Thai cuisine is a combination of different tastes. For example, residents believe that the ideal dish should consist of a number of flavors - sweet, bitter, sour, spicy and salty. Achieving balance in this matter is considered important for every cook. It is for this reason that various foods that can’t be mixed in our country, such as hot peppers and soft coconut milk, sour sauce and sweet fruits, can be combined in one dish.
Thai cuisine features
What are the features of the cuisine of the area? A combination of two national traditions. Much has been taken from the national cuisine of China, and the rest is from Indian. By the way, coconut milk came to Thai dishes not so long ago. But it ideally helps smooth out the tastes of overly vibrant foods.
It is also worth noting that rice and noodles are an integral part of Thai cuisine. It is noteworthy that if the main dishes or soups can be either cold or warm, then the rice is necessarily served hot so that steam comes from it. It is also worth noting that the main dessert of Thai cuisine is fruit, and cold water is a favorite drink.
Simple dessert from Thailand
It takes only two ingredients to prepare this dish, and the result is a drink that easily replaces gourmet desserts. You need to take bananas and milk. Moreover, the liquid should be three times more than fruit. Bananas are peeled and put into the freezer. They can be stored this way for a very long time, so many people pre-stocked frozen fruits for this treat. Then combine the chilled milk and bananas, whipping with a blender. Dessert is ready!
You can also use almost any combination of fruits, for example, mango and pineapple, strawberries and papaya.
Main products in the kitchen
About rice and noodles have already been mentioned, but also in the diet of Thais there are other food products. Many dishes of Thai national cuisine contain meat ingredients, but because of their high cost, chicken and duck meat are often a substitute.
You can also say about seafood. Since Thailand has access to the sea, it is not surprising that soups and main courses often contain low-cost seafood. Vegetables and fruits in Thai cuisine also occupy a special place. The latter are often eaten fresh for dessert. Exotic fruits can often be tasted only here. They try to combine vegetables in soups, main dishes, adding to rice and noodles.
Also worth noting is the abundance of sauces, spices and seasonings. Sauces can be found in a variety of, from overtly spicy to sugaryly sweet. They are consumed with all dishes.
How to cook in Thailand?
The main feature of Thai cuisine is the shortened cooking time. Thais try to keep food fresh. Most often cooked over an open fire. Many people now know the wok pans, which allow you to quickly bring to readiness both vegetables and meat.
It is noteworthy that in rare cases, cooks spend more than five minutes on frying vegetables. The maximum cooking time is about twenty minutes. Also interesting is the fact that it is difficult to find two identical dishes according to the recipe, because every cook in Thailand tries to bring something of his own to the recipe.
It is also worth noting that not everyone eats with chopsticks. Traditionally, residents of Thailand have been closer to Indian cuisine, where they prefer to eat with their hands. Now, many use European appliances. In institutions you can often see sticks and forks.
There was also a custom earlier that there is always a need in a company, and the more people at the table, the better. Now this custom is gradually being forgotten, however, many families still gather at the same table to dine.
If you miss Russian cuisine
Is it possible to cook something from Russian cuisine in Thailand? Interestingly yes. Even traditional borsch can be cooked on their own with local products. For example, beets are sold in many supermarkets in boiled form, whole or in slices.
But what will be the problem is with some types of cereals. It is about buckwheat and semolina. And if the first one can still be found in the form of green buckwheat, then semolina can not be bought anywhere. Also in Thailand there is no kefir and cottage cheese in the usual sense. However, they can be prepared by fermenting sour cream and milk. Delicious bread is also not included in the national cuisine of Thailand. Something remotely resembling it can be found in supermarkets, but at a decent price.
Dishes of Phuket. What exactly is worth a try
As you know, some chefs are actively making changes to traditional recipes. So, for a number of dishes, you should go to Phuket. Thai cuisine here has a number of nuances. What exactly is worth trying here?
