Food For Health - Thai Food

There are no less than 200-300 Thai dishes. Each has its own characteristics in flavor and feature.

It is not difficult to cook in the pre-historic era. Humans began their eating with raw trees: flowers, leaves, roots and bulbs. After having tasted the vagetables?bland flavor, they added some sour ones to make tastier, or mixed variety of vegetables. Later, they knew how to make simple cooking, for example, burning vegetables or putting rice into roasted bamboo (which was called ?kaawlaam? or a glutinous rice with coconut cream topping stuffed in a bamboo section and roasted). As the time passed by, they knew how to cook in various ways: frying, making soup or curry, steaming, making yam (salad) and preserving.

Food cooking is both science and art. Some foods need time, man power and delicacy in cooking, including an artistic decoration. Cooperation in cooking helps create unity and warmth among family members.

The process of Thai cuisine explains Thai life: its tradition, custom and culture as well as confirms that Thai family is a big one in which its members live together with warm relationship. In cooking Thai food, family members have their share of helping, as a teamwork. Either the grown ups or the young ones, males or females, can participate. In some old families, the elders knew how to manage the young off springs giving their hands in cooking. Small kids could help with light works, e.g., nipping off miniature egg plants, or sweet basils from the stem; whereas the bigger ones could peel onions, garlics, pluck off vegetables, squeeze coconut meat, and pound chillies and spices, for example.

Accordingly, it is clearly seen that food cooking creates closeness among family members in talking and chatting to one another. Young kids knew how to help, and to cook as well as to be trained to have responsibility and discipline in working. The whole family, then, has a warm relationship and in turn produces worthy people for society in general.

Names:

Thai food always has its meaningful names which indicate its features or methods of cooking. Khanom Pui Fai is light, soft and yellowish white like cotton wool. Mi Krop (Crispy noodles) must be crispy. In the old days, most Thai people usually had a sense of humour and they often named foods, poetically, to stimulate the appetite. Among those foods are Jorka Lonson (Black bean in coconut milk), Naree Jaamseen (Banana in coconut milk) Ho Mujcha Chailai (Steamed curried fish), Paad Paakdong Fong Raga (Pickled vegetable fried with egg)

The Flavor of Thai food:
Regional Dishes :

The North: The food of the North has its light flavor, with a little spices, not very hot with chillies, not salty and without sugar, except in Phak Jo, Kaeng Kae, Kaeng Oom Moo, Sai Uaa, etc.

The North-East:The North-Eastern food has a strong flavor with chillies, salt, herbs and spices. Examples are Lap Pradook, Som Tom, Oomsab Tomsab, etc.

The Centre:The Central food has a moderate flavor with herbs and sugar. Kaeng Khieo Wan, Kaeng Som, Tom Yam, Tom Khaa Kai, Phanaeng, Choochee, are examples.

The South:The South has a very strong flavor of food with spicy herbs. Examples are fried or grilled tumeric-powdered fish, Kaeng Lyan, Tom Som, Pla Krabok and Kaeng Taipla.

About the Author:

Bath and body lotion
Health spa teen
Bath and body shop and bath body work

Tags: history thai food

A Taste Of Galicia - Gazpacho De Esparragos Con Huevo Pochado

Quite often when you research information into the various cultures and cuisines that make up countries it is quite possible to find a common theme common name for the food of that country. Such as Chinese Food, Thai Food etc but to be honest it could be argued that with regards to Spain there is no such thing as “Spanish” food as with the make up and historical heritage of Spain it is not quite that simple.

The Political and historical make up of Spain with the unification of its particular regions and collective cultural identities make it perfectly reasonable and logical to argue that there is no such thing really as overall Spanish cooking. These autonomous regions have been slowly amalgamated through a number of different processes throughout history but have all kept their own distinctive features.
The relative number of autonomous regions that combine to form modern day Spain is 17 and in the main, they all have their own language variants (if not separate languages) and entire cultural heritages. One of the more interesting and culturally diverse regions is that of Galicia which is situated in the North Western corner of mainland Spain.

Galicia is surrounded on two sides by the Atlantic Ocean and it is pretty understandable to think that for a region that has such an involvement with the sea, its cuisine would also be heavily influenced by the sea. Nothing in fact could be further than the truth and there are a whole host of interesting and delicious recipes based upon the agriculture and viniculture of the region.

The time for talk is over and let’s gets on with the serious business of cooking!

For this delicious Gazpacho recipe we are looking to take enough ingredients to serve four people and us such we would need the following:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 small leaks, white parts and then chopped.
600 ml of water
1 potato peeled and diced
450 grams of fresh asparagus with the tougher parts of the stalks trimmed and chopped.
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 media makes
1 teaspoon vinegar
A pinch of sea salt flake's
A few drops of truffle oil or extra virgin olive oil

Take the olive oil in a heat the oil in a saucepan and then add the leaks and stew slowly until the leaks are nice and soft.

Next add the water a little salt and pepper and potato if you are going to be using one. The reason for including a potato in anything like this is that it will slightly thicken the soup making the whole dish a lot more substantial.

However, if you are going to include potato in this recipe then you have to remember that the soup will need to cook for about 10 minutes longer than normal until the potato has softened. The next thing is to add the asparagus and boil for five minutes. Be careful at this stage because if you boil the asparagus for too long you lose the colour from the asparagus and the whole soup will lose a bit of the visual impact.

Take the soup and then purée the soup in whatever blender or food processor that you have and when the soup has been puréed, push the soup through a sieve. The reason for this is that you want to try and make the soup as much of a consommé as possible.

Let the finished soup cool and then keep the soup cool until you are ready to serve. When you're almost ready to serve the soup poured into some nice wide rimmed bowls.

Now for the second stage of the recipe, the warm poached eggs.

Take a saucepan and add some water. Add the vinegar and bring the water to a simmer rather than a boil. Take the eggs and gently crack them and gently lower them into the water. Simmer a couple of the eggs at a time for about three minutes or until the white of the egg is set.

Remove the eggs and leave them to drain. If at this particular point in time you want to be totally obsessed with the display and appearance of the soup you could always try and trim the whites of the egg either with a knife or scissors. Take the poached egg and place one in the centre of each bowl of soup and sprinkle on top of the egg some flakes of your sea salt and add a couple of drops off the truffle oil. Be careful with the truffle oil in that the actual case can be extremely overpowering and is not necessary to everybody's taste.

Then serve sit back and wait for the complements!

By: stephenmorgan

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Stephen Morgan writes about a great many Internet Travel based issues and more on the above can be found at Accommodation in Galicia . For a more complete overlook at Tourism in Galicia try www.turgalicia.es

Thai Dishes, Central Part And South

By: Manora
The Central Part
Tamlyn (a kind of creeping plant of which its green leaves and tops are edible) is the vegetable Queen of the central region. The cool flavor of the Tamlyn’s leaves and creeping stems cooked as food help relieve heat in the summer time.
1. Nam Prig Maakhaan Sod (Fresh Tamarind Chilli Paste )
Vegetables to be taken with:
Parboied vegetables are Tamlyn, the tops of Maafaak Kaew(a kind of green melon), Maa Kwaeng ji, grilled young Paekaa pods (Kinds of pods from the Paekaa tree of Oroxylums indicum family )and the tops of Faak Khaw (a kind of fruit from the Faak Khaw creepting plant) Fresh vegetables are Thua pu, Phaak Hin, Phaak Poom Pla (a kind of short- life circle plant with its tender stem) and the tops of wild olive leaves.
Medicinal value: Fresh Tamarind Chilli Paste helps get rid of phlegm in the intestines, releases the bowel movement, improves women’s blood circulation and stimulates the appetite.
2. Nam Prig Maengda (Chilli Sause with Water bug)
Medicinal Value : Nam Prig Maengda helps stimulate the appetite, gets rid of chest and stomach discomfort, and nourishes the body’s wind element
3. Nam Prig Plaa Too with Tamlyn’s (Shrimp Paste Dip)
Medicinal Value: Plaa Too(Mackerel) provides proteins; Vegetables give vitamins and minerals. Tamlyn has its value reducing sugar in blood and getting rid of internal heat.
4. Tom Yam Kung (Sour Prawn Soup)
Medicinal value: Tom Yam Kung helps get rid of sweat, relieves discomfort and stimulates appetite.
5. Kuai Tieo Phad Thai (Thai Fried Noodles)
The South
Phaak Mhieng is the Southern Queen of vegetables. With its sweet, creamy flavor, this vegetable gives a high quality of nutrition, causing the body’s strength. Chewing the fresh and young Phaak Mieng leaves helps reduce the thirstiness.
1. Phaad Phaak Mhiendg Sai Kung Haeng (Fried Phaak Mhieng with Dried Shrimp)
2. Kaeng Lyang (Southern Style Soups
Medicinal value: This Southern Style Soup helps get rid of stipulation, stomach discomfort and body nourishment. Fishes cooked in the soup give proteins.
3. Kaeng Taai plaa (Fish Kidney Soup)
This Soutern Style Soup gets rid of sweat, and wind; helps digestion and bowel movement.
4. Phaad Saator Sai Kapi (Fried Saator’s seeds with Shrimp Paste)
Medicinal value: Food cooked with saator seeds helps stimulate appetite.
5. Kaaw Yam (Rice Mixed with Various Kinds of Herbs in Southern Style)
Medicinal value: The Southern-Style mixed rice is a kind of medicinal food to improve the body’s chemical elements. Khaaw Yam consists of many flavors: creamy flavor of coconut meat, sour flavor of raw mangoes and lime, and salty and sweet from the “boodoo” sauce (a kind of sauce taken with Khaaw Yam ) along with the hot flavor from powdered chillies.


