Thai cuisine is the national cuisine of Thailand. Thai cuisine places emphasis on lightly-prepared dishes with strong aromatic components. Thai cuisine is known for being spicy. Balance, detail and variety are important to Thai cooking. Thai food is known for its balance of five fundamental flavors in each dish or the overall meal: hot (spicy), sour, sweet, salty, and (optional) bitter.
Influences
Although popularly considered a single cuisine, Thai food would be more accurately described as four regional cuisines corresponding to the four main regions of the country: Northern, Northeastern (or Isan), Central, and Southern, each cuisine sharing similar foods or foods derived from those of neighboring countries and regions: Burma, the Chinese province of Yunnan and Laos to the north, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam to the east and Malaysia to the south of Thailand. In addition to these four regional cuisines, there is also the Thai Royal Cuisine which can trace its history back to the palace cuisine of the Ayutthaya kingdom (1351-1767 CE). Its refinement, cooking techniques and its use of ingredients were of great influence to the cuisine of the Central Thai plains.
The culinary traditions and cuisines of Thailand's neighbors have influenced Thai cuisine over many centuries. Regional variations tend to correlate to neighboring states as well as climate and geography. Southern curries tend to contain coconut milk and fresh turmeric, while northeastern dishes often include lime juice. The cuisine of Northeastern (or Isan) Thailand is heavily influenced by Lao cuisine. Many popular dishes eaten in Thailand were originally Chinese dishes which were introduced to Thailand mainly by the Teochew people who make up the majority of the Thai Chinese. Such dishes include chok (rice porridge), kuai tiao rat na (fried rice-noodles) and khao kha mu (stewed pork with rice). The Chinese also introduced the use of a wok for cooking, the technique of deep-frying and stir-frying dishes, and noodles and soy products.
Serving
Thai meals typically consist of either a single dish or rice khao (Thai: ข้าว ) with many complementary dishes served concurrently and shared by all. It is customary to serve more dishes than there are guests at a Thai meal.
Thai food was traditionally eaten with the right hand but it is now generally eaten with a fork and a spoon. The fork, held in the left hand, is used to push food into the spoon. The spoon is then brought to the mouth. A traditional ceramic spoon is sometimes used for soups. Chopsticks are used primarily for the consumption of noodle soups. Knives are not generally used at the table. It is common practice for Thais and hill tribe peoples in the North and in Northeast Thailand to use sticky rice as an edible implement by shaping it into small, and sometimes flattened, balls by hand which are then dipped into side dishes and eaten. Thai-Muslims frequently eat meals with only their right hands.
Thai food is often served with a variety of sauces ( nam chim , Thai: น้ำจิ้ม ) and condiments. These may include phrik nam pla/nam pla phrik (consisting of fish sauce, lime juice, chopped chilies and garlic), dried chili flakes, sweet chili sauce, sliced chili peppers in rice vinegar, sriracha sauce, or a spicy chili sauce or paste called nam phrik. In most Thai restaurants, diners can find a selection of Thai condiments, often including sugar or MSG, available on the dining table in small containers with tiny spoons. With certain dishes, such as khao kha mu (pork trotter stewed in soy sauce and served with rice), whole Thai peppers and raw garlic are served in addition. Cucumber is sometimes eaten to cool the mouth after particularly spicy dishes. They often also feature as a garnish, especially with one-dish meals. The plain rice, sticky rice or the khanom chin (Thai rice noodles) served alongside a spicy curry or stir-fry, tends to counteract the spiciness.
A Thai family meal will normally consist of rice with several dishes which form a harmonious contrast of ingredients and ways of preparation. The dishes are all served at the same time. A meal at a restaurant for four people could, for instance, consist of fish in dry red curry ( Chu chi pla ), a spicy green papaya salad with dried prawns, tomatoes, yardlong beans and peanuts ( Som tam Thai ), deep fried stuffed chicken wings ( Pik kai sot sai thot ), a salad of grilled beef, shallots and celery or mint ( Yam nuea yang ), spicy stir fried century eggs with crispy basil ( Khai yiao ma phat kaphrao krop ), and a non-spicy vegetable soup with tofu and seaweed ( Tom chuet taohu kap sarai ) to temper it all.
Ingredients
Main article: List of Thai ingredientsThailand has about the same surface area as Spain and a length of approximately 1700 kilometers or 1000 miles (Italy, in comparison, is about 1200 kilometers or 750 miles long) with foothills of the Himalayas in the north, a high plateau in the northeast, a verdant river basin in the centre and tropical rainforests and islands in the south. And with over 40 distinct ethnic groups with each their own culture and even more languages, it doesn't come as a surprise that Thai cuisine, as a whole, is extremely varied and features many different ingredients and ways of preparing food. Thai food is known for its enthusiastic use of fresh (rather than dried) herbs. Common herbs include cilantro, lemon grass, Thai basils and mint. Some other common flavors in Thai food come from ginger, galangal, turmeric, garlic, soy beans, shallots, white and black peppercorn and, of course, chilies.
Pastes and sauces
The ingredient found in almost all Thai dishes and every region of the country is nam pla (Thai: น้ำปลา ), a very aromatic and strong tasting fish sauce. Fish sauce is a staple ingredient in Thai cuisine and imparts a unique character to Thai food. Fish sauce is prepared with fermented fish that is made into a fragrant condiment and provides a salty flavor. There are many varieties of fish sauce and many variations in the way it is prepared. Some fish may be fermented with shrimp and/or spices.
Pla ra (Thai: ปลาร้า ) is also a sauce made from fermented fish. It is more pungent than nam pla , and, in contrast to nam pla which is a clear liquid, it is opaque and often contains pieces of fish. To use it in Som tam (spicy papaya salad) is a matter of choice.
Kapi (Thai: กะปิ ), Thai shrimp paste, is a combination of fermented ground shrimp and salt. It is used, for instance, in red curry paste, in the famous chili paste called nam phrik kapi (Thai: น้ำพริกกะปิ ) and in rice dishes such as Khao khluk kapi (Thai: ข้าวคลุกกะปิ ).Nam phrik (Thai: น้ำพริก ) are Thai chilli pastes, similar to the Malaysian and Indonesian sambals. Each region has its own special versions. The wording "nam phrik" is used by Thais to describe any paste containing chilies used for dipping. Curry pastes are normally called phrik kaeng (Thai: พริกแกง ) or khrueang kaeng (Thai: เครื่องแกง , litt. curry ingredients) but some people also use the word nam phrik to designate a curry pastes. Red curry paste, for instance, could be called phrik kaeng phet or khrueang kaeng phet in Thai, but also nam phrik kaeng phet . Both Nam phrik and phrik kaeng are prepared by crushing together chillies with various ingredients such as garlic and shrimp paste using a mortar and pestle. Some nam phrik are served as a dip with vegetables such as cucumbers, cabbage and yard-long beans, either raw or blanched. One such paste is nam phrik num , a paste of pounded fresh green chilies, shallots, garlic and coriander leaves. The sweet roasted chili paste called nam phrik phao (Thai: น้ำพริกเผา ) is often used as an ingredient in Tom yam or when frying meat or seafood, and
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