What
makes Thai dishes authentic?
If you
have tasted Thai dishes you are likely to discover that it has the strong taste
of Basil and lime leaves. The dishes are pungent with a sweetest tinge.
Once you
have developed the taste for Thai cuisine, there is no going back. Long after
you have returned to your own hometown, the taste haunts you. You have to learn
to cook.
During my
visits to Bangkok, eating street food is a must. The food sold in carts is spicy
and nutritious. You walk down the street, the weather is warm and the whiff of
flavors surrounds you till you drool. You don’t care about the hygiene, not the
pollution nor noise, stopping and taking a bite is unavoidable.
There is
a dip that I particularly like and it compliments number of salads and freshly
grilled seafood. It is called Yum sauce and this is the finger licking
combination of sugar, garlic, chili, coriander leaves, lime juice and fish
sauce. This yum sauce can be relished with grilled meat or seafood or it can be
poured over freshly cut salads to add zing to the meal.
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Cooking
Thai food is very easy and quick to make. My fridge is always stocked with few
essential ingredients that include oyster sauce, fish sauce, chili, garlic,
shallots, lemongrass, basil leaves, limejuice and coconut powder
I have a
habit of marinating chicken in small portions and storing them. It is difficult
to order home service of the frozen/fresh chicken in small quantity. But I
cannot eat one kilo in one go, right? I normally divide one kilo of chicken
into four portions and I marinate each portion differently, Chinese sauce,
Indian curd masala, tandoori masala and other just garlic-ginger-onion-chili
paste.
Last week
I entered my kitchen with no plans on what I would cook. There was marinated
chicken in the fridge. I picked up the chicken portion marinated in
garlic-ginger-onion-chili paste.
Still
unsure, I started to stir fry the marinated chicken in 2 tablespoons of oil.
The chicken became light brown on both sides. I added 2 glasses of water and
let it cook.
I opened
my fridge to see what I could add.
There was
Tom Yum chicken cube, kaffir lime leaves, coconut powder and the decision was
made to make chicken Thai style.
Added the
kaffir lime leaves and Tom Yum chicken cube into the stock, then looked for
veggies to add and grinned ear-to-ear when I discovered I had all the veggies
that I would need.
Started
to chop vegetables like carrots, capsicum, broccoli, cabbage, mushrooms,
shallots, basil leaves and green beans.
Added the
veggies that take some time to become tender, veggies like chopped carrots,
mushrooms and green beans to the stock.
Added red
chili powder and lime juice to the stock
Dissolved
coconut milk powder in half cup of warm water and added to the stock.
Finally
added veggies that require just steam, veggies like broccoli, shallots, basil
leaves, cabbage and capsicum.
Added few
drops of fish sauce.
Covered
the pan for two minutes then sat down to relish with it white rice.
The
experience in cooking teaches you to add the ingredients as you wish, and
tasting several times helps you decide its’ correct taste. Thai cuisine is the
moderate combination of sweet, sour and spicy. I don’t use salt in Thai
cuisine, fish sauce and Tom Yum cube is quite salty.
But for
those who want some reference to quantity, you could add ingredients as:
250grms
chicken
1tbsp
garlic
1tbsp
ginger
1 small
onion
2tbsp
lemon juice
Few drops
of fish sauce
2tbsp oil
1 Tom Yum
chicken cube
7-8
kaffir lime leaves
8-9 red
chilies
1tsp red
chili powder
50grms
coconut powder
½ carrots
½
capsicum,
2 florets
of broccoli
¼ cabbage
2
mushrooms
2
shallots
10-15
basil leaves
4 strings
of green beans
Makes enough
for 2 persons
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