- Eating & Ordering Thai Food
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.
What Comprises a Thai Meal
:: Titbits
These can be hors d'oeuvres,
accompaniments, side dishes, and/or
snacks. They include spring rolls, satay,
puffed rice cakes with herbed topping.
They represent the playful and creative
nature of the Thais
Salads
A harmony of tastes and herbal flavours
are essential. Major tastes are sour,
sweet and salty. Spiciness comes in
different degrees according to meat
textures and occasions.
:: General Fare
A sweet and sour dish, a fluffy
omelette, and a stir-fried dish help
make a meal more complete.
:: Dips
Dips entail some complexity. They can be
the major dish of a meal with
accompaniments of vegetables and some
meats. When dips are made thinly, they
can be used as salad designs. A
particular and simple dip is made from
chillies, garlic, dried shrimps, lime
juice, fish sauce, sugar and shrimp
paste.
:: Soups
A good meal for an average person may
consist simply of a soup and rice.
Traditional Thai soups are unique
because they embody more flavours and
textures than can be found in other
types of food.
:: Curries
Most non-Thai curries consist of
powdered or ground dried spices, whereas
the major ingredients of Thai curry are
fresh herbs. A simple Thai curry paste
consists of dried chillies, shallots and
shrimp paste. More complex curries
include garlic, galanga, coriander
roots, lemon grass, kaffir lime peel and
peppercorns.
::Single Dishes
Complete meals in themselves , they
include rice and noodle dishes such as
Khao Phat and Phat Thai.
:: Desserts
No good meal is complete without a Thai
dessert. Uniformly sweet, they are
particularly welcome after a strongly
spiced and herbed meal.
Preparing Thai Food
>> Titbits
A simple kind of titbit is fun to make.
You need shallots, ginger, lemon or
lime, lemon grass, roasted peanuts and
red phrik khi nu chillies. Peeled
shallots and ginger should be cut
into small fingertip sizes. Diced lime
and slices of lemon grass should be cut
to the same size. Roasted peanut should
be left in halves. Chillies should be
thinly sliced. Combinations of such
ingredients should be wrapped in fresh
lettuce leaves and laced with a
sweet-salty sauce made from fish sauce,
sugar, dried shrimps and lime juice.
>> Dips
Mixing crushed fresh chillies with fish
sauce and a dash of lime juice makes a
general accompanying sauce for any Thai
dish. Adding some crushed garlic and a
tiny amount of roasted or raw shrimp
paste transforms it into an all-purpose
dip (nam phrik). Some pulverised dried
shrimp and julienned egg-plant with
sugar makes this dip more complete.
Serve it with steamed rice, an omelette
and some vegetables.
>> Salad Dressings
Salad dressings have similar base
ingredients. Add fish sauce, lime juice
and sugar to enhance saltiness, sourness
and sweetness. Crushed chillies, garlic
and shallots add spiciness and herbal
fragrance. Lemon grass and galanga can
be added for additional flavour. Employ
this mix with any boiled, grilled or
fried meat. Lettuce leaves, sliced
cucumber, cut spring onions and
coriander leaves help top off a salad
dressing.
>> Soup Stocks
Soups generally need good stock. Add to
boiling water crushed peppercorns, salt,
garlic, shallots, coriander roots, and
the meats or cuts of one's choice. After
prolonged boiling and simmering , you
have the basic stock of common Thai
soups. Additional galanga, lemon grass,
kaffir lime leaves, crushed fresh
chillies, fish sauce and lime juice
create the basic stock for a Tom Yam.
>> Curries
To make a quick curry, fry curry or
chilli paste in heated oil or thick
coconut milk. Stir and fry until the
paste is well cooked and add meats of
one's choice. Season with fish sauce or
sugar to taste. Add water or thin
coconut milk to make curry go a longer
way. Add sliced eggplant with a garnish
of basil and kaffir lime leaves. Make
your own curry paste by blending fresh
(preferably dried) chillies, garlic,
shallots, galanga, lemon grass,
coriander roots, ground pepper, kaffir
lime peels and shrimp paste.
>> Single Dish Meals
Heat the cooking oil, fry in a mixture
of crushed chillies, minced garlic,
ground pepper and chopped chicken meat.
When nearly cooked, add vegetables such
as cut beans or eggplants. Season with
fish sauce and garnish with kefir lime
leaves, basil or balsam leaves. Cooked
rice or fresh noodles added to the
frying would make this a substantial
meal.
:Introduction ::Eating & Ordering Thai
Food
::What Comprises a Thai Meal
::Preparing Thai Food
::Regional Thai Cuisine ::Thai Recipes
::Thai Desserts ::Fruits ::Herbs
Introduction
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.