 

Thai/Lao Classic Hot Sauce

Author: Manivan Larprom
Recipe for the Classic Thai / Lao Hot Sauce:
Ingredients: 1 garlic clove; 1 Red Chili; 1 Green Chili; 1 tablespoon squeezed Lime; 1 tablespoon Fish Sauce
Instructions: In a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic and chilies until they are in small pieces. Add squeezed lime and fish sauce and mix. Pour the Classic Thai / Lao Hot Sauce into a small dipping bowl for serving. The above ingredients can be multiplied to suit the number of servings.
You can substitute soy sauce for fish sauce but it would not be authentic nor classic.
Pour this sauce over rice or dip the sauce with sticky rice and grilled meat.
The basic ingredients that are used in Thailand and Laos include: garlic, chilies, fish or soy sauce, lime or rice vinegar, and sugar. However, the proportion of each ingredient varies depending on the dish and the cook. With the exception of dessert dishes, these ingredients are in most Thai and Lao dishes. Every dish has a unique balance of these basic ingredients.
For a gourmet flavour: grill the garlic, chilies, one or two cherry tomotoes, and one quartre grilled onion bulb. Crush them in a mortar and pestle. Mix two tablespoons each of fish sauce and fresh squeezed lime. Serve this at a barbeque gathering.
A Thai or Lao home is not complete without a mortar and pestle. The mortar is usually made from clay and pestle from wood. For the authentic taste and texture of Thai and Lao food, you need to invest in a mortar and pestle. For now, use a food processor until you get one.
Visit my blog at http://www.thai-laos-food.blogspot.com/ to view the instructional video on how the sauce is made by using the traditional method of a mortar and pestle.

About the Author

A Thai / Laos girl who has a mission to teach others on how to cook Thai and Lao food. Her blog at http://www.thai-laos-food.blogspot.com/ lists many recipes. As well, there are some instructional videos that show the traditional cooking methods that are used today in Thailand and Laos.

Getting Introduced to Thai Food

Author: Napatr Lindsley
Are you having a standard American dinner tonight? Bored with chicken, potatoes, salad and pasta? Thinking of Thai food but nah it seems hard to cook? Well, Thai food should be easy and quick to prepare. In Thailand, street food or food vendors are everywhere in a city or small town. There are all kinds of street food, appetizers, noodle soup, curry, desserts, fruits, etc. I would say this is our way of life in Thailand. It is common to find a very good food vendor, even better than a restaurant. Most street vendors in Thailand did not go to a culinary school. How do they make such yummy food? Mostly it is from helping in a kitchen.
As I mentioned, Thai food is prepared easily and quickly. Thai food is all about putting the right ingredients together. In America, finding a restaurant that serves authentic Thai food can be somewhat challenge especially if you are not living in a big city. I have been to many Thai restaurants in Oregon, and most of them offer Thai food that is very Americanized. Some dishes are way too far from the original Thai food except the name of the dish.
If you have not been to a Thai restaurant or eaten much Thai food before, going to your local Thai restaurant is an option to get acquainted with Thai dishes. Go with your friends so that you can try a variety of dishes. Also, using the Internet, you can find authentic Thai recipes. You might ask what kinds of elements define an authentic Thai recipe.
Ingredients make a difference. If a recipe requires lots of standard American vegetables, it is not likely to be a real Thai recipe. If you find a recipe that has lots of unrecognized names or something that is uncommon to find in the local grocery store, that might be it. For example, in Thailand, a green curry dish has four main vegetables: Thai eggplants, pea eggplants, kaffir lime leaves and Thai basil. Americanized green curry might have green beans, carrots, eggplants, or perhaps tomatoes.
If this is your first time to make a Thai dish, plan ahead. Find the dish you like on the Internet or in a Thai cookbook. Learn about the ingredients and visit either a local or online Asian grocery store. Templeofthai.com and importfood.com are popular websites specializing in authentic Thai ingredients and products. They carry almost everything from flour, sauces, curry paste, noodles, cookware, fresh produce and vegetables.
Don’t be discouraged. Really, making Thai food is not too complicated. It is easy once you have and know your ingredients.
Another component is having the right cooking equipment. Many people say having a wok is a minimum requirement, but I would say it depends. It is a nice thing to have. If you have an electric stove, using a wok is not going to do much for some dishes. But if you have a gas stove, adding a wok in your kitchen could spice up your meals because of how gas stoves distribute heat. I have a wok at home but also an electric stove. So I do not really use my wok that much at all because with the electric stove, it does not distribute heat evenly to the side of the wok. Mortar and pestle are needed if you like to make your own paste. Many people find ways to use a food processor instead. It is certainly a substitute, but in my opinion, it does not deliver the same texture of paste.
When you are ready to cook, following your recipe directions is a good start. However, when it comes to taste, follow your own preference, given that taste varies from person to person. You will need to find your own balance for seasoning your dish. If the recipe tells you to add 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, add 1 tablespoon first. Taste it and see how you like it. If you would like more, then add more. As my mom always told me, “it is easier to fix the taste if you add little at the beginning. If you add too much at first, you might not be able to fix it.”
Thai cuisine is versatile and offers a range of flavors and textural variety. It is aesthetically pleasing, and there are many ways to make Thai cuisine part of an enjoyable culture experience. Cheers to Thai food!

About the Author

Learn Authentic Thai Cooking at http://thaicookinghouse.com

Noodles and More at Noodle Bar - Restaurants in Hyderabad

By Shah Barkha

What you see - Simple yet elegant, and small yet big, the Noodle Bar at Hyderabad Central offers a lot more besides loads of noodle delights. Now it seems to be a modestly sized restaurant from the foyer but the saying, 'Looks can be deceptive' turns out to be dead right with this one! Because very soon you will learn that the three juxtaposed restaurants - Bombay Blue, Noodle Bar and Copper Chimney - are owned by a single family and come under the Blue Foods banner.

Enter into any of these three restaurants where glass acts as a dividing wall, and you, by all means will get a feel of being present in one huge restaurant. Though the kitchens are separate since they serve different cuisines, the bar is common for all the three. The bar serves cocktails, mocktails and alcohol.

What you get - Basically serving lunch and dinner, the menu at the Noodle Bar features Thai, Japanese, Chinese and other types of Oriental cuisine and is quite vast with both the starters as well as the main course. One good thing about the menu is that it is self-explanatory. If the quaint names of some of the dishes make you wonder, then the accompanying description give you a lucid account of what to expect.

Try their special Tom Yam Thai (Thai soup with noodles, veggies and wantons) and dim sums for starters. Another specialty of the place is the Teppanyaki sizzlers. Try these out if you would like to get an idea of the Japanese style of cooking. These are available in both the vegetarian and the non-vegetarian variety.

If you, however, are of the kinds who prefers to stick to what you usually eat then go ahead and get your own choice of tossed noodles made. The servings here are (more than) sufficient for one person. Otherwise the Noodle Bar Signature - a combo of rice and noodles with vegetables - can stand as a meal in itself. By the way, there is no better way of ending it than with the sizzling brownie here. A scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with heavenly hot chocolate fudge is how we would define it.

