You can start with the myth that Thai cuisine is impossibly spicy. In fact, many dishes seem to be such only to those who, in principle, are not accustomed to spices, and according to general estimates by professional chefs, the countries of Southeast Asia in terms of seasoning use are slightly superior to Creole or, say, Algerian cuisine.
Another myth is that rice is a staple. But firstly, in Thailand, dozens of its varieties of amazing taste are known, and secondly, it is rather a popular auxiliary ingredient, the presence of which often makes it possible at personal discretion to control the spice / spice of a particular dish. Also, it is often mixed with meat stew in thick gravy /
Story
The history of Thai cuisine has more than 2,800 years, and significant moments of change occurred in it, in fact, as in the whole world, during the period of growing activity of economic and cultural contacts with other countries, where new recipes and products came from.
However, in general, Thai cuisine today remains surprisingly original and it is not she who adapts to the modern world, but they strive to “read” her dishes in a new way.
And here it is important not to make a big mistake when adapting recipes, replacing some ingredients with others, because in the end it will turn out something just "Thai style."
So, there is nothing to replace fish sauce, but tamarind paste can be replaced by lime juice.
And what other ingredients are often used in Thai cuisine:
- banana leaves (wrapper for baked fish);
- black Chinese wood mushrooms;
- coriander root and leaves;
- coconut milk and cream;
- various variations of Indian curry seasoning;
- egg noodles;
- shrimp paste and dried shrimp;
- soy sauce.
The Thai cuisine is very diverse, it has grilled meat with fruit sauces, a delicacy of sweet threads (like cotton candy), steam rolls of pastry with fillings (similar to pian-se). In many dishes, different types of meat are mixed and always use a lot of fresh herbs. Soups are often transparent broths with coarsely chopped ingredients. Salads with green crispy papaya and fish baked whole in herbs and salt are popular.
Tom Yam Soup
Ingredients:
- 1 chicken thigh;
- 0.5 chili peppers;
- fresh green cilantro;
- 120 ml of coconut milk;
- 1 tbsp. l fish sauce;
- 80 g of shiitake mushrooms;
- 1 clove of garlic;
- 1 shallot;
- 70 ml of vegetable oil;
- 0.5 lime;
- 1 stick of lemongrass;
- a piece of ginger root less than a centimeter long;
- 2 leaves of lemon or lime.
Cooking:
- At the chili pepper, remove the stem, cut the pod, clean the seeds, finely chop the flesh.
- Also finely chop the onion and garlic.
- In hot oil, fry the garlic and onions one by one, remove them on a plate, put pepper in oil and simmer for 3 minutes. Return the onions and garlic to the pan, then further 2 minutes. Remove from heat and grind fried foods in mashed potatoes. By the way, unused residues can be stored in glass containers in the refrigerator.
- Boil the chicken in 1 liter of water, remove the meat from the bones in a bowl, and strain the broth.
- Return the broth to the stove, pour lemon leaves, lemongrass (or zest with half lime), as well as ginger. Count 5 minutes. Remove lemongrass and ginger.
- Add to the soup 1 tbsp. l chili pasta.
- Prepared mushrooms (for example, dried, preferably soaked for the whole night), chop and dip together with chicken in a pan.
- Pour in fish sauce, count 4 minutes.
- Add coconut milk and measure for another 5 minutes.
- Squeeze half of the lime and finely chop the cilantro - when serving, add a spoonful of the first juice and a generous pinch of the second to each plate.
Pad Thai noodles
Ingredients:
- 300 g of rice noodles;
- 2 eggs;
- green onions;
- 3 tbsp. l soy sauce;
- 200 g chicken fillet;
- 6 large shrimp;
- 4 tbsp. l fish sauce;
- vegetable oil;
- half a glass of soybean sprouts;
- 50 g of roasted (but without salt!) Peanuts;
- 3 tbsp. l cane (brown) sugar;
- 1 jalapeno pepper;
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- 2 tbsp. l tamarind paste or 4 tbsp. l lime juice.
Cooking:
- Cut the bird fillet into strips, shrimp cut each into 2-3 parts. Stir meat products with 1 tbsp. l soy sauce and leave for 15 minutes.
- In jalapenos, remove the tail, cut in half and clean the seeds, cut thinly across;
- Chop the onion feathers from beginning to end.
- Squeeze the garlic through a press.
- Pour the noodles with hot water (according to the instructions on the package and usually for 5 minutes), then fold in a colander, shake.
- Combine tamarind paste (or juice) with fish sauce and remaining soy, as well as sugar.
- Break the eggs, stir and fry for a couple of minutes in a greased frying pan in a sloppy omelet - in the process, disassemble it with a spatula into small pieces.
- Heat oil in a pan, put green onions, jalapenos and garlic, fry everything.
- Put shrimp with chicken in a pan and count 4 minutes on their frying.
- Add omelette to the meat.
- Then the noodles. Begin to mix it with all products, gradually adding sauce.
- Add the sprouts last, mix everything again, sprinkle with peanuts.
Roti Pancakes
Ingredients:
- 70 ml of milk;
- 430 g flour;
- vegetable oil;
- condensed milk;
- some ripe bananas;
- 120 ml of green tea;
- chocolate nut paste;
- salt;
- 2 tsp honey.
Cooking:
- Sift flour into a bowl twice.
- Mix it with sugar and a pinch of salt.
- Pour in warm green tea, warm milk and about half a glass of vegetable oil, add honey.
- Substitute not too dense, elastic dough. Let it rest in a bowl for 40 minutes.
- Remember the dough and divide into pieces - pieces 20, roll them in oil and leave in a bowl for 20 minutes.
- Proceed to baking pancakes, for which each ball of dough should be rolled into the thinnest translucent layer and put on a well-heated frying pan, oiled.
- Immediately (the pancake is cooked very quickly) put slices of bananas in the middle of the dough in a pan, you can also - a spoonful of chocolate-nut paste.
- Wrap the pancake with the edges to the center on both sides and gently flip it over for a while - somewhere in half a minute or a minute it’s time to remove it from the pan.
Put the roti on a plate and quickly cut into four parts with a knife. Pour condensed milk.
