Thai Food.doc

6Thai FoodThai food is widely known for being hot and spicy since almost all Thai food is cooked with basic ingredients such as garlic, chillies, limejuice, lemon grass and fresh coriander leaf and fermented fish sauce (nam pia) or shrimp paste (kapi) to make it salty.Since rice is the staple food in Thailand, it is usually eaten at every meal with soups, curries, fried vegetables and nam phrik. Nam phrik is a hot sauce, prepared in a variety of ways and differs from region t oregion: nam phrik pla pon is a ground dried fish and chilli sauce, nam phrik pla raa is a fermented fish and chilli sauce, nam phrik kapi is a shrimp paste and chilli sauce, nam phrik oong is a minced pork, tomato and chilli sauce. In general, the basic ingredients of nam phrik include shrimp paste, garlic, chilli, fermented fish sauce and lemon juice.Other common seasoning in Thai food include galingale (khaa), blackpapper, ground peanut, tamarind juice, ginger and coconut milk. As a result, it takes hours to prepare a proper Thai meal in the traditional way as it involves so much peeling and chopping and pounding so it needs time to prepare in advance. In fact, Thai food varies from region to region, for example, glutinous or sticky rice is more popular in the North and Northeast than steamed rice. Moreover, in some rural areas, certain insects are also eaten e.g. crickets, silk worm larvae, red ant larvae. At the same time, Thai desserts are often made from sticky rice or coconut milk, flour, egg and coconut sugar while a variety of fruit is available all the year round.Meanwhile, the basic characteristic taste of Thai food in different parts of the country can be described in different ways: in the central region, food is hot, salty, sweet and sour. Rice is served with different types of nam phrik and soups e.g. tom yam kung (prawn soup with lemon grass. Dishes usually contain a lot of condiments and spices. In the North, food is mild or hot, salty and sour, but never sweet. Sticky rice is served with boiled vegetables, nam phrik oong and soups or curries. The North is also well-known for its sausage called naem which consists of fermented minced pork. It has a sour flavour and is sold wrapped in cellophane and banana leaf.Food in the Northeast is hot, salty and sour. Their favourite foods include papaya salad (som tam), sour chopped meat salad koi, sour minced meat salad (lard) . People use a lot of condiments but not many spices. Their meals generally consists of sticky rice and nam phrik pla raa accompanid by a lot of vegetableas including those found grow ing wild. On the other hand, food in the South is renowned for being very hot, salty and sour-tasting. Curries are popular and made with a lot of spices and condiments. Khao yam (a mixture of rice) raw vegetables and fermented fish sauce or boo doo is also a common dish. Generally southern people eat little meat and other varieties of nam phrik are not so popular, the most common one is nam phrik kapi.Though the major portion of Thai food is described as being spiced and chilli hot, it currently enjoys worldwide popularity especially the exotic Tom Yam Kung, a uniquely piquant prawn soup that i s renowned for it simplicity, creativity, artistic flair and delicious taste. Above all, the tastes of Thai cuisines can be amended to suit individual desire, for example, by reducing the amount of chillies in certain dishes to lower the heat or increasing amount of lime juice to increase sourness. Visitors who have tried the exotic Thai food will never forget to order them again whenever their favourite dishes are available.Pad Thai Thai style frying is a dish of stir-fried rice noodles with eggs, fish sauce, tamarind juice, red chilli pepper, plus any combination of bean sprouts, shrimp, chicken, or tofu, garnished with crushed peanuts and coriander. It is normally served with a piece of lime, the juice of which can be added along with the usual Thai condiments. In Thailand, it is also served with a piece of banana flower.There have evolved two different styles of Pad Thai: the version most often found in the streets of Thailand, which is relatively dry and light; and the version that seems dominant in many restaurants in the West, which may be covered in a red oil and can be heavy tasting.This dish was introduced and made popular as a national dish by Luang Phibunsongkhram when he was Prime Minister during World War II, partly for his nationalism campaign, and partly for a campaign to reduce rice consumption in Thailand at a time when the government faced a major budget crisis.verification neededHe was helped in this regard by the famous aristocrat, Prapavee