Thai Cuisine Guide

A flavourful, aromatic and healthy cuisine, Thai food has become popular all over the western world as we have embraced its fresh herbs and spices wholeheartedly. Fresh coriander, leaf and root, galangal, lemongrass, lime leaves and basil along with a variety of chillis, flavour a cornucopia of fresh ingredients cooked simply with great attention paid to the balance of flavours in each dish.

The simple Thai cuisine of the a thousand years ago, which relied on grilling meats over fires, boiling stews and rice in simple clay vessels or putting together salads of fresh, raw ingredients, has been influenced over the centuries by many other cultures and traditions bringing more complexity and new ingredients to make the Thai cuisine we know today.

The Chinese introduced the wok which made stir frying possible and also the use of noodles. Western traders with their use of dairy products in their cooking, started the idea of using coconut milk in curries. It was even the Portuguese traders who introduced the chilli to Thailand from South America, without which modern Thai cuisine would be unrecognizable.

Harmony and balance are the guiding principles of Thai cuisine. A meal should consist of a variety of dishes, some spicy, others less so, with cooling condiments and various textures so that the palate is stimulated but not overwhelmed. The fresh nature of Thai herbs and spices means that, while a curry may be hot, the burn only lasts briefly, unlike the hot dry spices of Indian cuisine. Spicy should be balanced with subtle, sweet with sour. The principle salty seasoning is nam pla, Thai fish sauce, added to most dishes to provide the salty counterbalance, with lime juice to add the sour note.

Far more than in Western cooking, Thai cooking is done by taste rather than measurements. The intensity of a fresh herb or spice can vary, so the right balance of flavours is learned by taste and experience: sour, sweet, salt, and creamy with the heat of spice on top of that have to be balanced by feel to get the flavour just right. If you want to learn to cook Thai food yourself, the best introduction is to sample dishes cooked by expert Thai chefs in your local restaurant, so that you get an idea of the flavour combinations you should be aiming towards.

Thai food  is prepared in bite sized portions and in earlier times people would have eaten with their fingers, but nowadays a spoon and fork is laid at the table, the fork used to push the food onto the spoon. No knife is needed at the table as meat is already cut into small pieces. Chopsticks may be used to eat Chinese style noodle dishes.

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