Thailand’s cuisine works seamlessly to draw food lovers to its aromatic beauty. Its rich and creamy curries, fragrant sauces, tasty snacks, and sinful sweets are bound to make you go back in time and again. The key to cooking any Thai dish is a perfect balance between the five key flavors: sour, bitter, salty, sweet, and spicy, which takes skill to master. Therefore, you need to perfect the Thai spices in every dish, always delivering the much-needed punch to your palate.
The fresh and solid ingredients used in Thai cuisine make it somewhat different from other dishes. I believe the most essential ingredients in Thai cooking are lemongrass, Thai chilies, galangal, ginger, and kaffir lime leaves.
Thai food has been inspired by other Southeast Asian cuisines, such as Indian and Chinese, but still tends to be entirely distinct from them. Originally, Thai cuisine was a lot spicier than it is today, but over time, the hot elements were reduced and other flavor enhancers, such as lemongrass and galangal, were introduced to the kitchen. It is also popular to see the use of minced or sliced meat in the dishes. Some of the popular Thai dishes include Thai curries, Som Tam Salad, Tom Yum Soup, Pad Thai noodles, and Satay, among others.
Cumin
Both Thai curries use cumin because of its strong and warm fragrance. It is toasted dry and crushed before blending in red or green curry. Choose which curry dish you like, and all of them will be delicious thanks to the cumin used to make it.
Coriander
Thai cuisine uses the stems and leaves of coriander for seasoning. They have a rich, strong taste that makes soups, sauces, and curry pasta refreshing. Coriander leaves are applied as decoration to the dishes, while its roots are the main ingredient in many Thai soups.
Authentic Thai cuisine also uses coriander seeds with a citrus, nutty, lemony flavor. These seeds are roasted, toasted, and then topped with a powder before frying. They suppress stomach aches and improve your appetite, making them a perfect seasoning when you’re trying to order a lot of food.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a popular spice in many western dishes, but the particular form of cinnamon used in Thai cuisine is the Cassia tree. Its powder comes from the bark of this tree and is used in a number of dishes, including curry. Cinnamon powder also has therapeutic properties, such as reducing fatigue and promoting stamina. So be sure to order a massaman curry next time you need to pick me up!
Basil
Basil is popular with Thai dishes because of its sweet taste. It is used as a flavoring and as a vegetable in many of our most popular dishes. Basil only produces its scent when baked, but the new basil leaves are usually green with a red-purple tinge. Fish, chicken, and beef are among the dishes that use basil leaves with an unusual, sweet taste.
Dried Chilies
Thai cuisine is known for its heat and spice, so it’s not hard to see why dried chilies are on the list. Thai people use chili for everything from curry and stir-fry to soups. Currently, they’re also sprinkling it on top of the noodles to give it an extra kick!
Galangal
The popular tom kha gai, or chicken and galangal soup, is one of the most famous galanga dishes in South East Asia – maybe even in the world!
Green Peppercorns
Young green peppercorns are mildly crunchy, herbal, and pack a little bit of fire. They look like a kind of green berry, but if you stick one of them in your mouth hoping for a delicious taste, you’re in for an unexpected surprise.
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