The verdict - If your craving for a perfect Chinese luncheon has remained unfulfilled of late, then Noodle Bar is a good and a gratifying option. Veggies have enough to choose from over here even though it serves non-vegetarian food as well. You need not wait long for your meal to arrive here. Hospitality, in fact, may just become another reason for you to step in again. All in all, a great way to end your shopping endeavor at Hyderabad Central.

Hyderabad Restaurants has been written by Shah Barkha for MetroMela Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shah_Barkha

Tags: Restaurants

Thai Recipes And Cuisine

By Sunil Tanna

Thai food offers many delicious dishes flavored with spices, lemon-grass or coconut - although different regions of Thailand, each tend to have their own preferred ingredients - for example, coconut milk and tumeric in the South, and lime juice in the Northeast. No matter what part of the country a dish is from, all Thai dishes or meals aim to achieve a balance between fundamental flavors common to the cuisine: spicy hot, sour, sweet and salty, as well as optionally bitter.

Rice forms an important and fundamental part of Thai food, and jasmine rice (which is native to Thailand) is used in many dishes as well as being served plain. Some other popular Thai dishes include:

- Pad Thai - Fried rice noodles with fish sauce, sugar, lime or tamarind, peanuts and egg, mixed with chicken, tofu or seafood.

- Pad see ew - noodles stir-fried with thinly sliced pork or chicken, and flavored with fish sauce.

- Green curry - A curry flavored with coconut, green chillies, and Thai basil, containing vegetables and chicken or fish.

- Red curry - A very hot curry made with plenty of red chillies.

- Yellow curry - A curry that is colored using fresh tumeric (hence its yellow color), and also containing black mustard seeds, cumin, nutmeg, brown sugar, kaffir lime leaves, lime juice, coconut milk and fish sauce.

- Gai pad khing - Fried chicken with vegetables and sliced ginger.

- Tom yam - A hot and sour soup made with seafood (often shrimp) or chicken.

- Som tam - Grated papaya salad. There are several variations: the salad can be served with salted black crab, with peanuts, shrimps and palm sugar, or with salted fish, eggplant, and long beans.

- Satay - Originally from Indonesia, Satay has also become a popular dish in Thailand. Satay is grilled meat (usually chicken or pork), usually on skewers, served with cucumber salad and a peanut sauce.

Originally published at http://www.recipesmaniac.com/cook_thai.php - visit this site for more information, photographs and Thai cook books.

Discover more about recipes and cooking at http://www.recipesmaniac.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sunil_Tanna

Tags: history thai food, Thai Recipes

What Makes Thai Herbs Amazing?

By Saras Jantarateptawan
here are many things that are characteristics of Thailand, and have made a brand name for Thailand. These are Thai boxing, Thai dance, Thai silk, Thai rice, Thai fruits and of course, Thai food. The ingredients that make Thai food amazing are Thai 'herbs', which, together with 'spices', have been ingeniously blended in Thai cuisine. The recipes of Thai food have as their main ingredients.

Although most herbs are used are used as condiments or seasoning materials, Thai hers are somewhat different from all other herbs. They have characteristic taste and aroma that are not found in other herbs. They have characteristic taste and aroma that are not found in other herbs. For example, 'Horapha' or Thai basil (Ocimum basilicum), the same species as the well-known sweet basils, has distinct aroma and flovor from that of other sweet basils and is well suited for several Thai dishes, which cannot be replaced with other sweet basils or other herbal materials. These dishes include 'Kaeng Khieo Wan', 'Kaeng Phet', 'Phat Makheua Yao', stc.

Similarly, 'Kaphrao' or Thai holy basil (Ocimun tenuiflorum), has a distinct flavor and aroma from other holy basil (which has rarely been used as herbs as herbs in other countries); it has made Thai dishes, such as 'Kai Pat Bai Kaphrao', very well known to the Thais as well as foreigners. 'Maeng Lak' or hairy basil (Ocimum americanum) is indispensable in 'Khanom Chin Nam Ya' and 'Kaeng Riang'. 'Makrut' or kaffir lime (Citrus hvstrix) whose leaves are used in many Thai dishes, gives a unique aroma and flavorl it is a major ingredient of the world famous Thai soup, known as 'Tom Yam Kung'. Like Thai spices, Thai herbs are uniquely blended with Thai dishes such that they are inseoarable. 'Tom Yam Kung'.

For example, is world famous because it contains a blend of many herbs (and also a few spices), among them kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass stem, lime juice and chili (the last three, although not the leafy nor soft flowering parts of plant, but are treated here as herbs since they come from fleshy part of the plant). Two other related types of Thai dishes, 'Yam' and 'Phla'.

Will not taste as good without such herbs as kitchen mint, lemon grass and lime.
In addition to adding flavor to the dishes, most Thai herbs also provide health benefits from their inherent medicinal properties. Thus, it is fair to say that Thai herbs. With their beautiful form with nice green color, are added as a flavoring, seasoning, or garnish, making Thai dishes both tasty and beautiful, as well as soothing the stomach with their stomach with their refreshing and medicinal properties.

http://www.shineherbgroup.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Saras_Jantarateptawan

Tags: healthy thai food, Tom Yam, history thai food

Thailand Tour 2008 Day 1

By Hoo Don

Hello and welcome from the Land of Smiles. Arrived on time, well fed and refreshed. Thank you Bangkok for your smoking rooms. Went straight through immigration and customs no problem and was met by my girlfriend the Wonderful Wi. Stepping outside the terminal we dropped straight inside the giant wok that is Thailand. Red hot and full of spice.We headed straight for the taxi rank and were greeted by a just landed American gentleman.

Chat, chat, spiel and he then says to me "London, heathrow, did you fly from that goddamn terminal 5." Couldn't resist it, tapped my suitcase and answered "still got this so I don't think so". The taxi pulled up and it was your stereotyped blacker than black sunglasses taxi man. You just had to hope behind the glasses sat whiter than white clear brown eyes and not the man who had lost his only girlfriend to his elder brother and they were now married with two children. In Thailand 99.9% of men faced with a steering wheel turn into a gung ho go kart racer, slap on some taxi stickers, a meter and a sign on top and you quickly accelerate into the final minute of grand Prix qualifying.

In this situation you hope he's not colour blind, the severely frayed seat belts are part of the design and the air bag is not at that minute being expertly withdrawn from a corpse in some Bangkok morgue. I spun life's coin and lost. Excuse the pun but we arrived in Hua Hin quicker than expected. The fare was settled, I gave a monetary tip and added one from life, "If you ever take up hot air ballooning fill the basket full with sand". He didn't understand and I didn't care. He screamed away from the starting grid with me praying to my new found god that I would never be crossing the lights he was approaching on the day his elder brother had won the national lottery.We entered the hotel lobby very nervously and I was surprised to see the the floor wasn't coated in eggshells but an old style Thai brown floor tile.

The Araya hotel appears to be a cozy I guess family run hotel situated 70 metres from the beach. Absolutely perfect.We showered and then entered the cocktail of bars and restaurants that form the pulse we are now within. The highlight of our day was a shared 4 course meal, eaten overlooking the beach. Tom yum kung (spicy prawn soup), beef and vegetables surfacing on top of a rich sweet sauce, deep fried battered prawns and then my favourite, rice fried with coconut, sultanas and prawns, served in a pineapple boat. Washed down with a beer and water melon juice the bill huffed and puffed but couldn't quite reach 15 euros. Amazing Thailand. We spent the evening at a night market, Wi shopping, me drinking, the way I like it. Don't know what time it is where you are but its 12-02 here, gotta go, first day, very tired. Good luck and god bless the mess you may be in.

Feel free to visit my website Beyond The Mango Juice at http://www.thaisabai.org

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hoo_Don

Tags: Trevel in Thailand, Thai Food, thai food menu, history thai food

A Tantalising Thai Dinner Party

By Randa Magdi

I'm not sure about where you live but here in Sydney, Thai food is so popular that most suburbs have at least one Thai restaurant if not 20! This may be a bit of an exaggeration but you get the drift - it's capital "P" for popular!

So, when you're planning a dinner party at home it makes sense to serve your guests a type of food that people seem to love. Thai food is your perfect option. It's exotic, clean and light and best of all, delicious!

Thai cuisine is known for its balance of five fundamental flavors. Most Thai dishes tend to incorporate all of these flavors if not most. These flavors are:

- hot (spicy - chili)

- sour (vinegar, lime juice, tamarind)

- sweet (soft brown sugar, fruits, sweet peppers)

- salty (soy sauce, fish sauce)

- bitter (which is optional)

The great thing with Thai food is that instead of dried herbs they use a lot of fresh herbs and spices and fish sauce. The aromas are sensational.

