Browsing Posts tagged thai cooking hua hin
What to do with all your Chili Peppers
One of the questions that we received from our readers is ‘What to do with the over-abundance of hot peppers I grew in my garden?’ This is a great problem to have. Chilis are great to grow, but it's easy to grow far more than you can eat when they're ripe. They can be dried, preserved and turned into delicious condiments. First, let’s start from fresh to dry. Fresh Peppers Frozen: Fortunately, Thai chili peppers freeze really well. I wash the peppers and air dry (or even wipe with soft cloth) to get rid of the moisture. Freeze with stem intact in a freezer bag. It’s good for a year. After a year, they seem to lose the ...
The tale of 2 red curry pastes
Red Curry Paste: how well do you really know your red curry paste? The name “Red Curry Paste” has actually been put, by different food suppliers, on two very different pastes, Basic Red Curry Paste (prig gang kua) and Red Curry Paste (prig gang ped). Basic Red Curry Paste is made of dried chili peppers, salt, galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime zest, garlic,cilantro roots, shallots and shrimp paste while Red Curry Paste, takes the Basic Red Curry Paste and adds toasted peppercorns, cumin andcoriander. How are the pastes used? The Basic Red Curry Paste is used in making Basic Red Curries or Gang Kua. Gang kua is a type of curry that often has added grilled fish or dried ...
Why coconut milk curdles?
I often hear the instruction to stir often when cooking coconut milk otherwise it’ll turn into curds. I never questioned the common wisdom, just accepted that that is what we do when we cook with coconut milk. Recently, I met with a ThaiTable reader who asked why her coconut milk curdles. I promised her I’d find out why. Then I took the question straight to my biochemist sister who gave me a scientific paper to read. Roughly, raw coconut milk consists of coconut oil, protein and water. In its natural state and at room temperature (think tropical island), the protein acts as an emulsifier, keeping the coconut milk looking homogenous. An emulsifier bonds oil with a protein ...
Best Thai Food
Thai food - as exotic as it is - needs no introduction. Nowadays you can find at least one Thai restaurant in most western towns but Thai food in Thailand itself is a whole new experience. The juxtaposition of sweet, sour, hot and salty flavours is what makes Thai cuisine so distinct and nowhere is it more noticeable than in the Thai national soup tom yam. Thai chefs are extremely talented in appropriating foreign dishes and making them their own - such as in a typical noodle dish. Forget green salad for a while - enjoy a hearty papaya salad, otherwise known as som tam, while Thai green curry is as distinct a dish as they ...
Eating Thai Food
The History of Thai Food Thai food is internationally famous. Whether chilli-hot or comparatively bland, harmony is the guiding principle behind each dish. Thai cuisine is essentially a marriage of centuries-old Eastern and Western influences harmoniously combined into something uniquely Thai. Characteristics of Thai food depend on who cooks it, for whom it is cooked, for what occasion, and where it is cooked. Dishes can be refined and adjusted to suit all palates. Originally, Thai cooking reflected the characteristics of a waterborne lifestyle. Aquatic animals, plant and herbs were major ingredients. Large chunks of meat were eschewed. Subsequent influences introduced the use of sizable chunks to Thai cooking. With their Buddhist background, Thais shunned the use of ...
