Thai Food: Simply the Best
The lens intro title is naturally subjective. There are many great cuisines out there in the world (French, Italian, Japanese and Indian spring to mind), and each has its own distinctive taste, smell and value. But it's hard not to love Thai Food. Thai cuisine is known for its balance of five fundamental flavors in each dish or the overall meal - spicy, sour, sweet, salty and bitter. Thai cuisine is further divided regionally corresponding to the four regions in Thailand - Northern, Northeastern (Isan), Central and Southern. For instance, Southern curries tend to contain coconut milk, while Northeasting dishes are loaded with chillis and limejuice.
There are a couple of fundamental basics to follow when making good Thai food - chillis and garlic. The chillis Thais use are called 'Phrik Khee Noo', which literally translates to 'mouse droppings chilli'. These are extremely hot and have to be handled with care. The secret, my secret, to cooking good Thai food is to crush these chillis and garlic together and stir-fry with meat or vegetables of your choice. Even when making curries, it's always a good idea to stir-fry the meat or veggies first, and then cook/simmer it in curries. It's just like marinading, just a whole lot easier! Thai food is also one of the very few cuisines in the world that employ together sugar and spices regularly in the same dish. Contrary to how it sounds, sugar blends in quite well with nam-pla, phrik-kee-noo or crushed chilli peppers. The result is a taste indescribable. In Thailand, people just say 'Aroy Maak!'.
Thai food is generally curries, stir-fried dishes, grilled/fried meats and salads. Thais eat a lot of greens and herbs. Even the curries are usually herbal in nature. When setting up a table, Thais usually have one salad, one stir-fried dish and one curry or soup. And that's it! Thai food is generally not divided into courses, Thais often preferring individual dishes or sharing 3-4 common dishes. But as you'll see, there are so many variations to each type of Thai food.
Red Curry Paste
Red curry paste is the most common of all the curry pastes. It is used widely in many dishes that you are familiar with such as tod mun and satay. Red curry paste is a mixture of dry chili pepper, shallot, garlic, galangal, lemon grass, cilantro root, peppercorn, coriander, salt, shrimp paste and kaffir lime zest.
Green Curry Paste
Green curry paste has the exact ingredients as the red one with the exception of the dried chili pepper. Fresh green pepper is substituted.
Yellow Curry Paste
Yellow curry comes from Southern Thailand and is similar to red or green curry, but it is made with yellow peppers and turmeric.
Then there's the stir-fry. It can be stir-fried vegetables, chicken, pork, beef, anything. The basic ingredient for all of this is, as mentioned above, chillis and chicken.
Then comes the grilled/fried meats. Marinaded chicken, pork or beef charcoaled on a grill. Need we say more...
Lastly, there's the salads. If you're familiar with Thai food, you have the Som Tam Salad (papaya pok pok salad) which is probably the most distinct taste you'll ever put in your mouth. Then you get the beef salads, vegetable salads. Thai salads differ from Western salads on one major taste point - Thai salad is always sour, loads of lime and chillis used to mix around with the leaves and meat. It's not your run-of-the-mill Caesar's or Tossed Salad, Thai salads are all about the tangy flavor.
Amongst the tastiest Thai dishes are -
Tom Yum Goong; Sweet/Sour prawn soup
Tom Kha Gaii; Coconut flavored chicken soup
Panaeng Nua; Beef in red curry with peanuts
Kheow Waan Gaii; Chicken in green curry
Gaii Pad Krapow; Chicken with basil leaves
Larb Gaii; spicy minced chicken salad
Phad-Thai; Phad-Thai noodles
Phad Se-ew Moo; Noodles stir-fried in soya sauce and eggs and veggies
Naam Tok; Pork or Beef salad
Som Tum; Papaya salad
Gaii Hor Baii Teoy; Grilled chicken in pandan leaves
Tod Munn Goong; Fried shrimp cakes
There are many many more dishes. They are all easy to make and once you get the hang of a few basic items, Thai food becomes a breeze.
