red, and yellow curries. However, it would be nearly impossible to confuse an Indian curry with one from Thailand. Although Thai curry incorporates many Indian spices in its pastes, it still manages to maintain its own unique flavor with the addition of local spices and ingredients, such as Thai holy basil, lemongrass, and galangal (Thai ginger).
Other influences on Thai cooking may be found in the countries near or surrounding Thailand, such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Burma, and Malaysia. Such plentiful and vast influences combine to create the complex taste of present-day Thai cooking—one of the fastest-growing and most popular of world cuisines today.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
The Culture of Thai Food
In Thailand, there is no such thing as a starter; neither is there any dish that belongs only to one person. As a general rule, Thai diners order the same number of dishes as people present; however, all dishes are shared and enjoyed together.
For this reason, it is better to have many guests at the table rather than just one or two. In fact, many Thais believe that eating alone is bad luck. After the meal is over, there is no such thing as dispensing with leftovers. Throwing food away enrages the Thai “god of rice”, a female deity who watches over the people, ensuring everyone has enough to eat.
Bad luck or even widespread famine may then ensue. A typical Thai meal includes four main seasonings: salty, sweet, sour, and spicy. Indeed, most Thai dishes are not considered satisfying unless they combine all four tastes. When eating out, a group of Thai diners would order a variety of meat and/or fish dishes, plus vegetables, a noodle dish, and possibly also soup.
Dessert may consist simply of fresh fruit, such as pineapple, or something more exotic, such as colorful rice cakes, depending on the region. Aside from meals, Thais are renowned “snackers”. It is easy to pick up a quick but delicious snack for mere pennies along the roadside or at marketplaces in Thailand. Popular snacks consist of spring rolls, chicken or beef satay, raw vegetables with a spicy dip, soups, salads, and sweets.
The formal presentation of food is another important aspect of Thai culture. Developed primarily in the palace to please the King of Siam, Thai food presentation is among the most exquisite in the world. Serving platters are decorated with all variety of carved vegetables and fruits into flowers and other pieces of beauty. Palace-style stir-fries include elegantly carved vegetables within the dish itself. For such creation, Thai chefs use a simple paring knife and ice water.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
A Thai Recipe – Spicy Thai Gravy
Thais enhance their meals with sauces and dips. Usually, they find an assortment of them collected on the table at one time. Flavors vary from sweet to hot and spicy, from subtle to complex. These delicious flavors are unique, yet very simple to prepare.
Gravy is a sauce, made often from the juices that run naturally from meat or vegetables during cooking and often thickened with wheat flour or cornstarch for added texture. The gravy may be further colored and flavored with gravy salt or gravy salt that is dissolved in water orready-made cubes and powders that can be used as a substitute for natural meat or vegetable extracts.Gravy is commonly served with roasts, meatloaf, rice, and/or mashed potatoes.
The Spicy Thai Gravy is a thick sauce that is versatile. It is commonly poured over fishes or grilled meats.
Ingredients:
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 to 4 serranochiles, chopped (with or without seeds)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh galangal or Chinese ginger, minced
• 1/4 cup flour mixed with 1 1/2 cups water until smooth
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Thai Kitchen® Premium Fish Sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Directions:
1. HEAT oil in medium saucepan on medium heat. Add onion, chiles, garlic and galangal; stir fry 30 seconds or until fragrant.
2. ADD flour mixture, soy sauce, fish sauce, vinegar, sugar and green onions. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer until mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in cilantro.Makes 2 cups.
Gravy is a sauce, made often from the juices that run naturally from meat or vegetables during cooking and often thickened with wheat flour or cornstarch for added texture. The gravy may be further colored and flavored with gravy salt or gravy salt that is dissolved in water orready-made cubes and powders that can be used as a substitute for natural meat or vegetable extracts.Gravy is commonly served with roasts, meatloaf, rice, and/or mashed potatoes.
The Spicy Thai Gravy is a thick sauce that is versatile. It is commonly poured over fishes or grilled meats.
Ingredients:
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 to 4 serranochiles, chopped (with or without seeds)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh galangal or Chinese ginger, minced
• 1/4 cup flour mixed with 1 1/2 cups water until smooth
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Thai Kitchen® Premium Fish Sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Directions:
1. HEAT oil in medium saucepan on medium heat. Add onion, chiles, garlic and galangal; stir fry 30 seconds or until fragrant.
2. ADD flour mixture, soy sauce, fish sauce, vinegar, sugar and green onions. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer until mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in cilantro.Makes 2 cups.
