It’s About Thai

My interest in Thai food grew from watching the hit American series “Bones”. In the earlier seasons, an episode will end with the two main characters talking while feasting on some Thai.

Since my first taste of Thai cuisines, my fascination for them just keeps on growing. It’s not just a craving of taste, but also a craving to recreate the taste that gave pleasure to my mouth so I could share it with family and friends.

My favorite Thai dishes are: Pad Thai (of course), Khao Kluk Kapi, and Yam Som-o.

Pad Thai—stir fried rice noodles—is one of the signature dishes in Thailand and one of the most commonly ordered in Thai restaurants. The noodles of the traditional Pad Thai are stirred in tamarind paste mixed with fish sauce, vinegar, sugar and paprika. It is then topped with chopped nuts, stir-fried shrimp, bean sprouts, and cilantro, with lime wedge kept at the side. I personally prefer using peanut butter with some ginger instead of tamarind paste.

Khao Kluk Kapi is a Thai rice dish that we call in the Philippines as Bagoong Rice. It is fried rice stirred in shrimp paste and topped with sliced green mangoes, onions, chili, scrambled egg, and sweet pork. Sometimes, I add sliced salted duck egg to add to its flavor, and I use chicken breast instead of pork to give myself the illusion that what I’m eating is “healthy”.

Yam Som-O—also known as shrimp and pomelo salad— is made by sautéing shallots, garlic, and dried pepper flakes in vegetable oil, and just when that mouth-watering aroma comes out, coconut milk is added. The coconut milk mixture is then dressed on shrimps and pomelo segments, and then topped with coconut flakes, chopped peanuts, and cilantro. This is one of my favorites because it is so easy to make and the ingredients are not that hard to find, so I don’t have to make any alterations to the recipe.

The best thing about Thai food is that even if it’s served in small proportions, the flavors are so jam-packed and well-proportioned that it leaves its patrons satisfied. In one dish you already have four out of the five tastes. Plus, it’s so easy to make.

From first bite, Thai cuisines automatically climbed my palate ladder as one of my favorite dishes.

#asia #food #Thailand #Thaifood