I'll list you a few of my favorite all-time Thai food recipes. It's so easy you'll be able to set up your own authentic Thai restaurant in no time. Thai food can be made using beef, lamb, chicken, pork, fish, prawns, tofu, mushrooms, anything. I've even come across restaurants serving kangaroo and ostrich meat cooked as a Thai dish. My ultimate advice would be - if it tastes right for you, it tastes right - period!
Favorite Thai Recipes
Start with the basics
I'll list you recipes of my favorite dishes. First up is 'Tom Yum Goong', or simply sweet/sour prawn soup. This is probably the most famous soup in the world and it's divine. There are other variations as well, but you've just got to try this out first. Then there is the 'Beef Panaeng Curry' that I absolutely love, and then urban Thailand's most staple dish, 'Bai Krapow Gaii' (Chicken in Basil leaves).Tom Yum Goong Soup
YIELDS
2 Servings
INGREDIENTS
1 c Shrimp, peeled & deveined
3 1/2 c Water
4 Kaffir lime leaves
2 Stalks lemongrass
-- cut into 1" pieces and smashed. Use 2" from base
-- only. Discard leaves
1/2 c Straw mushrooms
-- (canned or fresh)
2 tb Lime juice
3 tb Fish sauce (Nam Pla)
1 ts Thai red curry
2 ts Sliced red & green chilis
-- (or to taste)
1 tb Chopped cilantro
DIRECTIONS
In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil over high heat. Stir in the curry paste, lime leaves and lemongrass. Bring to a boil again and add shrimps and mushrooms. Cook just until the shrimps are done but not overcooked. Stir in fish sauce and remove from heat. Spoon the soup into a serving bowl and add lime juice, stir to mix well. Sprinkle chilies and cilantro leaves before serving. Serve hot with cooked rice.
Makes 2 servings.
NOTE
Boneless chicken pieces may be used instead of shrimps. Omit the chilies if desired. Additional fish sauce may also be added to the soup at the table.
Beef Panaeng Curry - This usually has a base of coconut milk, but if you find it too heavy, you can always use low-fat milk as a substitute. This dish is divine!Ingredients
1/2 can coconut milk, plus 2 tablespoons, for garnish
4 cups Jasmine rice, cooked for accompaniment
2 tablespoons Red curry paste
Fish sauce
1 pound lean beef, cut into thin strips
kaffir lime leaves, minced strips, for garnish
2 tablespoons peanuts, ground
1/4 cup Thai basil leaves
Sugar
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
Directions
1. Heat oil in skillet over low heat.
2. Add curry paste and stir until fragrant.
3. Add coconut milk and continue stirring for 1 minute.
4. Add beef strips and cook about 5 minutes, stirring, adding peanuts halfway through.
5. Add fish sauce and sugar to taste.
6. When the sauce is almost dry, add peppers and basil leaves; cook another 5 minutes, stirring.
7. Just before serving, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of coconut milk and garnish with strips of lime leaves. Serve with jasmine rice.
Chicken Basil, or Gai Pad Gra Pow, is one of the classics of Thai food and is surprising easy to make. Gai means Chicken and Gra Pow is the Thai equivalent of Holy Basil leaves. You know you've made Chicken Basil right when the heat from the chili peppers plays just under the flavor of the gra pow and the fish sauce. Don't be afraid to use what seems like an excessive amount of gra pow leaves - they make the dish.For 2 servings -
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4-7 Thai chili pepper, minced
1 tablespoon sugar
1-2 packages holy basil
1/2 lb ground chicken
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
3 tablespoons fish sauce
Tips and substitutions
You can substitute ground turkey or pork for ground chicken. Some people like the meat cut up in bite size pieces rather than ground.
In Thai restaurants in America, Sweet basil or Thai basil is usually used for this dish. While an acceptable substitute, it is not quite the same.
Mince garlic and chili pepper together. Clean and pick gra-pow leaves from their stem. It may appear like a lot of leaves, but the leaves will shrink when cooked and this dish's flavor comes from the leaves.
