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Thailand is a small country in Southeast Asia, sharing a peninsula with Burma, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Like all local and national cuisines, the food of Thailand reveals a great deal about the country - it is a reflection of its political history, its trade, and its geography.
As with meals throughout Southeast Asia, a Thai meal has no courses. And like most cooking of the region, the Thai meal is built around rice. Southern Thai people eat long-grain rice, while the northerners favor short-grain or 'sticky' rice. Noodles, probably introduced from China, also play a role in Thai cooking. Of course, Westerners usually don't realize that rice is the main course, not the side dish - curries and other hot dishes are eaten by the Thai more as sauces than entrees, flavoring the cool rice. Meat has been very expensive in Thailand, and beef- or pork-based recipes often call for much less meat than would satisfy the average Westerner. It is worth noting that the Thai eat with a spoon, fork and (sometimes) knife. In Southeast Asia, only the Vietnamese eat with chopsticks, the exception being the quite large Chinese ethnic minority in Thailand.
Because Thailand forms a crescent around the Gulf of Thailand and the country is etched with hundreds of miles of rivers and canals, fish is a staple of the Thai diet. Fish sauce (nam pla) and/or shrimp paste (kapee) appears in nearly every recipe. The other distinct flavors of Thai cooking come from the indigenous spices and produce: coconut milk, lemon grass, tamarind, ginger, black pepper, galangal, garlic, coriander, basil, palm sugar, turmeric, cumin, shallots, and green onions. Last but not least is the chili, a late influx into Thai cooking, having arrived with Portuguese traders early in the 16th century. The chili has become a central player and some Thai food is fiery hot.
Thai food is either stir-fried or steamed - primarily in a wok. Some foods are grilled, but, as in the rest of the region, a lack of fuel precludes baking. Chilies and other spices are ground into powder or paste with mortar and pestle. Traditional methods will be employed at The Amarin Thai Restaurant. in the preparation of our recipes.
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