Since 95% of Thais are Buddhists, they leave religious offerings of fruit at the base of a Buddha statue with burning candles, incense and the like in restaurants. There is a peacefulness that this brings as you lay witness to the scene. You will also often find photos of their much loved and long serving King.

You could re-create a Thai space in your dining room by adding the smell of a subtle incense and making the lighting softer than usual. If you don't have a light dimmer try lighting the dining room with some candles or lamps to create a lovely ambiance.

If you can get hold of some Thai classical music this would be lovely for background sound - or at else some other oriental-inspired music.

Thais don't generally use chop sticks to eat - rather a fork and a dessert-like spoon but if you want the Asian touch (Thailand is in South-East Asia) feel free to provide each guest with a pair of chopsticks. Consider a wooden or bamboo place mat at each guest's place.

As a centerpiece to your table you could fill a long shallow bowl with water and place floating candles atop. You could also try to purchase some exotic looking flowers. On my trips to Thailand, orchids and the like have adorned the table settings. The whole experience of eating is pure pleasure.

For starters you could serve one of their delicious soups like a hot and spicy Tom Yum Goong (spicy and sour prawn soup) or a Tom Yum Kai which is similar but with chicken.

You could also serve Thai fish cakes, spring rolls in rice paper, curry puffs, satay chicken or deep fried chicken wings - with dipping sauce of course.

For main - stir fries, whole fish, Thai curries (green, red, yellow, Masaman, etc) or the ever popular noodle dishes like Pad Thai or Pad See Yu. Don't forget the steamed rice served in a covered rice bowl in a central position on your table, so people can help themselves.

A platter of fresh exotic fruit or a mango sticky rice dish is wonderful for dessert.

You see, there are just so many recipe choices for your Thai meal. I would suggest checking the Internet for free recipes or getting hold of an easy Thai recipe book.

Most of the ingredients you will need are easily available at your local Asian specialty food store.

For more dinner party ideas feel free to visit my http://www.dinnerpartyideas.blogspot.com

I love good food and good wine and I love to socialize. Dinner parties give me the opportunity to indulge both my passions. I love dinner parties so much that I host a blog which provides ideas for your next dinner party. They provide such a great way to catch up with the important people in your life.

People love to be invited to dinner parties because they can enjoy an excellent event of great food and company and all it costs usually is a bottle of wine - and maybe a taxi fare home. But it's not about the money - it's just great to be spoiled by your hosts.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Randa_Magdi

Tags: Trevel in Thailand, Thai Food, history thai food

Thai Dinner For Two

By Napatr Lindsley
Do you have an anniversary, birthday, or other special day with your significant other coming up? Try a romantic Thai dinner, either dining out or cooking and dining in. There are many delicious and interesting meals to enjoy! Sometimes it is quite a challenge to come up with great menu selections. One might spend lots of time looking up or researching all the Thai dishes. There are really more than enough to choose from, and many great combinations, so don't beat yourself up trying to plan. This article outlines some choices for each part of the dinner.

Appetizers

Choosing a start up dish sometimes can be challenging. Try to choose a dish that is not too heavy. Choose a light dish but yet one that teases you to want more. My first choice would be "Kra Thong Thong", golden pastry cups with minced chicken and chopped vegetables. This appetizer is a cute little cup that will definitely impress him or her. The next choice is "Miang Kam", leaf-wrapped tidbits. This can be a fun thing to do and create nice start up conversations. It involves wrapping several kinds of little tiny items in a leaf, along with a sweet-and-salty sauce. The items include shredded roasted coconut, peanuts, diced lime, diced ginger, diced shallots and chilies. Third choice is "Po Pia Tod", deep-fried spring rolls.

Main course

Whether you are vegetarian or a seafood or chicken lover, don't worry, there is always plenty to choose from. Let's start with how many dishes to order or make. For 2 people, I would say 2-4 dishes. If you are dining out, two dishes are enough for two but might not have variety. Three to four dishes will definitely leave some leftovers for later days. However, if you are planning to cook them yourself, you can make a smaller amount of each dish. This way you can have more dishes for variety. Here are some different combinations of dishes.

* Combination 1: for those who like things just a little bit spicy
o Khao Ob Subparod: fried rice with meat, pineapple, onions and cashew nuts, baked in a pineapple
o Kaeng Kiaw Waan: a slightly sweet green curry with meat and vegetables
o Gai Pad Med Ma Muang Him Ma Paan: stir-fried chicken and cashew nuts
o Chu Chi: stir-fried fish (or shrimp) with kaffir lime leaves, Thai sweet basil (Bai Ho Ra Pha) and chu chi chili paste

* Combination 2: for those who like medium spicy food
o Khao Pad Poo: fried rice with crab meat, eggs, tomatoes, onion and cilantro
o Phanaeng: Thai southern style dry curry with meat, kaffir lime leaves and coconut milk
o Gai Ho Bai Toey: fried chicken wrapped in pandanus leaf
o Ho Mok Ta Le: steamed seafood custard
* Combination 3: for those who love spicy food
o Tom Yum Moo Pa: hot and sour soup with wild boar, mushrooms, cilantro, lemongrass, nam prik pao paste and chilies
o Kaeng Leung: a hot yellow curry, most common meat used is fish. Other ingredients are winter melon, chilies, garlic, turmeric, lemon grass, shallots and shrimp paste
o Poo Jaa: steamed crab with pork
o Pad Ped Tua Fak Yao Moo: stir-fried long beans and pork with red curry paste
* Combination 4: for seafood lovers

o Goong Pad Yod Ma Proaw: stir-fried prawns with heart of palm
o Poo Kan Chiang Nueng: steamed crab sculls
o Hoi Lai Pad Ped: stir-fried clams with Thai sweet basil (Bai Ho Ra Pha) and roasted chili paste
o Hoi Nang Rom Sod: fresh oysters with chilies and garlic dipping sauce

Desserts

To end your meal, it is great to aim for the right dessert that will perfect the dinner. After a non-spicy or spicy main course, something light is always a good choice. Some may already have an idea for dessert, Khao Niaw Ma Muang (mango with sticky rice). For a romantic dinner, I personally would choose something else. This is because sticky rice can be a bit too heavy as a dessert choice. You can be too full to eat but feel you should eat. So I would go with something nice and cold like Thai coconut Ice cream with ground peanuts sprinkled on top. Just a scoop or two would be enough. My second choice would be "Nam Kang Sai." This dessert is a combination of 2-3 items of assorted fruits, beans or sticky rice with shaved ice on top.

As you choose your dishes, consider how the taste, color and presentation go together. In doing so, you might find ways to improve the combinations. For example, to get you started, it is generally better not to choose food all of one color, or all chicken dishes or all spicy dishes. Try to balance one dish with another and create a harmony of dishes. This can help give you different tastes of sweet, salty, sour, bitter or spicy, and make the experience all the more enjoyable. Take these recommendations and run with them! The best part comes from your familiarity with what you and your significant other like, so have fun customizing. Bon appetit and have a nice dinner!

Napatr Lindsley

Get authentic Thai recipes at http://thaicookinghouse.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Napatr_Lindsley

Tags: Thai Food, thai food menu, history thai food, Trevel in Thailand

Budget Dining In Orlando Florida

Who says that you have to spend big bucks to get a good meal? If you are vacationing in Orlando you can try out a number of local restaurants that serve good food at prices that won’t break your budget. Here is an introduction to some of my favorite budget restaurants in the Orlando area.

Bennigan's Grill & Tavern
(Many Locations)


Bennnigan’s boasts of offering 100 types of beer and other drinks as well, making its alcoholic menu greater than its food menu. The food is served in a loud, lively atmosphere. Some specialties include the fire-roasted salsa shrimp, charbroiled and basted in a smoky sauce, the Monte Cristo, combining ham, turkey, and Swiss and American cheeses on wheat bread that has been dipped in batter and deep fried. If you are watching your weight there are several healthy, low calorie "Health Club" dishes.

