Authentic Thai Recipes

Introduction

Like other Asian cuisines, Thai cuisine borrows from nearby countries, including China, India, and Vietnam, while still producing a cuisine uniquely its own.

Along with the climate and geography, Thai cuisine varies considerably as you travel from northern Thailand to southern Thailand. Dishes common in the south make use of the region's tropical climate and coastal waters, featuring a variety of spicy curries using coconut milk as well as various fish and seafood dishes. In the north, on the other hand, the cooler, mountainous climate has led to a huge variety of vegetables as well as wild mushrooms, roots, and herbs. Their curries do not typically use coconut milk, and pork sausages and red meat are more common than fish and seafood.¹ Thailand's various regional cuisines seem to collide in Bangkok in temperate central Thailand.

Typical Ingredients

Thai cuisine relies on a number of pastes and sauces to create its flavorful dishes. Fish sauce is very common, particularly nam pla and pla ra. Shrimp paste, chili pastes, curry pastes, and soy sauce are also important. Like other Asian cuisines, rice is a staple food. In Thailand, long-grain jasmine rice or glutinous/sticky rice is frequently served. Noodles made from rice flour, wheat flour, or mung bean flour (e.g. glass or cellophane noodles) are also used, as a result of the influence of Chinese immigrants.¹

Thai dishes often use chili peppers (introduced by the Portuguese), curry (brought by the Indians), lime juice, lemongrass, Thai basil, coriander, galangal, turmeric, garlic, and ground peanuts to spice and season their dishes. Tropical fruits, such as pineapple, mango, papaya, mangosteen, jackfruit, longan, and rambutan, are frequently served as dessert.