A Thai Recipe – Cucumber Relish
A relish is a cooked, pickled, or chopped vegetable or fruit food item ideally used as a condiment in particular to enhance a staple. Itis popular all over the world.
Thai Recipe - Cucumber Relish
Ingredients:
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced
• 2 shallots or red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 small chili, thinly sliced (optional)
• Chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
Directions:
1. BRING vinegar, sugar and salt to simmer in medium saucepan on medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool.
2. ADD cucumbers, shallots, chili and cilantro. Let stand 20 minutes to marinate. Serve at room temperature. Or, cover and refrigerate until chilled. It makes 1 1/2 cups.
Thai Recipe - Cucumber Relish
Ingredients:
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced
• 2 shallots or red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 small chili, thinly sliced (optional)
• Chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
Directions:
1. BRING vinegar, sugar and salt to simmer in medium saucepan on medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool.
2. ADD cucumbers, shallots, chili and cilantro. Let stand 20 minutes to marinate. Serve at room temperature. Or, cover and refrigerate until chilled. It makes 1 1/2 cups.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
10 Essential Ingredients of Thai Cooking
These are 10 ingredients that are commonly used and basics for cooking Thai cuisine.
1. Thai Fish Sauce
Known in Thai as nam pla, this seasoning is a pungent brine made from fermenting fish with salt. Check the label: it should contain only anchovies, salt and water. It has over 1,000 mg sodium per tablespoon, so use it sparingly. Try mixing minced fresh bird or serrano chiles with fish sauce (as we do in this photo). Use this recipe for Fish Sauce with Chiles as a condiment or in place of regular fish sauce in recipes.
2. Curry Paste
Though you can make your own, even in Thailand most cooks buy premade curry pastes. Red and green varieties can be found at well-stocked supermarkets. Both have notes of galangal, lemongrass and coriander root. Green is flavored with fresh green chiles and red with dried red chiles.
3. Vinegar
Along with limes, unseasoned rice vinegar adds sourness to dressings. Its essential in many dipping sauces, including nam jim that is served with grilled chicken. Cider vinegar is a good substitute.
4. Coconut Milk
Used in Thai curries, fresh coconut milk is made by rinsing the oils out of coconut flesh with warm water. Canned coconut milk is an easy option and widely available in the Asian section of well-stocked supermarkets. Cut 280 calories and 16 grams of saturated fat per cup by using a “lite” version or dilute regular coconut milk with water.
5. Rice
Sticky rice, also called glutinous rice, is the staple in north and northeast Thailand. It is eaten out of hand, like a piece of bread. Jasmine rice is grown throughout central Thailand and is a staple in much of the country. For whole-grain rice choose brown jasmine or black sticky rice.
6. Chiles
Fresh and dried chile peppers provide heat in Thai food. Fresh cayenne chiles are used in curries. Fiery hot Thai “bird” chiles are used in sauces and stir-fries. Refrigerate fresh chiles up to a week or store in the freezer. Use serrano or jalapeño chiles if you can’t find bird or cayenne. Dried red chiles are commonly used to make curry paste and add heat to soups and stir-fries.
7. Black Pepper
Black peppercorns were the original source of heat in Thai food before the arrival of chiles from the Americas in the 16th century. They’re part of traditional marinades for grilled chicken and grilled beef.
8. Limes
Lime juice gives a tart lift to grilled meats, salads and fried rice. Lime leaves are often used in Thai cooking, but if they’re hard to find use freshly grated lime zest to give a similar floral, citrusy aroma to curries and soups.
9. Shallots and Garlic
Grilled shallots are chopped and added to vegetable salsas like Grilled Eggplant Salsa. For a little crunch and bite, thinly sliced shallots appear in Thai yam (salads) of all kinds. Garlic is crushed or minced and then tossed into hot oil as a flavoring.
10. Fresh Herbs
Abundant fresh herbs including cilantro, mint, Thai basil and Vietnamese coriander add distinctive flavors to everything from salads to curries to fried rice. Thai basil has a sweet anise flavor. Use it if you can find it, otherwise, substitute regular basil.
Thai’s Traditional Culinary Utensils
Below are the traditional tools and utensils which have been used in Thai kitchens for years. These items were originally brought by Thai ancestors who migrated from China to the northern part of Thailand. If you will walk into a traditional Thai kitchen, here are some of the common cooking tools you would find:
• Strainer: This is handy for straining liquids and grease from much food.