Bubbalou's Bodacious Bar-B-Cue
5818 Conroy Rd.
Orlando, FL 32819

Bubbalou's is considered by local residents to be one of the best rib restaurants in the area. You can order at the counter, get a drink and then sit down at a picnic table. You can try the chopped pork sandwiches and the "Texas caviar," cold black-eyed peas in a spicy vinaigrette. In addition to the ribs you can choose from the chicken, lamb and smoked turkey. All of these cooked over an open-pit fire. Be careful for their "killer" sauce, it can destroy your taste-buds! The restaurant has been voted Central Florida and Orlando's Favorite BBQ Restaurant and BBQ Catering Service by the readers of the Orlando Sentinel

IHOP
(Many Locations)

This chain has been serving mouth watering breakfasts for over 40 years. They've got a wide variety of pancakes to choose from, including Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Banana Nut Pancakes, Buttermilk Pancakes, Country Griddle CakesSM, and fruit-topped pancakes. They also serve a selection of Crepe Style International Pancakes and French Toast.

Thai Thani

This restaurant is known for its authentic Thai cuisine and the Thai Thani Restaurant is a must-visit destination for lovers of Thai food. In addition to the authentic food, it has a décor to match. Thai artwork and furniture contribute to an ambience that makes you feel like you are dining at a palace in Bangkok.

Hard Rock Cafe Orlando

Located at Universal Studios Orlando in the CityWalk entertainment complex, this Hard Rock Cafe is the biggest HRC in the world and boasts more pieces of rock 'n' roll memorabilia than any other location.

These are just some of the places in Orlando where you can eat to your heart’s content and still stay within your budget. Try them out when you come to Orlando.

By:

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Mark Whichard and his wife Susan are experts in the field of Orlando vacation rentals with experience dating to 1998. Visit their website: www.orlandodisneyvillas.com/ for more information about renting villas or homes in Orlando.

Tags: history thai food, Thai Recipes, Thai Food

Bamboo

Bamboo’s inventive pan-Asian menu roams far beyond sushi, shumai dumplings, and satay skewers. And its knockout modern space makes diners forget they are eating in a mall anchored by a CVS and an Applebee’s.

Owner Daniel Chong is equally adept at cuisine and ambience. He’s the guy dressed like Che Guevara—with a cotton beret and cargo pants— lounging around the front sushi bar every night. By day Chong runs his own construction company. He envisioned Bamboo’s unlikely but harmonious aesthetic: a high ceiling crisscrossed by silvery ventilation ducts, walls inset with bamboo stalks, and a slate floor with a walking path paved with sole-tickling round river stones.


“Restaurants are in my blood,” says Chong, 38, who grew up “chopping veggies and shelling shrimp” in a traditional Japanese eatery his mother owned in Wilmington, Delaware. Chong ran a pair of Manhattan sushi bars. When he tired of commuting to the city from his home in Englewood Cliffs, he brought pan-Asian chow to the northern reaches of Bergen County in the form of Bamboo, which opened in February.

With a Korean father and a Japanese mother, Chong jokes that he himself is pan-Asian. So for Bamboo he hired a pair of chefs—Hong Lee Kim from Seoul and Sura Sak Chatsawang from Bangkok, whom Chong calls Tony—to cook their native dishes. Kim is also a master of Japanese cooking. Bamboo’s sushi rolls—with hits of mango and jalapeño, and dipping sauces such as wasabi aioli—are Chong’s doing. His menu tends toward sushi and Thai food, with a few Korean dishes, including beef short ribs.

Bamboo’s sushi rolls are made with softer-than-usual rice and are best eaten with the hands (standard procedure in Japan). I especially liked the tropical roll (tuna, salmon, avocado, and mango), the spider roll (soft-shell crab tempura and avocado), and the eel trio (lots of broiled eel and eel sauce). Kim’s beef ribs were tender and tasty. However, the walnut-crusted salmon entrée would have been more accurately described as walnut-sprinkled. The sesame-crusted seared tuna, while beautifully pink, proved bland.

It is the unconventional main courses that fuel the excitement at Bamboo. For pure palate pleasure, consult chef Chatsawang’s Thai menu. Tom yum kung lemongrass soup is piquant with cilantro and loaded with shrimp. Tom kha kai, Thailand’s classic coconut-chicken soup, is velvety and subtly sweet, not cloying. The Thai noodles, curries, and stir-fries are almost up to this standard; I would prefer more chili spicing and less green and bell pepper in these dishes.

Still, pad thai is fun to eat, laden with savory chunks, rather than ground bits, of shrimp, scrambled egg, and peanut. Chatsawang prepares his satisfying curries in three regional varieties: green curry, with a basil note; red, with a kiss of coconut; and royal massaman, with potato and sweet onion. Flat-noodle dishes balance tender meat and crunchy vegetables well, and are tossed either with Thai chili-basil sauce or Chinese brown sauce.

Desserts are all over the map: uninspiring bistro-esque chocolate lava cake; so-so crème brûlée; Japanese red bean and green tea ice cream. None of Bamboo’s sweets transported me. But it didn’t matter, because I was already in Thai heaven.

By: Christopher Cartre

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Click here to read the rest of Bamboo. If you enjoyed this article, you also might like our other stories that talk about NJ Restaurants.

Tags: Thai Food, Thai Recipes, healthy thai food, history thai food

Travel & Enjoy The Cuisine In Asia (Thailand)

Travel & Enjoy The Cuisine In Asia (Thailand) by james@holiday-velvet.com

Thai food has become the world’s most popular cuisines. It is highly regarded as culinary forms throughout the world. Influenced by Indian and Chinese cookery skills, Thai cuisine has combined those arts and created the uniqueness of its own. Like all local and national foods, the Thai cuisine exposes a great deal about the country.

Thai cuisine is known for its spicy, sour, sweet, salty and bitter flavors. Thai food is popular in many Western countries especially in Australia, New Zealand, some European countries including the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. Each Thai restaurant has its own specialties.

Some of the most-preferred dishes of Thailand are Kai Ho Bai Toei, Thotman Plakrai or Thotman Kung, Fish or shrimp fritters; Yam or Thai salad, Tomyam (hot and sour soup); curry and namprik with fish vegetables the sweets famous in Thailand are salim, thapthim krop, lotchunng, khanom chan, coconut-cream gelatine, thong yot, foi thong etc.

Thai Curry – There are four main curries in Thai cuisine including green, red, yellow and massaman. The curry pastes made from herbs and spices are the heart of all Thai curries. Its main ingredients are chili, garlic, shallot, galangal, coriander root and krachai.
Titbits – These can be appetizers, accompaniments, side dishes or snacks. They comprise satay, spring rolls, puffed rice cakes with herbed topping.
Thai Noodles – Thailand is also famous for its fragrant stir-fried noodle dishes. Most Thai noodle recipes call for rice noodles rather than those made with wheat or egg, although these can also be found in Thai cooking. Some of the popular Thai noodle dishes are Pad See-U, Land-Da Noodle, Pad Thai, Pad Woon Sen, and Pad Kee-Mow.

Salads – Thai salads are an important part of Thailand’s foods. Thai salads are sour, sweet and salty. It is prepared from fish sauce, lime juice and a dash of sugar. Fresh herbs like marsh mint, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and cilantro are used for garnishing. Enjoy different salads varieties in Thailand including Som tam, Larb, Namtok, Yam, Thai Grilled Chicken Salad, Rose Petal Salad, Tossed Green Salad with Cashews, Pineapple Salad with Cucumber, Peanuts, & Fresh Herbs and much more.

Thai Meat Dishes – Thai cuisine is incomplete without having Thai meat dishes. Some of the popular meat dishes are Chicken Curry, Gaeng Gari Gai, Green Bean Curry, Masaman Curry with Beef, Pineapple Prawn Curry, Ginger Chicken, Laab Gai, Spicy Chicken with Thai Basil etc.

Thai Soups – These are really tangy. Some of the best varieties of Thai soups are Tom Yum Gung, Tom Kha Gai, Authentic Thai Coconut Soup, Cindy's Thai Hot and Sour Soup, Duck Legs in Green Curry, Spicy Chicken Thai Noodle Soup and Hot-and-Sour Prawn Soup with Lemon Grass.


Orson Johnson writes for Holiday Velvet, a website providing listings for apartments, bed and breakfasts, Bangkok vacation apartments, hotels and Bangkok holiday accommodation.



Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Travel-&-Enjoy-The-Cuisine-In-Asia-(Thailand)/253241

Tags: Trevel in Thailand, history thai food

10 Holiday Ideas For Enjoying Food And Drink

Although human beings do not necessarily live to eat, they certainly have developed a fine sense of taste. Food and drink is such an essential component of one’s existence that it is quite unsurprising that tourism has now included it as a concept. Here are ten destinations in the world that are known for holidays where one can enjoy food and drink.

