Cuisine of Thailand - features, products and national dishes

The cuisine of Thailand is rapidly gaining popularity all over the world. Unusual dishes, exquisite appearance, subtle balance of flavors - this is what distinguishes the dishes of this amazing country.

Recipes for some dishes amaze gourmets with their exoticism and unusual combination.

Surrounded by countries with rich cuisines, Thailand has adopted many of their cooking techniques. Borrowing recipes and refining them to suit their own tastes soon allowed Thailand to become a country that all gourmets want to try.

Chinese, Japanese and, believe it or not, European cuisine have influenced many Thai dishes. Back in the 17th century, Portuguese missionaries brought chili peppers to this country. Since then, chili has become one of the most commonly used spices in Thai cooking.

Main products

1. Fig. The main Asian crop, is the basis for most dishes.

Recipes include just two types of this cereal: loose white rice and sticky rice. As a garnish, the first type is eaten with a spoon, in which rice is poured with a fork. The second is used to roll small balls that are shoved into the mouth as a whole.

Sour sweet rice, stir-fry with rice and spices, and liquid rice soup are just a small part of what is made with this product.

2. noodles and pasta. It's not hard to guess that noodles came to Thailand from China. But in this country noodles have turned from a side dish into a dish in its own right.

3. meat. Many Thai recipes include meat. But because of its high cost, it is not often eaten by the inhabitants of this country. The most popular are duck and chicken meat.

4. Seafood. Thailand is a country with access to the sea. Not surprisingly, this has influenced the cuisine of this country. Seafood is the main product after rice in the diet of Thais.

5. Sauces. Sweet, sour, spicy - they can give a new taste to any dish. Chefs in this country know the recipes for more than a hundred original sauces. The most original here is a salad dressed with fermented fish sauce, with vegetables and rice - khao yam.

6. Condiments. The leader among Thai spices is yellow curry. Incredibly spicy, it has gained incredible popularity in this country and is the basis for many sauces. The abundance of spices and spices is a characteristic feature of the dishes of this country.

7. Vegetables and fruits. Thailand's tropical climate has given it a huge variety of incredible fruits. Bananas alone are more than 20 species.

In addition to all the well-known pineapple, eggplant, and papaya, such exotic fruits as lychee, guava, duriani, tangerini, sapodilla, mangosteen, rambutan, and others grow here.

The majority of these species can be tasted by Europeans only when they arrive in this hospitable country. The Thai people prefer to eat the fruit as part of any dish rather than as a separate product.

Principles of Thai Cuisine

An interesting feature of Thai cuisine is that recipes are not always clear-cut. Even professional chefs often cook "by eye". The main secret of a delicious dish is considered by Thais to be the perfect balance between the five tastes: sour, bitter, salty, spicy and sweet.

Many seasonings and sauces are used to give a certain flavor to a dish. For example, chili or curry will make the dish incredibly spicy, bitter cucumber will make the food bitter, and sugar cane or ripe pineapple will add sweetness.

Lemon and lime are used to add sourness to the flavor.

Thais prefer small portions, but eat often. So don't be surprised if you think the waiter brings too little food on the plate. The use of knives is not common in Thailand. Thais prefer dishes where all the food is cut into small pieces.

At the end of the meal comes fruit. There are many different kinds of drinks in Thailand, but the most common is naam yen, plain cold water without any flavor additives.

Cooking Features

The main principle of cooking is to preserve the freshness of food. Thais prefer to cook over an open fire. It rarely takes more than twenty minutes to cook a dish.

The speed of cooking is a characteristic of Thai cuisine.

The Thai wok, a special cookware for frying on an open fire, has become very famous. Thick walls, special shape speeds up the cooking process compared to the frying pan at times. It takes no more than 5 minutes for a cook to fry vegetables until they are ready.

It is not uncommon for vegetables to be roasted for salad as well, which surprises many Europeans.

Serving dish

The cuisine of Thailand is characterized by the exquisite appearance of the food served. No respectful chef would bring a dish that is not beautifully served. Interesting serving, sculptures of vegetables, decorations with herbs allow you to enjoy not only the taste sensation, but also the aesthetics of the dish.

A salad will always surprise you with the neat arrangement of vegetables, and a meat dish with additional serving elements.

Main dishes of Thai cuisine

The recipes of the Thai people number in the hundreds. And in order to taste these delicious dishes, it is necessary to visit this wonderful country. Yes, there are many restaurants opening in the world that give their customers a chance to get acquainted with the cuisine of Thailand.

But they can only offer a couple of dozen dishes. True gourmets should go to this country and enjoy the exotic dishes.

Salads are an integral part of the Thai diet. Their recipes are surprising in their simplicity and ease of execution. The most popular salad in the country is Catfish Tam. More than 10 ingredients are included in it. These include peanuts, fish sauce, sugar cane paste, and more.

The unforgettable taste, the balance of simultaneous sour, salty, sweet and spicy, has brought this salad to the pinnacle of Thai culinary excellence.

A salad with the curious name "Morning Glory," or Pad Pak Bung Fai Daeng, intrigues many. A mixture of vegetables, basil, herbs, and ginger is stir-fried in an oyster sauce with a garlic clove and a little chili.

The "Morning Glory" salad is served hot.

No less famous is Tom Yum Kung soup (Tom Yum Kung). Its peculiarity is that all the ingredients are cooked in coconut milk. Shrimp, tomatoes, mushrooms, kolgan, a little lemongrass and a couple of lime leaves - that's all you need for it. The dish is served either with or without coconut milk. Therefore, there are two types of this dish: Nam Kom and Nam Sai.

Thai recipes include hundreds of meat dishes. But Panang Gai is the main one. Chicken fried in Thai curry and served in coconut cream is beloved by many Thai food lovers. The spiciness of the dish is refreshed with lemongrass leaves.

The unusual balance of sour and spicy makes Panang Gai stand out among other dishes.

It is also worth noting:

• Po Pia Sod - buns with sausage, scrambled eggs, and vegetable salad.
• Mi Krop or "Crispy Noodles" - well-cooked pasta with sweet and sour sauce.
• Yum Nua - grilled meat, cucumber, onion with peppers and lime juice.
• Larb Gai- chicken with chopped onions, lime juice and pepper.
• Pad Thai is rice noodles in a special sauce, eggs, shrimp, bean sprouts and green onions.

For dessert, Thais like to eat jelly or fruit pudding. A favorite treat for many is banana pancakes. Of course, this is only a small list of dishes you can try in Thailand.