Staples of Thai Cuisine

In order to create delicious Thai food, you need to learn the staples of this ancient cuisine. One of the key aspects of Thai cuisine is its artful blending of the five major tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and hot.

Most cuisines of the world do not employ the bitter taste, but in Thailand it is a flavor well-loved and appreciated. All five of these tastes can be blended to make a delightful Thai dish or just one may be emphasized in any given dish. A typical Thai menu blends all of these tastes together serving some dishes that are a marriage of all the tastes and others that are more simple.

These five flavors are achieved by combining various sauces, pastes, herbs, & spices such as:
* Coriander, garlic, tumeric, galangal, lemon grass, cardamon, basil and pandanus leaves are popular fragrant spices.
* Chili peppers and white pepper create hottness.
* Shrimp paste, fish sauce and tamarind round out the many flavors.

The masterful blending of these flavors is what makes Thai dishes so unique.

Some of the ingredients used to achieve these 5 tastes can be:
* Sweet - cane or coconut palm sugar
* Sour - lime, tamarind, raw mango, sour pineapple or other sour fruits
* Salty - sea salt or fish sauce
* Bitter - bitter gourd (ma-rah) or raw leaves from various plants and trees (either wild or cultivated)
* Hot - chili peppers, fresh or dried; peppercorns, fresh or dried

Any five of these flavors can occur in any dish - a dish can be predominantly one or an artful blend of all five. For example, sweetened tamarind juice is served as a beverage over ice and seasoned with a pinch of salt- it is sweet, sour and salty - aroy (delicious)! [Thai Food]

asia thai