1. Corsica - Holidaying in Corsica has a large ingredient of enjoying the hearty food native to the region. The wild boar stews, among other typical dishes, are made according to traditional recipes. Chestnuts are native to the land and Olive oil production is big; the wildflower honey that is harvested there is among the best in the world.


2. Cyprus - Cyprus prefers to stick to their locally grown produce for their cuisine. Exotic fruit like kiwi, olives, citrus fruit, and figs grow in abundance here. Sample the carob that grows liberally in the region, and some of the delicious sweets. There is soutzoukos which is a sweet grape paste containing lots of nuts, stafidakia which are sun-dried raisins, and hiromeri, smoked pork leg.

3. Napoli - On a food holiday in Napoli, have breakfast like a local – a shot of espresso as an accompaniment to a cornetto pastry. Lunch for most working individuals is a takeaway pizza wrapped in paper. Fritters with seaweed are popular munchies in the Neapolitan day. The buffalo mozzarella cheese is unrivalled.

4. Spain - Spain is known for its exquisite and unique dishes, its spicy and delightful cuisine is a favourite with food lovers all over the globe. spanish wines accompany the food and are often used in cuisine.

5. France - France is one of the best places to understand and enjoy top class cuisine. Bordeaux, France’s wine making region is a great place to learn about wine. Wine tasting tours in France have been all the rage for quite a while now, and most of the visitors are housed in the old chateaux in the region.

6. Cambodia - Cambodian cuisine is based mainly around fresh fish and rice, with stewed meats liberally thrown in, and accompaniments like spicy vegetables, seafood fritters and shrimp concoctions. The cuisine is essentially fusion, inspired from neighbouring countries in the Orient.

7. Thailand - Thailand is a beautiful country, steeped richly in culture and heritage. Thailand is a great place to enjoy seafood and sample spicy cuisine. Cooking Thai food starts in the marketplace, buying local fresh produce.

8. Vietnam - Vietnamese cuisine is inspired a great deal by Indian, Cambodian and Thai cuisines, and there is a liberal use of coconut milk in various preparations. The meals also consist of many different kinds of tropical fruit, not available in the cooler areas up north. Vietnam tourism also has a number of package tours, designed to combine sightseeing and experiencing its cuisine, hand in hand.

9. Mexico - San Miguel de Allende is known for its exceptional culinary features, and its rich array of art galleries and boutiques. Cooking holidays in Mexico are journeys through the exultant culture that pervades every aspect of life. This is a chance to learn how to make perfect salsas and burritos, with coffee flavoured with chocolate, and to mix the perfect marguerita.

10. India - India is such a large nation that its cuisine depends on each state. Currently taking the world by storm is one of the South Indian cuisines from the state of Kerala. Rich in fish and coconuts, this cuisine is delicately spiced and flavoured. Learn the Kerala cuisine living on a houseboat, floating across the scenic backwaters of the beautiful Indian state.

By: james@holiday-velvet.com

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Orson Johnson writes for Holiday Velvet, a website providing Vacation accommodation and Barcelona Rentals.

Tags: Thai Food, thai food menu, Trevel in Thailand, healthy thai food, history thai food, Tip

Thai Cuisine- A Thai Bath For The Shrimp

By Jonathan T. Teng
Thai cuisine is a classic mix of sweet, sour, salty and spicy. The Nam Prik is one such example from the Thai plate. The simplicity in the making of Nam prik makes it a favorite Thai dish. So much so that it is used as a dipping sauce with fried spring rolls, grilled vegetables and many more. Nam Prik can be prepared in lightening speed.

Grilled shrimp or vegetables with Nam prik is a must try combination. Sugar, Lime juice, freshly minced chillies and nam pla (a fermented fish sauce widely used in South East Asia) are the basic ingredients of the Nam prik. Nam pla has fast gained popularity amongst Westerners, but it will surely gain more popularity in days to come.

Adding finely minced ginger, garlic or even lemon grass to this would not do any harm to the taste. Nam prik can also be used to baste the shrimp or vegetables during grilling, that's why I do recommend you make Nam prik in extra quantities.

Any shrimp dish will be incomplete if I don't mention peeling and de-veining of the shrimps.

Generally, the cook does the peeling of the shrimp. The plus point about peeling is that it is very convenient for the guests. On the other side, the fact that shrimp tastes better when cooked in the shell. Confusing enough, you may decide how you want to cook the shrimps...

De-veining has never been my concern. I have seen some people objecting to de-veining of shrimps but really the cases have been very few. The vein in itself is tasty and I love that! Some southern shrimp eaters will totally agree with me on this and they believe it actually adds more flavor to it.

Shrimp with a touch of Nam prik, is called the Thai Bath...

-- Grilled Shrimp With Nam Prik --

~ 1 tablespoon sugar

~ 1 teaspoon minced chili, or to taste

~ 1-1/2 to 2 pounds large shrimp

~ 3 tablespoons lime juice, or to taste

~ 3 tablespoons Nam Pla (Thai fish sauce)

~ Salt

Start a charcoal or gas grill. Heat should be medium-hot and the rack no more than 4 inches from the heat source. You can also use a broiler if you prefer.

If you like, peel and devein shrimp.

Combine sugar, chili, lime juice and nam pla. Taste, and adjust seasoning.

Lightly salt shrimp, then grill them about 2 minutes to a side. Divide nam prik among 4 bowls, and serve as a dip for shrimp.

Jonathan writes for a famous online cooking newsletter Quick Easy Recipes Secrets. If you need delicious recipes and up to date cooking tips just visit: http://www.Easy-Recipes-Secrets.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jonathan_T._Teng

Tags: history thai food, namprik, Thai Food, thai food menu, Thai Recipes, Tip, Trevel in Thailand

Mouth-Watering Thai Desserts

By: Napatr Lindsley
Thai cuisine is famous for its intriguing delicacy and spiciness. However, Thai desserts have been overlooked. The three Thai desserts famous outside of Thailand are mango with sticky rice, deep-fried bananas and coconut ice cream. There is a broad tradition of desserts in Thailand over the centuries which offers many ideas and choices.

Thai desserts have long been with the Thai people, certainly back to the Sukhothai period (1238-1350). Thais had long traded with China and India, which helped in exchanging cultures and traditions as well, including food. In the Ayuthaya period (1350-1767), Thais started trading with Western countries. The Portuguese were the first westerners to introduce the use of eggs and the oven. Thai desserts like Thong Yip (Pinched Gold), Thong Yod (Drop of Gold) and Foi Thong (Golden Threads) originate from Portugal, not Thailand as most people would guess, including Thais.

Thai desserts are renowned for intricacy and elaborateness, their organization, and the punctilious and patient care with which they are created. Characteristic of Thai desserts is not only a range of sweetness, but also other elements such as a good fragrance, achieved starting delicately and exquisitely from the ingredient preparation to the final product. There are many methods to make Thai desserts, varying from steaming, baking, boiling, or deep frying, to complex processes like cooking egg yolks in syrup. The main ingredients for most Thai desserts include coconut milk, sugar, flour, eggs, salt, food coloring and fragrance.

To make high quality Thai desserts, fresh coconut is a must. Back in the old days, only fresh coconut was used in making Thai desserts. And at present, to make coconut milk, finely grated coconut meat is still steeped in warm water, not hot water. It is then squeezed until dry. The white fluid from the first press is called "Hua Ka Ti". Warm water is then added again to make the second and third pressed coconut milk, which is called "Hang Ka Ti." Finely grated coconut meat is generally used about 3 times and then discarded. Freshly pressed coconut milk has a better taste and aroma than commercial coconut milk in a can. However, with a fast pace of life, or the focus more on other elements of life, it becomes more common for a family to use commercial coconut milk.

Sugar is one of the main ingredients in Thai desserts. The two common sugars used in Thai desserts are Coconut Palm Sugar and Palm Sugar. Coconut palm sugar is made from coconut palm, whereas palm sugar is made from the sap of the sugar palm or palmyra palm, called Taan in Thai. Palm sugar is often used interchangeably with coconut palm sugar but they are different in many ways. For instance, palm sugar is dryer and more solid than coconut palm sugar. It is also more expensive than coconut palm sugar. In some dessert recipes, coconut palm sugar is often replaced with palm sugar. The replacement may lend the same general look to the dessert but the dessert will be different in taste and aroma.