Som is there. This is a delicious salad with papaya, it has long been considered one of the most famous dishes of Thai cuisine. What to try first? Of course him! There is no basic recipe for the dish, as everyone cooks it in different ways, experimenting with sauces and spices. But the basis remains green papaya, heated to a certain temperature. Also, this type of salad is accompanied by chicken and rice.
Pad Thai is another famous dish from Thailand. It includes noodles, tofu cheese, onions and sprouted legumes. This dish is optionally decorated with finely chopped peanuts, fish-based sauce, granulated sugar or chili.
Children's dishes. What to choose?
Spicy dishes are not suitable for children, so many are afraid to go to Thailand with children, just afraid that they will have nothing to eat. But this is not so. It is immediately worth noting that many institutions, especially in tourist places, offer not only national dishes, but also European ones. And many chefs in a cafe agree to modify a dish at the request of, for example, removing chili peppers or hot sauce.
It should be noted right away that you need to eat with children only in trusted establishments or in food courts of supermarkets, avoiding street stalls. However, for children and among national dishes you can find a lot of interesting things.
For example, try Khau Tom soup. This is rice soup with tender broth and pieces of chicken or fish. It is not spicy, as they do not put spicy chili paste in it. It is also worth choosing vegetable soups. By the way, many vegetables in Thailand are prepared in a special way, so that in the end they look appetizing, not at all like usual options. Therefore, children chew vegetable side dishes for both cheeks, delicious rice and desserts with fruits.
Delicious Thai recipe
Not always and not everyone has the opportunity to visit Thailand, but everyone can try the dishes of this interesting cuisine. You can even cook something yourself in your own kitchen. To prepare hot sauce, you need to take the following products:
- three chili peppers;
- three cloves of garlic;
- one hundred ml of water;
- one hundred twenty grams of granulated sugar;
- 60 ml of rice vinegar;
- a tablespoon of starch.
About two hundred grams of the finished sauce comes out of the indicated quantity of products.
Peel and chop the garlic as finely as possible. The washed pepper is passed through the meat grinder. If you remove the seeds, then the sharpness will be less, if you use pepper with them, then more. Combine the two prepared ingredients in a pan, pour granulated sugar. Add rice vinegar. Its amount can be increased, then the sauce will turn out more spicy. Pour in almost all the water, leaving about two tablespoons.
Boil the sauce on medium heat for about twenty minutes. Vegetables should become soft, and the sauce itself is slightly boiled. Starch and the remaining water are mixed in a separate bowl. Gently pour into the sauce and warm it until transparent. The finished dish is stored in a glass dish with a tightly closed lid. It is stored for about a week in the refrigerator. It goes well with seafood and poultry.
Light thai soup
Such a gentle and simple dish can be prepared by everyone. Cooking does not take much time. You need to take the following ingredients:
- liter of broth;
- half a kilogram of chicken;
- two cloves of garlic;
- a slice of ginger about three centimeters;
- a bunch of green onions;
- any other greens;
- lemon juice - to taste;
- 200 grams of rice noodles (you can increase the quantity, then the soup will be thicker);
- fish sauce to taste.
Additionally, you can season the soup with soy sauce and chili peppers.
Boiled chicken is cut into cubes. Garlic on a fine grater. Ginger is cut into thin plates. Noodles are prepared according to the instructions on the package. All greens are finely chopped. You can use parsley, dill or cilantro.
Chicken broth is poured into a pan and sent to the stove. Add garlic and slices of ginger. When everything boils, put the chicken meat, cook for five minutes, add lemon juice and fish sauce. Remove the dish from the heat and add fresh herbs. Put noodles in a deep plate, fill with broth, add greens on top. Pieces of ginger are removed, as it is needed only for flavor.
Thai cuisine is a special type of cooking. Here are the best recipes of India and China.
It is in Thailand that one can meet the intersection of two cultures. Dishes here reflect the mood of the cook. They are fragrant and tasty.