HISTORY AND CENTRAL THAI SHARED DISHES

Thai cuisine is the national cuisine of Thailand. Thai cuisine places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong aromatic components. Thai cuisine is known for being spicy. Balance, detail and variety are important to Thai cooking. Thai food is known for its balance of the five fundamental taste senses in each dish or the overall meal: hot (spicy), sour, sweet, salty, and (optional) bitter.

Although popularly considered a single cuisine, Thai food would be more accurately described as four regional cuisines corresponding to the four main regions of the country: Northern, Northeastern (or Isan), Central, and Southern, each cuisine sharing similar foods or foods derived from those of neighboring countries and regions: Burma, the Chinese province of Yunnan and Laos to the north, Cambodia, Laos and to the east and Malaysia to the south of Thailand. In addition to these four regional cuisines, there is also the Thai Royal Cuisine which can trace its history back to the palace cuisine of the Ayutthaya kingdom (1351–1767 CE). Its refinement, cooking techniques and its use of ingredients were of great influence to the cuisine of the Central Thai plains.

The culinary traditions and cuisines of Thailand's neighbors have influenced Thai cuisine over many centuries. Regional variations tend to correlate to neighboring states as well as climate and geography. Southern curries tend to contain coconut milk and fresh turmeric, while northeastern dishes often include lime juice. The cuisine of Northeastern (or Isan) Thailand is heavily influenced by Lao cuisine. Many popular dishes eaten in Thailand were originally Chinese dishes which were introduced to Thailand mainly by the Teochew people who make up the majority of the Thai Chinese. Such dishes include chok (rice porridge), kuai-tiao rat na (fried rice-noodles) and khao kha mu (stewed pork with rice). The Chinese also introduced the use of a wok for cooking, the technique of deep-frying and stir-frying dishes, and noodles and soy products.

Central Thai shared dishes

Tom Yum 

Tom Yum is the most famous of Thai soups, being very popular in Thai restaurants in the US. It is a clear sour soup which is flavored with fresh lemon grass and kaffir lime leaf. The most well-known version uses shrimp (in Thai: goong, koon, kung), but you may also use firm white-flesh fish (see Tom Yum Taleh) or chicken (gy, gai or kai).

Red curry

Red curry (Thai: แกงเผ็ด; spicy curry) is a popular Thai dish consisting of curry paste to which coconut milk is added. The base is properly made with a mortar and pestle, and remains moist throughout the preparation process. 
Red curry paste itself is the core flavouring for a number of other non-related dishes such Thot man pla (fish cakes) and sai ua (grilled Chiang Mai sausage).

Red Curry with Roasted Duck is one of the most popular types of curries in Thai restaurants outside of Thailand. See our website for the Homemade Red Curry Paste recipe or if you are short of time, substitute ready-made canned curry paste with great results.

Ho mok pla

Ho mok pla, fish curry paté

Ho mok pla - a paté of fish, spices, coconut milk and egg, steamed in a banana leaf cup and topped with thick coconut cream before serving.

Thot man 

Thot man pla krai with fried basil

Thot man - deep fried fishcake made from knifefish (Thot man pla krai, Thai: ทอดมันปลากราย) or shrimp (Thot man kung, Thai: ทอดมันกุ้ง).

Thot man pla is made by deep frying small patties of minced fish (most often plakrai) mixed with red curry paste, finely chopped yardlong beans (tua fak yao, Thai: ถั่วฝักยาว), and finely shredded kaffir lime leaves (bai makrut, Thai: ใบมะกรูด). The same recipe with minced prawns, instead of fish, will make you thot man kung (Thai: ทอดมันกุ้ง). The fried leaves seen in the photo are those of Thai holy basil (bai kraphao, Thai: ใบกะเพรา). Thot man pla is served with a sweet chilli dip sauce which normally contains diced cucumber and crushed peanuts. This dish can be eaten as a snack, a starter, or as one of the dishes in a Thai buffet style meal.

Phak bung fai daeng: fried morning-glory

Phak bung fai daeng - stir fried morning-glory with yellow bean paste. 

 (Phat) phak boong fai daeng (Thai: ผัดผักบุ้งไฟแดง): Literally it means "(fried) red fire morning-glory". The basic recipe is morning-glory (Ipomoea aquatica) stir-fried with garlic, chillies, Thai yellow bean sauce (taochiao), oyster sauce and fish sauce. For the correct taste, one needs to get the cooking flames in to the pan. This vegetable dish is extremely popular in Thailand.

Pla sam rot

Pla sam rot

Pla sam rot

Pla sam rot - literally "Three flavours fish": deep fried fish with a sweet, tangy and spicy tamarind sauce.

Pla samrot (Thai: ปลาสามรส) or pla thot samrot: Deep fried three flavours fish. Here made with pla thapthim (Thai: ปลาทับทิม, Oreochromis niloticus, Nile Tilapia). The sticky, sweet, spicy and tangy sauce's main ingredients are tamarind, chillies and garlic. The dish is garnished with roughly chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves. The fish is approximately 25 cm (10 inches) in length.

Phat khana mu krop

Phat khana mu krop - khana (gailan) stir fried with crispy pork

Phat phak kana mu krop: Thai style stir fried Chinese broccoli (pak kana, Thai: ผักคะน้า) with crispy pork (mu krop Thai: หมูกรอบ). The recipe also includes sliced large red chillies, sliced garlic, oyster sauce and soy sauce. Here it is served rat khao, meaning "together with rice".

Bone Appetite

Hew kaow