Krabi hotel, resort in Aonang
Thais were very adapt at 'Siamese-ising'
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.
Krabi hotel, resort in Aonang
Eating & Ordering Thai Food
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. Krabi
hotel, resort in Aonang
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.
What Comprises a Thai Meal
:: Titbits
These can be hors d'oeuvres,
accompaniments, side dishes, and/or
snacks. They include spring rolls, satay,
puffed rice cakes with herbed topping.
They represent the playful and creative
nature of the Thais
:: Salads Krabi hotel, resort in Aonang
A harmony of tastes and herbal flavours
are essential. Major tastes are sour,
sweet and salty. Spiciness comes in
different degrees according to meat
textures and occasions.
:: General Fare
A sweet and sour dish, a fluffy
omelette, and a stir-fried dish help
make a meal more complete.
:: Dips
Dips entail some complexity. They can be
the major dish of a meal with
accompaniments of vegetables and some
meats. When dips are made thinly, they
can be used as salad designs. A
particular and simple dip is made from
chillies, garlic, dried shrimps, lime
juice, fish sauce, sugar and shrimp
paste.
:: Soups
A good meal for an average person may
consist simply of a soup and rice.
Traditional Thai soups are unique
because they embody more flavours and
textures than can be found in other
types of food.
:: Curries
Most non-Thai curries consist of
powdered or ground dried spices, whereas
the major ingredients of Thai curry are
fresh herbs. A simple Thai curry paste
consists of dried chillies, shallots and
shrimp paste. More complex curries
include garlic, galanga, coriander
roots, lemon grass, kaffir lime peel and
peppercorns.
:: Single Dishes
Complete meals in themselves , they
include rice and noodle dishes such as
Khao Phat and Phat Thai.
:: Desserts
No good meal is complete without a Thai
dessert. Uniformly sweet, they are
particularly welcome after a strongly
spiced and herbed meal.
Preparing Thai Food
>> Titbits
A simple kind of titbit is fun to make.
You need shallots, ginger, lemon or
lime, lemon grass, roasted peanuts and
red phrik khi nu chillies. Peeled
shallots and ginger should be cut
into small fingertip sizes. Diced lime
and slices of lemon grass should be cut
to the same size. Roasted peanut should
be left in halves. Chillies should be
thinly sliced. Combinations of such
ingredients should be wrapped in fresh
lettuce leaves and laced with a
sweet-salty sauce made from fish sauce,
sugar, dried shrimps and lime juice.
>> Dips
Mixing crushed fresh chillies with fish
sauce and a dash of lime juice makes a
general accompanying sauce for any Thai
dish. Adding some crushed garlic and a
tiny amount of roasted or raw shrimp
paste transforms it into an all-purpose
dip (nam phrik). Some pulverised dried
shrimp and julienned egg-plant with
sugar makes this dip more complete.
Serve it with steamed rice, an omelette
and some vegetables.
>> Salad Dressings
Salad dressings have similar base
ingredients. Add fish sauce, lime juice
and sugar to enhance saltiness, sourness
and sweetness. Crushed chillies, garlic
and shallots add spiciness and herbal
fragrance. Lemon grass and galanga can
be added for additional flavour. Employ
this mix with any boiled, grilled or
fried meat. Lettuce leaves, sliced
cucumber, cut spring onions and
coriander leaves help top off a salad
dressing.
>> Soup Stocks
Soups generally need good stock. Add to
boiling water crushed peppercorns, salt,
garlic, shallots, coriander roots, and
the meats or cuts of one's choice. After
prolonged boiling and simmering , you
have the basic stock of common Thai
soups. Additional galanga, lemon grass,
kaffir lime leaves, crushed fresh
chillies, fish sauce and lime juice
create the basic stock for a Tom Yam.
>> Curries
To make a quick curry, fry curry or
chilli paste in heated oil or thick
coconut milk. Stir and fry until the
paste is well cooked and add meats of
one's choice. Season with fish sauce or
sugar to taste. Add water or thin
coconut milk to make curry go a longer
way. Add sliced eggplant with a garnish
of basil and kaffir lime leaves. Make
your own curry paste by blending fresh
(preferably dried) chillies, garlic,
shallots, galanga, lemon grass,
coriander roots, ground pepper, kaffir
lime peels and shrimp paste.
>> Single Dish Meals
Heat the cooking oil, fry in a mixture
of crushed chillies, minced garlic,
ground pepper and chopped chicken meat.
When nearly cooked, add vegetables such
as cut beans or eggplants. Season with
fish sauce and garnish with kefir lime
leaves, basil or balsam leaves. Cooked
rice or fresh noodles added to the
frying would make this a substantial
meal.
|
| |
|
|
