Discovering Thai Cuisine

If you've never tried it before, you might think that Thai cuisine tastes a lot like other Asian cuisines. While it does have both Chinese and East Indian influences, it also has its own identity that separates it greatly from the foods served in neighboring countries. Thai food consists of four regional cuisines and is known for its balanced flavors, fresh ingredients, and fantastic aromas.

Thailand happens to be the number one exporter of rice in the world, and as such its rice (particularly its aromatic Jasmine rice) is the staple food of its people. While Western cuisines generally focus on a main entree of meat accompanied by several side dishes such as bread and vegetables, Thai cuisine usually consists of one dish with a base of rice or noodles accompanied by fresh herbs, vegetables, and a meat or mixture of meats. Thai food also contains five flavors: sweet, sour, salty, spicy, and bitter. What makes Thai food unique is that it balances all of these flavors harmoniously into a single dish.

Some of the most common vegetables found in Thai cuisine include shallots, cucumbers, carrots, bean sprouts, eggplant, zucchini, green beans, celery, and mushrooms. Popular meats in Thai recipes include seafood such as shrimp, prawns, clams, fish, and mussels. Pork, chicken, beef, and duck are also heavily used. Tofu, a meat substitute made from soybeans is another frequent addition.

Unlike many other cuisines that use dried spices and herbs, Thai cooking uses the freshest ingredients available. One of the primary flavoring agents used is a strong fish sauce called "nam pla". Many dishes also call for oyster sauce or shrimp paste. Shrimp paste is basically a combination of ground shrimp and salt. Other ingredients you'll find in Thai cuisine include lime juice, pineapples, Thai chilies, curry paste, garlic, sweet basil, lemon grass, coconut milk, soy sauce, peanuts and peanut sauce, cashews, mint leaves, cilantro, and galangal root (similar to ginger but more delicate in flavor).

One of the most important dishes to the people of Southern and Central Thailand is curry, which they serve over steamed jasmine rice. While Indian cuisine is also known for curries, Thai curries are considerably different. They are cooked for a shorter amount of time than are the Indian versions, and Thais use more garlic and fresh herbs whereas Indians use dry spices. In addition, Indian curries tend to be drier whereas Thai curries hold more liquid making them more soup-like. In Thai cuisine you'll find water-based and coconut milk-based curries. Red, yellow, and green curries are the best known of the coconut milk variety. Thai curry pastes generally consist of fresh chilies, garlic, lemon grass, shallots, kaffir lime, fresh turmeric, shrimp paste, and cilantro roots. While curry is known for its spiciness, the amount of heat does vary depending on the type of curry you choose.