Thai desserts are well known for their intriguing light tones. Generally the colors used to attract people are made from natural flowers or plants. The following are examples of the most common color sources used in Thai desserts:

Pandanus leaf (Bai Toey): giving a dark green color;

Spathe of coconut or palmyra palm leaf (Kab Ma Prao or Bai Taan) : giving a black color;

Turmeric (Kha Min): giving a yellow color;

Flower of Chitoria Tematea Linn (Dok Un Chun): giving a blue color (adding lime juice will give a purple color);

Flower of Aeginetia Pedunculata (Dok Din): giving a black color (but the flower is actually a dark purple color);

Saffron (Yah Fa Rang): giving a yellow-orangish color;

Roselle (Kra Jiab): giving a dark red (maroon-like) color;

Lac (Krang): giving a red color;

Fragrance is another unique characteristic of Thai desserts. There are many ways of making good aromas with Thai desserts but the most common ones are using jasmine flowers (Dok Ma Li), rosa damascene (Dok Ku Laab Mon - roses family), cananga odorata flowers (Dok Kra Dang Nga) as well as fragrant incense candles (Tien Ob). Since the old days, Thais love using jasmine water in desserts because of its aroma. Thais would pick jasmine flowers around 6pm and gently rinse with water so that the flowers do not get bruised. The jasmine flowers (Dok Ma Li) are then soaked in water with a closed lid, and left until around 6am-7am the next morning. The resulting scented water is then used to make the dessert. Keeping the jasmine flowers for more than 12 hours will start to bruise the flowers and the water will not have a good aroma. Rosa damascene (Dok Ku Laab Mon) is used in a different way. Thais only use the pedals. Each pedal is torn into 2 or 3 pieces and then placed in a closed container that has a dessert in it for a certain period of time, usually overnight. For cananga odorata flowers (Dok Kra Dang Nga), Thais first burn them with a fragrant incense candle, and then place only the pedals in a closed container that holds the dessert. For some desserts, burning fragrant incense candles next to desserts in closed containers will be enough to give the desserts an intricate aroma.

What are the common desserts that Thais eat? Thais loves desserts (called Khanom in Thai). The well known dessert is Mango with Sticky Rice, but it is a seasonal dessert, around April to June. Deep-fried banana fritters (Gluay Tod in Thai) or bananas in coconut milk (Gluay Buat Chee) are also well known desserts in Thai restaurants in the U.S. In Thailand, there are all kinds of desserts, both non-seasonal and seasonal, from deep-fried to steamed. Some of the most common Thai desserts include the egg-yolk desserts; Thong Yip (Pinched Gold), Thong Yod (Drop of Gold) and Foi Thong (Golden Threads). Thong simply means Gold. The color of these three desserts is a yellow-like golden color from the egg yolk, and is used to signify prosperity and auspiciousness. These "three musketeers" desserts are often used in wedding ceremonies or commemoration of a new house as well.

Khanom Chan or layered dessert is another common dessert. The name of the dessert comes from the fact that it has 9 layers with color variations. The dessert uses only 2 colors: white and a light tone of a color like green or purple. White is used in every other layer. This dessert is also used in important ceremonies like weddings or the grand opening of a new business. Thais believe the number "nine" is an auspicious number which represents progress and advancement.

One of my favorite desserts is Luk Choob. Made from mung dal beans, this dessert is a collection of miniature replicas of fruits and vegetables. The fruits and vegetables are colorful and glossy, artistically carved, and styled with vegetable dyes and glazed in the gelatin-like agaragar. Bua Loy Benjarong is another interesting dessert. Bua Loy Benjarong is gluten balls in coconut milk, a dish that has been with Thailand for over 200 years. The little balls, the size of the tip of the pinky, are made from sticky rice flour mixed with natural colors. Benjarong refers to 5 natural colors: green (from pandanus leaf), purple (from taro and Chitoria Tematea Linn flower), yellow (from pumpkin), blue (from Chitoria Tematea Linn flower) and white (from jasmine water).

Additionally, tapioca and black beans in coconut milk (Sakoo Tao Dum), coconut custard in a hollowed pumpkin (Sangkhaya Fak Thong), grilled coconut cakes (Paeng Jee), mung dal beans and lotus seeds with coconut topping (Tao Suan Med Bua) are desserts, to name a few, that are common in Thailand.

Thai desserts have always been a part of Thai culture. They reflect caring, patience and an enjoyable way of life. Unfortunately, as time passes, some of the traditions and beliefs are being forgotten in Thai society, although most kinds of desserts still exist. Their tempting and satisfying tastes leave a lasting impression - which is in turn an integral part of why Thai desserts have not been lost with time.
About the Author
Authentic Thai Recipes at http://thaicookinghouse.com/

Tags: food menu for thai food, healthy thai food, food with a salty taste

Spacer for free articles display Tips For Cooking Authentic Thai Food

By: Napatr Lindsley
Like Thai Food? Love to cook? Perhaps your first attempt did not turn out like in the picture or taste like at the restaurant. Well, do not give up on cooking Thai food. Some Thai dishes may seem difficult because of a long list of ingredients and instructions. Thai cooking is all about ingredients and preparation. In Thailand, frozen or canned food is not very common. Thais love fresh ingredients. Thailand is one of the lucky countries in the world that has abundant vegetables, exotic fruit, seafood, etc. There is a well-known verse in Thailand describing abundant food resources: "Nai Nam Mee Pla Nai Na Mee Khao" which means "In river, there is fish, in the field, there is rice." This article will start with some general tips and then move in to specific tips for each food category.

Ingredients

Ingredients are the most important part of authentic Thai cooking. If you live in Thailand or in Southeast Asia, finding fresh Thai ingredients is easy. But if you live somewhere else, finding fresh ingredients can be difficult or troublesome especially for those who do not live in a city. If you decide to make Thai dishes, first invest a little of your time getting to know the ingredients. Then find the nearest Asian grocery store. If you like, call to see if they carry ingredients you are looking for. For instance, if you are looking for "Winter Melon", not all Asian grocery stores carry it. If you prefer, buying online can safe you driving time. If you cannot find fresh ingredients, try frozen and canned foods. In my opinion, most frozen products are the next best thing to fresh food. For instance, stir-fried shredded ginger with pork has two main ingredients: shredded ginger and pork. Shredded ginger? Sounds like lots of work to use fresh ginger. One might try a jar or can, but the taste and aroma of the ginger are not the same as the fresh version. It is not difficult to make shredded ginger if you have the right peeler. Try your best to find fresh produce, as it will be a good start to cooking authentic Thai dishes.

Equipment

Thais use a wok and pot in most dishes with the exception of desserts. For desserts, it is not required but it is recommended to use a bronze wok (Ka Ta Thong Lueng). Other common equipment includes a mortar and pestle. In Thailand, gas stoves are the most commonly used. Electric stoves are uncommon and not very popular because heat may not be distributed evenly. Regarding the mortar and pestle, it depends on one's desire. If you are going to cook Thai dishes very often, a mortar and pestle can become handy in your kitchen. Otherwise, using typical kitchen tools like a knife and cutting board can accomplish the same goal. Food processors or blenders are another option when it comes to making pastes.

Preparation

Preparation is also one of the keys to authentic Thai cooking. As mentioned above, Thai food focuses largely on ingredients and preparation. Preparation in particular is essential to authentic Thai food. You may spend more time preparing ingredients than you actually spend cooking. For instance, it may take about 30 minutes to prepare all ingredients for Tom Kha Gai but you only spend about 15 minutes cooking. A typical Thai dinner consists of 4-5 communal dishes. It may take up to 2 hours to prepare all ingredients, but only 1 hour to make. A few reasons follow regarding why Thais spend more time on preparation. Thais like their meat in bite size pieces. Fresh vegetables require time to wash, cut and maybe pad dry. Pounding spices and fresh herbs is also common for many dishes. Some desserts like Ta Go (sweet on the bottom layer with salty coconut topping in a pandanus basket) require lots of time in preparation starting from cleaning and cutting leaves and then making baskets. Depending on the amount of Ta Go you are making, it can take up to hours just to make those tiny baskets. Don't be discouraged by this because after preparation, the wonderful dishes are right around the corner!

