Thai Food

Thai food has in recent years emerged as one of the world favorite cuisines, but of course there is nowhere better to enjoy a Thai meal than in Thailand.
Thai food rightly enjoys wide popularity, but it is not just delicious tasting, it also extremely healthy in its emphasis on fresh ingredients and a subtle balance of flavours. Most of the ingredients used in Thai cooking carry medicinal benefits. Such a variety of ingredients are not only music to the palate, but harmony to the whole body. The chilies, ginger, lemongrass and lime leaves that feature so strongly in the Thai cuisine are there not only for their distinctive taste, but to stimulate the digestive system.
Some visitors have heard, incorrectly in point of fact, that all Thai food is hot, or extremely hot. Although some Thai dishes are quite spicy, far more dishes are completely mild, and require no adjustment whatsoever. Much of the heat of the spicy dishes comes from red or green peppers, commonly referred to as chilies. The Thais call them phrik. There are no less than a dozen of these, ranging from quite mild, almost innocuous, all the way to searingly strong and burning.
However, important as they are, chilies constitute only one of the many ingredients combined to give a unique blend of flavours. When properly used, they should never overshadow the delicate citron taste of the lemongrass (a common ingredient in Thai cooking), or the somewhat different kaffir lime, or the elusive flavour of turmeric.
Moreover, each cook will vary the recipe according to taste, and the blending will differ from one cook to another and from one province to another.
These ingredients come in different forms; rhizomes (much like plant bulbs) for ginger, leaves for coriander, stalks for bamboo shoots, and seeds for sesame, and so forth. The use of coriander ground with garlic and peppercorns is, for example, a typical flavouring combination. Various garden produce is used to enhance the taste of many dishes. Lime is squeezed on salads, soups and curries, where coconut milk is used in soups and meat and fish preparations.

A wide range of dried spices, such as cumin, nutmeg cloves or bay leaf are always found in Thai kitchens. The proper use of these ingredients, together with others, is regarded as culinary art in Thailand. Many herbs and spices may be purchased in western countries, but many, where fresh leaves are necessary, are not quite the same. This perhaps may explain why even an excellent Thai dinner in one country can never match the exciting experience of a perfectly prepared meal in Thailand.
Fruit Craving Another skill lies in the selection and preparation of the ingredients. Thai cooks are expert in the handling of cutting tools and are unbeatable in the art of slicing, cutting and carving vegetables, fruits and meat.
An unwritten rule requires that each bit of meat and fish, when eaten with half a spoonful of rice makes just one mouthful. The origin of this rule lies in

the absence of knives at meal times. Well-sharpened knives are obviously vital to the Thai cook, as well as the pestle and mortar used for pounding and crushing the spices and other herbs. Most of the cooking is done in a wok or katha, a deep cone-shaped pan, placed over gas or charcoal.
A Thai meal ideally is a communal affair, principally because the greater the number of diners the greater the number of dishes that can be sampled. Diners choose whatever they require from shared dishes and generally add it to their own plate of rice. All the dishes are served simultaneously, or nearly so. The object is to achieve a harmonious blend of the spicy, the subtle, the sweet and sour, and a meal is meant to be equally satisfying to the eye, nose and palate.
Thai cooking has four regional variations (Central, North, Northeast, South), plus the highly refined Royal Thai cuisine, developed in the palace kitchens and only in the mainstream of Thai restaurants and cooking schools since the 1960s.
Thailand is blessed with many varieties of plants, herbs and spices which ensure a balanced diet. Today, visitors can both relish classic Thai menus and the benefits of a natural diet, and study the art of Thai cooking at several specialist schools in Bangkok and major beach resorts. Enjoy your long-stay in Thailand and experience these valuable nutrients for the wellbeing of your body, mind and soul.
Special Dishes
SNACKSThese savoury titbits can be eaten alone or as side dishes. Traditional favourites include stuffed dumpling, satay, crisp-fried noodles topped with sweet-and-spicy sauce, and spring rolls.
CHILLI DIPSUsually served with vegetables, meat or fish, chilli dips are very versatile. A dip can be a main dish or side dish, added to a pan of fried rice to flavour it, or drizzled on chips to liven them up. A cook will make up a bowl of dip from whatever is available, including chillies, garlic, onion, shrimp paste, sour tamarind etc.

SALADSThai salads, called yam, are sour, sweet and salty. A simple dressing works equally well for meat, seafood, vegetable and fruit salads. This is made from fish sauce, lime juice and a dash of sugar. The heat comes from the fiery little chillies, but just how hot a salad should be depends on the texture and flavour of the meat, vegetable or fruit used. Fresh herbs such as marsh mint, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and cilantro are usually used as garnish.
SOUPSThai soups are either hot and spicy or clear and bland. The soup is served not as a first course but together with the other dishes, and can be spooned onto the plate of rice the same as the other dishes.

CURRIESThe heart of all Thai curries is the curry paste, which is made from fresh herbs and spices. The paste is cooked in coconut cream before the meat or vegetables are added. Main ingredients in most curry pastes are chilli, garlic, shallot, galangal, coriander root and krachai, the latter a small indigenous root.
DESSERTSThai desserts are sweet, but not intensely so. Sticky rice with ripen mango, banana or flour dumplings in sweetened coconut cream and seasonal fruits in sugar syrups with crushed ice are favourites. Fresh fruit is always on hand to end a Thai meal.