Kunuchit.verification neededOutside of Thailand, Pad Thai is one of the best-known Thai dishes, and is very popular in Thai restaurants in America and Australia.Tom yum is a soup originating from Thailand. It is perhaps one of the most famous dishes in Thai cuisine.Tom yum is characterized by its distinct hot and sour flavors, with fragrant herbs generously used. The basic broth is made of stock and fresh ingredients such as lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, shallots, lime juice, fish sauce, tamarind, and crushed chilis.In Thailand, tom yum is usually made with prawns (tom yum goong), chicken (tom yum gai), fish (tom yum pla), or mixed seafood (tom yum talay or tom yum po taek) and mushrooms - usually straw or oyster mushrooms. The soup is often topped with generous sprinkling of fresh chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves.The less popular variety of tom yum is tom yum nam khon, where coconut milk is added to the broth. This is chicken is often used in tom kha. Its other cousin is less well-known outside Thailand - tom klong. Sometimes Thai chili jam (nam prik pao, Thai is added: this gives the soup a bright orange colour and makes the chili flavor more pronounced. However, the bright orange colour might result from curry paste, such as gaeng som.not to be confused with tom kha or tom kha gai - where the galanga flavor dominates the soup. Tom yum nam khon is almost always made with prawns, whereas .Commercial tom yum paste is made by crushing all the herb ingredients and stir-frying in oil. Seasoning and other preservative ingredients are then added. The paste is bottled or packaged, and sold around the world. Tom yum flavored with the paste may have different characteristics to that made with fresh herb ingredients.Tom-Yum-Goong is also the title of a feature film released in Thailand. It stars native martial-arts actor Tony Jaa of Ong-Bak fame, and was later released in the United States under the title The Protector.Som tam is a spicy papaya salad originating in Laos and the Isan region of northeastern Thailand. Mak houng () in Isan and Lao means papaya, and tam () means pounded. The thai version of Tum mak houng is called Som tum. Som meaning sour and Tam meaning pound. In Laos, Tam Mak Houng is mainly eaten with a complete meal with sticky rice or as a delicious snack.The main ingredient is grated, green papaya, seasoned and pounded to a softened state in a mortar. Chili, garlic, lime, fish sauce, shrimp paste, and padek are also usually added, while yardlong beans and tomatoes are optional. There are many variations of the dish, some made with carrot instead of papaya. The dish combines the four main tastes of Lao/Thai cuisine: sour lime, hot chilli, salty fish sauce, and sweetness added by palm sugar. The papaya itself is green and fairly neutral tasting. It is served at room temperature, traditionally with sticky rice. It is also sometimes served with pork rinds, raw water spinach, raw winged beans or raw cabbage. Very often it is paired with Peenk Gai , grilled chicken.In Laos and Isan the dish is normally more spicy and sour, while the Central Thai version is milder and frequently includes peanuts. Som tam Lao usually features salted/fermented mud fish ( in thai) or salt-preserved crab ( in thai), while som tam Thai is prepared with dried shrimp and bean and is often sweeter.Som tam can also be prepared with other unripe fruits, notably mango, in which case it is known as tam ma-muang ( in thai), cucumber, tam mak teng, or yard long beans, tam mak thua.The Cambodian equivalent of som tam is bok lhong Satay (also written sat) is a dish consisting of chunks or slices of dice-sized meat (chicken, goat, lamb, beef, pork, fish etc) on bamboo skewers, which are grilled over a wood or charcoal fire, then served with various spicy seasoning (depends on satay recipe variants). Satay may have originated in Java or Sumatra, Indonesia, but also popular in many other Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, and Thailand, as well as in the Netherlands which was influenced through its former colonies. Satay is a very popular delicacy in Indonesia with rich variety among Indonesias diverse ethnic groups culinary art (see Cuisine of Indonesia). In Indonesia satay can be found from traveling satay vendor, street side tent-restaurant, upper-class restaurant, or during traditional celebration feasts. In Malaysia, satay is a popular dish especially during celebrations and it can be found throughout the country. A close analog in Japan is yakitori. Additionally, shish kebab from Turkey and sosaties from South Africa are also very similar to satay