Fry the garlic and chili pepper in oil over high heat. When garlic starts to turn brown, drop the ground chicken in. Stir constantly. The juice will start to come out. Keep stirring until all the juice is gone. It might take a couple of minutes. Add sugar and fish sauce. Then add Thai basil. Quickly turn it over a few times to mix the leaves with the meat and then remove from the fire and put the gai pad gra pow in the serving plate or dishes. Serve hot with rice.
Normally in Thailand, gai pad gra pow is served with a small bowl of chili pepper in fish sauce.
Favorite Thai Cookbooks
Rate your favorite Thai cookbook from my favorite list of books
Thai food is not hard to prepare, but for it to taste right, it needs to be done well. Cookbooks are a great way to take the first step. After that, cooking is exactly like art - you use your own imagination and you create your own taste. That's the beauty of Thai food, anyone can make it his/her own. I have the following books in my library, and each one will tell you something different. I love them all and that's why I love Thai food - it all depends on you, there's no 'the right way'.
Favorite Thai Recipes
Larb Gaii or spicy chicken salad. Use fresh herbs in this recipe, dried will not even come close! Use of boneless, skinless chicken and no added oil makes this a very tasty low-fat dish.1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, minced in food processor (do not sub ground chicken, it is too fatty!)
1 tablespoon roasted rice powder (available in Asian markets or you can make your own by roasting raw rice in a dry skillet till brown)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 spring onions, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped shallots
3 tablespoons chopped mint leaves
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon garlic and red chile paste
thinly sliced cabbage or lettuce, for serving
fresh cilantro stems, for garnish
Heat nonstick skillet over medium heat, no oil necessary.
Add chicken, stir until cooked through.
Remove from heat, drain excess liquid.
Add fish sauce and lime juice.
Toss all together with cilantro, onion, shallots, mint, cayenne, rice powder, and ground chile/garlic paste.
Adjust seasoning to taste.
Serve immediately over lettuce leaves or thinly sliced cabbage.
Garnish with cilantro sprigs.
Great Cookbooks to get you started
Quick & Easy Thai: 70 Everyday Recipes
Amazon Price: $12.89 (as of 10/12/2008)
Quick & Easy Thai Cuisine: Lemon Grass Cookbook
Amazon Price: $9.56 (as of 10/12/2008)
Thailand: The Beautiful Cookbook
Amazon Price: $34.65 (as of 10/12/2008)
Favorite Thai Recipes
Everyone's familiar with Phad-Thai Noodles. But there's another kind called Phad-See-ew Noodles. I love this dish. It can sometimes come across as Chinese, but it's made its way into the Thai palate.250 gr. of meat (beef, chicken, pork, or seafood)
250 gr. noodles of your choice (normally fresh rice noodles are used)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon palm sugar (or substitute regular sugar)
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
3 tablespoons sweet dark soy sauce
1 cup broccoli cut
Ingredients for marinading the meat
1 egg
2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon rice wine
1 tablespoon palm sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon black pepper
Slice the meat into bite sized pieces then marinade it in recipe described above for 1 hour.
Prepare your noodles. If they are fresh, you do not need to do anything, but if you are using dry noodles, you will need to soak them in water for 15 or so minutes until they are soft.
You will need a medium to large sized skillet. Grease the skillet with the oil of your choice, and then cook the meat until it is almost done. Then add in the rest of the ingredients, and stir-fry for about 2 minutes.
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Favorite Thai Recipes
Fish Sauce - Nam Pla Phrik
Now this is a sauce that can accompany ANY Thai dish. It's pungent and if put in excessively, can ruin the appetite of the most ardent food lover. However, when mixed well and in small doses, Thai food suddenly tastes better and brighter.1-4 Thai chili pepper
1 shallot or garlic
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1/4 lime Optional
Tips and substitutions
For a vegetarian chili fish sauce, substitute light soy sauce for fish sauce.
Slice chili pepper and shallot and place them in a sauce dish. Add fish sauce and lime juice. Some people omit the lime juice. Some like garlic instead of shallot.
This sauce is like salt and pepper, appearing on most people's table. Chili fish sauce is also served with crispy fried dishes like fried fish, deep fried okra or green beans.