• Coconut Grater: Since coconut is used so extensively in Thai cooking, this utensil is almost a necessity and used by every housewife in Thailand.
• Chopping Block/Board: A wooden block for cutting meats and fishes.
• Glutinous Rice Basket: This tightly woven basket keeps sticky rice warm and moist, preserving it for a surprisingly long time without refrigeration.
• Mortar and Pestle: The mortar is made of crude earthenware, stone or hardwood, and is deep with a weighted base. The pestle is chunky. They are especially designed to cope with the moist curry pastes and for bruising lemon grass, citrus rind, garlic and coriander roots.
• Stove: This is the crude charcoal stoves, built of clay. The insert holds a wok or pot. In small villages charcoal stoves are the main source of cooking heat. The hole at the bottom allows air to flow in Bamboo Rice Steamer.
• Skewer: Usually made of bamboo. One end of the skewer is sharp and pointed, and meat and vegetables can be speared on it and cooked in shish-kebob style.
• Wok: This is easier to clean and distributes heat more evenly than a conventional frying pan. It is also less likely to be damaged. Used for conventional frying, stir-frying and deep-fat frying.
• Coconut Shell Spoon: A simple spoon with a wooden handle, which comes in many sizes. There are also similar utensils made with halves of coconut shells, used as ladles.
• Curry Pot: This clay pot has large handles on the sides that curve up above the level of the lid, which makes it easy to carry. As the name implies, it is used for the large variety of curries which the Thai people enjoy.
• Steamer: This is made of clay or aluminum, and fits atop the mouth of the charcoal burner. Since the Thai eat rice with every meal, a steamer is not a luxury, but a part of every kitchen in Thailand. (In fact, in Thai, the verb “to eat” is “gkin kao” which literally means “to eat rice”)
The kitchen in Thailand is a very simple, which is generally built away from the main house. It is a plain room, with a cement or dirt floor, with unglazed windows which might boast the luxury of screens to keep out the mosquitoes, although many do not even have a door, let alone window screens. In the central region, Thai homes are elevated on teak poles because of yearly flooding throughout the late rainy season from September till end of October.
The central feature of the kitchen is the stove, which is generally built-in, and constructed of cement or brick. It has a large aperture below to insert and remove the charcoal pot, a funnel shaped vessel of kiln-baked earthenware or a cement-lined metal pail that holds the burning charcoal. When the charcoal pot is in place, it fits directly below a circular opening in the top of the stove. This hole has flanges which hold a ‘wok’ (the traditional round-bottomed Asian frying pan) firmly in place above the charcoal fire. Extra charcoal is kept in a box or a sack beside the stove. In poorer households, they will simply use the charcoal pot, made with flanges on the top, as the stove.
Because there are no oven arrangements, there is no baking in the home, and in the entire range of Thai cuisine there are almost no baked dishes to be found.
• Strainer: This is handy for straining liquids and grease from much food.
• Coconut Grater: Since coconut is used so extensively in Thai cooking, this utensil is almost a necessity and used by every housewife in Thailand.
• Chopping Block/Board: A wooden block for cutting meats and fishes.
• Glutinous Rice Basket: This tightly woven basket keeps sticky rice warm and moist, preserving it for a surprisingly long time without refrigeration.
• Mortar and Pestle: The mortar is made of crude earthenware, stone or hardwood, and is deep with a weighted base. The pestle is chunky. They are especially designed to cope with the moist curry pastes and for bruising lemon grass, citrus rind, garlic and coriander roots.
• Stove: This is the crude charcoal stoves, built of clay. The insert holds a wok or pot. In small villages charcoal stoves are the main source of cooking heat. The hole at the bottom allows air to flow in Bamboo Rice Steamer.
• Skewer: Usually made of bamboo. One end of the skewer is sharp and pointed, and meat and vegetables can be speared on it and cooked in shish-kebob style.
• Wok: This is easier to clean and distributes heat more evenly than a conventional frying pan. It is also less likely to be damaged. Used for conventional frying, stir-frying and deep-fat frying.
• Coconut Shell Spoon: A simple spoon with a wooden handle, which comes in many sizes. There are also similar utensils made with halves of coconut shells, used as ladles.
• Curry Pot: This clay pot has large handles on the sides that curve up above the level of the lid, which makes it easy to carry. As the name implies, it is used for the large variety of curries which the Thai people enjoy.