Cooking to Your Taste

The art of Thai cooking has placed emphasis on the harmonious blending of various ingredients, particularly as the individual ingredients can vary by freshness and so on. Without harmony the taste and the dish fall short. The five elements of taste in Thai food are: sweet, salty, sour, spicy and bitter. When cooking Thai dishes, one may follow a recipe, but use it as a guideline when it comes to taste. Taste varies for each individual, sometimes in response to variables such as ingredient quality or occasion, and thus the tastes of the recipe author may or may not reflect one's own taste. Following a recipe is a good idea, but when it comes to taste follow your own preference. Know your ingredients and start adding flavorful items in small amounts. For instance, when it comes to curry pastes and fish sauce, some brands are saltier than others. Most Thai dishes can be fixed to some extent. If it is too sweet, adding a little bit of fish sauce will fix the problem and vice versa. If it is too sour, add a little bit of water; sugar or fish sauce will help.

Coconut Milk

Thai food and coconut milk almost always go together. Many dishes require Hua Ka Ti (first pressed coconut milk or creamy coconut milk) and/or Hang Ka Ti (second or third pressed milk or water-like coconut milk). To make fresh coconut milk, finely grated coconut meat is still steeped in warm water, not hot water. It is then squeezed until dry. The white fluid from the first press is called "Hua Ka Ti". Warm water is then added again to make the second and third pressed coconut milk, which is called "Hang Ka Ti." Finely grated coconut meat is generally used about 3 times and then discarded. Freshly pressed coconut milk has a better taste and aroma than commercial coconut milk in a can.

If you use canned coconut milk, you will need to have a can at a cold temperature because cold temperatures help separate the creamy coconut part and the water-like part. The creamy coconut milk will float to the top of the can. During hot weather, you may want to leave a can of coconut milk in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.

Fried Rice

Good fried rice is not difficult to make. The most important part is the steamed rice. The rice should be cooked but firm, not mushy and soft. If steamed rice is soft and mushy, when it is stir-fried it will all stick together. Good rice in fried rice should be easy to break up and the grains should stay intact. So to make the steamed rice, make sure you use a little less water than normal so that the rice is dryer than normal. Keeping rice in a refrigerator for 2-3 days is another alternative, but if your rice is mushy and soft after those 2-3 days, the fried rice will also still clump together. Other keys to making good fried rice are using a wok and high heat. Heat must be evenly distributed and consistently hot all thel time. A wok is recommended for making fried rice but not required.

Curry

There are two main types of Thai curries: coconut-based and non-coconut based. Those which use coconut milk mostly have similar initial steps which include separating the coconut oil and mixing curry paste into coconut milk. These first 2 steps are keys to perfecting your curry dishes. For instance, if you are making green curry, red curry, matsaman, or kaeng kari, the very first step is bringing Hua Ka Ti (first pressed milk or creamy coconut milk) to a boil until the oil starts to separate. You do not want to boil too long because you will break Hua Ka Ti and it will look like little white balls. After adding curry paste into the coconut milk, stir until the green or red oil separates and floats to the top. Frequently stirring curry paste is required because you do not want to burn the paste. Curry paste may stick to a cooking spoon, so make sure to remove it from the spoon. During this process, if Hua Ka Ti is getting dry, add 3-4 tablespoons of Hua Ka Ti at a time to keep the curry paste from burning. After adding vegetables, do not overcook them.

Stir-fried

Most stir-fried dishes take a short time to cook, especially stir-fried vegetables. The main key to most stir-fired dishes is heat. Heat must be evenly distributed throughout the wok or pan. Most recipes will suggest to heat up vegetable oil. In this step, one must make sure that the oil is hot and spread all over the wok (up to the side) or pan. In some dishes, after adding meat and/or vegetables, the pan or wok starts to get drier, so one may add a little bit of water so that the food won't get burned. For vegetables, make sure they are not overcooked.

Desserts

Thai desserts are not too difficult to make. Some may be easier than others. Some require more patience and time than others. Many Thai desserts require one to use the same ingredients, and substitutes are not recommended. For instance, if Khanom Ta Go asks for mung bean flour, other flour substitutes usually won't work well. Khanom Bua Loy requires sticky rice flour, and one may not use multipurpose flour or tapioca flour or some other types of flour. In some desserts like potato in ginger syrup, one can use mixed types of potatoes. Khanom Kaeng Buat can consist of taro, potato and/or pumpkin. When making Thai desserts, read instructions carefully.

Ingredients and preparation are the keys to cooking authentic Thai food. Some of the first few dishes in particular may require patience. However, once you have gotten to know Thai ingredients more and more, you will find how easy it is to cook authentic Thai food. As for Thai desserts, some are very simple and easy to make and you can perfect them the first time you try. Some desserts may take practice and time to develop certain skills. Do not be discouraged by recipe directions or how beautiful a picture of a dish might be. When you decide to cook authentic Thai food, gather up some friends and enjoy your cooking. Have fun!

Napatr Lindsley

About the Author
Get Authentic Thai Recipes at http://thaicookinghouse.com

Published At: www.Isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=295596&ca=Cooking

Thai Food

By: Kazama T.

Thailand have many famous food that being known all around the world such as Tomyumgoong, Pad Tai and etc. Thai Foods have its own characteristic. They are hot, spicy and delicious.

Thai Herb are often used in Thai food such as Chili (Prik), Mint (Saranae), Shallot (Hom Daeng), Galanga (Kha), Lemon Grass (Ta Krai), Lime (Ma Now), Garlic (KraTieam), Ginger (Khing), Basil (Kraprao and Horapa) and etc. Thai food is also the food that control six balance fundamental flavors in every dishes. The six fundamental flavors in Thai food are salty, sweet, sour, spicy, bitter, and oily

Salty – Salty in thai food mostly used fish sauce (Nam Pla in Thai). Fish sauce in one of important ingredient in Thai food. Moreover in every meal of Thai people. There is a small bowl of fish sauce included. Anyway Thai food use the other souce for salty, too such as salt or soy sauce.

Sweet – In cooking the sweet in thai food. Mostly sweet in thai food come from sugar (Namtal in thai). There are also many kind of sugar in Thai food, such as brown sugar, coconut palm sugar, jaggery and palm sugar in the form of cakes.

Sour – In Thai food, Sour are from vinegar, lime juice. There are also the ingredient that are not in any foods like tamarine vinegar, citrus hystrix juice, sour orange juice and the sour flavor from tamarine leaf, garcina, garcina leaf and acacia leaf. All these sour flavors are in thai food only.

Hot (spicy) – The spicy flavor in Thai food is very hot, Mostly come from Capsicum frutescents.

Oily – Most curry thai food used coconut cream for oily flavor. Oily in thai foods also come from other vegetable oil or fat.

Bitter – Come from animal entrails and some leaf. Thai people believe that the bitter flavor food have the effect of medicine.

About the Author

Kazama is the writer of http://www.feelthailand.com

Published At: www.Isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=104706&ca=Food+and+Drinks

Tags: food, sour, thai

Healthy Low Fat Chicken Breast Recipe

By Hans Dekker

Chicken can be just as healthy as a salad, especially if it is skinless and you choose to grill instead of fry. This healthy chicken breast recipe has it all. With a mouth watering plum sauce, it is sure to please. That good flavor will give your family something to talk about between each and every bite.

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless-skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cups fresh plums, chopped
• ½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 tsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. ginger
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. plum jelly
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. black pepper

Parsley as a garnish (optional)

To Make:

Preheat the oven to 375. The glaze for this recipe may be made the day before you plan to make this dish. It just will need to be refrigerated. If you use fresh plums, they will need to have the pits removed before using.

You can use canned or frozen varieties of this fruit if you want to. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the plums, the plum jelly, cornstarch, and the soy sauce. If the mixture is too dry, add a little water.

Now gradually add the brown sugar while stirring. Next, add the lemon juice and ginger. Continue mixing. Lastly, add the garlic and onion powder, and the black pepper. Once this plum glaze has been mixed well, it is ready to use.

Place each chicken breast, one by one, into the mixing bowl and cover each it with the plum glaze. Do this for each chicken breast. Then put the chicken breasts in a baking pan. You can add one more spoonful of plum glaze to each chicken breast before putting them in the oven if you wish. Bake this dish on 375 for 25-30 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven. Top each piece of chicken with parsley before serving.

Serves 4.

Hans is an enthusiast cook he writes recipes and articles about body sliming he loves to cook healthy and tasas possible. Visit us for more at http://www.steaks-guide.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hans_Dekker

Tags: food menu, thai food, healthy thai food, food with a salty taste