About Thai food

Thai food is internationally famous. Whether chili-hot or comparatively bland, 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. Traditional Thai cooking methods are stewing and baking, or grilling. Chinese influences saw the introduction of frying, stir-frying and deep-frying. Culinary influences from the 17th century onward included Portuguese, Dutch, French and Japanese. Portuguese missionaries who had acquired a taste for them while serving in South America introduced chilies to Thai cooking during the late 1600s.

Thais were very adept 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 galangal. 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 diners to enjoy complementary combinations of different tastes.

Eating and ordering Thai Food

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 desire from shared dishes and generally add it to their own rice. Soups are enjoyed concurrently with rice. Spicy dishes are “balanced” by bland dishes to avoid discomfort. The most common mistake made during the meal by non-Thais is the tendency to ladle a spoonful of each dish onto their plate (buffet-style) before they commence eating. This mixes all the individual tastes of each dish together and should be avoided, as should the option of taking too much at one time. 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. Dishes are not really chosen at random, but are designed to complement and enhance each other, balancing the tastes and textures. This is why all the dishes are served simultaneously, rather than course by course, as in a Western meal. In addition to rice, a typical meal might include a soup, at least one curry, a salad, a fried dish, and vegetables. There must be a harmony of tastes and textures within individual dishes and the entire meal. Essential to each meal is yum, a hot and tangy salad made from lime, herbs, chili, leafy vegetables such as lettuce, and a choice of seafood, roasted vegetables or meats. The variety of yum is endless: just look at the menu in a Thai restaurant. Similarly, a soup is not regarded as a way of beginning a meal. It is there to counterbalance dryness, and is usually spooned onto the rice to bring out the flavor of the ingredients. There are two main categories of soup: spicy and plain. The spiciest soup is Tom Yum, which translates literally as “boiled yum” and can be regarded as your hot and tangy salad rendered into a soup form. Tom Yum is usually made with seafood, with shrimp being the most popular (Tom Yum Kung). Plainer soups come under the general heading Kaeng Cheud, a soothing broth that can include tofu, noodles, ground pork or vegetables.

A Thai curry is very is different from an Indian curry, with generally the only shared ingredient being the chili, indigenous to both countries. Most Thai curries are made from fresh, rather than dried ingredients, and derive their character from the spices chosen, which can include galangal, lemon grass, kaffir lime, shallots and garlic.

Stir-fried dishes originated in China but over the generations many have evolved that are essentially Thai in character. So while beef stir-fried in oyster sauce is very Chinese in style, chicken stir-fried with ginger, garlic and chili is most definitely Thai, especially if the cashew, native to Thailand but not China, is added.