• Steamer: This is made of clay or aluminum, and fits atop the mouth of the charcoal burner. Since the Thai eat rice with every meal, a steamer is not a luxury, but a part of every kitchen in Thailand. (In fact, in Thai, the verb “to eat” is “gkin kao” which literally means “to eat rice”)
The kitchen in Thailand is a very simple, which is generally built away from the main house. It is a plain room, with a cement or dirt floor, with unglazed windows which might boast the luxury of screens to keep out the mosquitoes, although many do not even have a door, let alone window screens. In the central region, Thai homes are elevated on teak poles because of yearly flooding throughout the late rainy season from September till end of October.
The central feature of the kitchen is the stove, which is generally built-in, and constructed of cement or brick. It has a large aperture below to insert and remove the charcoal pot, a funnel shaped vessel of kiln-baked earthenware or a cement-lined metal pail that holds the burning charcoal. When the charcoal pot is in place, it fits directly below a circular opening in the top of the stove. This hole has flanges which hold a ‘wok’ (the traditional round-bottomed Asian frying pan) firmly in place above the charcoal fire. Extra charcoal is kept in a box or a sack beside the stove. In poorer households, they will simply use the charcoal pot, made with flanges on the top, as the stove.
Because there are no oven arrangements, there is no baking in the home, and in the entire range of Thai cuisine there are almost no baked dishes to be found.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
A Recipe: Crispy Fish Cakes
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Thais do love fishes, in any form and any season.
This recipe of crispy and spicy fish patties could serve as an appetizer, a snack, or a hot or cold lunch dish.
Preparation Time: 20 minutes; Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
* 12 ounces of firm white fish fillets
* 1 tablespoon of Thai red curry paste
* 1 egg
* 8 green beans (thinly sliced or slivered)
* 4 green onions (tops only; thinly sliced)
* 3 kaffir lime leaves (minced, however, optional)
* 3 cloves of garlic (minced)
* 2 tablespoons of Thai fish sauce
* 1 ½ tablespoons of cornstarch
* 1 teaspoon of sugar
* 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
* Cucumber relish, spicy cucumber sauce, or spicy Thai chili sauce
Directions:
• Cut fish into cubes. Place fish, red curry paste and egg in food processor; cover. Process until smooth. Set aside. Mix green beans, green onions, lime leaves and garlic in a large bowl. Add fish sauce, cornstarch and sugar; stir to make a smooth paste. Add fish mixture; mix well.
• Heat oil in wok or heavy skillet on medium-high heat. With lightly moistened hands, form ¼ cup portions of the fish mixture into patties. Slide 3 of the patties into the oil. Fry until golden brown on each side, turning once. Do not overcook. Drain on paper towels.
• Serve warm or cold with cucumber relish, spicy cucumber sauce, or spicy Thai chili sauce.
Thai Kitchen Tip:
To test mixture for flavor and texture, make a small patty and drop it into boiling water or fry in hot oil. For firmer patties, add fish or egg. For softer consistency, add cornstarch or a small amount of heavy cream.
The Finished Product:
Thais do love fishes, in any form and any season.
This recipe of crispy and spicy fish patties could serve as an appetizer, a snack, or a hot or cold lunch dish.
Preparation Time: 20 minutes; Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
* 12 ounces of firm white fish fillets
* 1 tablespoon of Thai red curry paste
* 1 egg
* 8 green beans (thinly sliced or slivered)
* 4 green onions (tops only; thinly sliced)
* 3 kaffir lime leaves (minced, however, optional)
* 3 cloves of garlic (minced)
* 2 tablespoons of Thai fish sauce
* 1 ½ tablespoons of cornstarch
* 1 teaspoon of sugar
* 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
* Cucumber relish, spicy cucumber sauce, or spicy Thai chili sauce
Directions:
• Cut fish into cubes. Place fish, red curry paste and egg in food processor; cover. Process until smooth. Set aside. Mix green beans, green onions, lime leaves and garlic in a large bowl. Add fish sauce, cornstarch and sugar; stir to make a smooth paste. Add fish mixture; mix well.
• Heat oil in wok or heavy skillet on medium-high heat. With lightly moistened hands, form ¼ cup portions of the fish mixture into patties. Slide 3 of the patties into the oil. Fry until golden brown on each side, turning once. Do not overcook. Drain on paper towels.
• Serve warm or cold with cucumber relish, spicy cucumber sauce, or spicy Thai chili sauce.
Thai Kitchen Tip:
To test mixture for flavor and texture, make a small patty and drop it into boiling water or fry in hot oil. For firmer patties, add fish or egg. For softer consistency, add cornstarch or a small amount of heavy cream.
The Finished Product:
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