Introduction

Thai cuisine is the national cuisine of Thailand. Blending elements of several Southeast Asian traditions, Thai cooking places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong aromatic components. The spiciness of Thai cuisine is well known. As with other Asian cuisines, balance, detail and variety are of great significance to Thai chefs. Thai food is known for its balance of three to four fundamental taste senses in each dish or the overall meal: sour, sweet, salty, and bitter.

As an acknowledged expert of Thai cuisine, Australian chef David Thompson explains Thai food to a Western audience: “Thai food ain’t about simplicity. It’s about the juggling of disparate elements to create a harmonious finish. Like a complex musical chord it’s got to have a smooth surface but it doesn’t matter what’s happening underneath. Simplicity isn’t the dictum here, at all. Some westerners think it’s a jumble of flavours, but to a Thai that’s important, it’s the complexity they delight in.

Credit : wikipedia.org

5 most popular Thai cuisine

1. Tom Yum Kung

The world-renowned tom yam goong is the quintessential classic of Thai cuisine. Piquant and spicy, this fiery soup makes liberal use of fragrant herbs including galangal, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, shallot, tamarind and chili pepper. Tom yam comes in two versions, a clear spicy soup and a thicker spicy soup made by adding coconut milk or even cream. The soup is usually made with prawns but mixed seafood or chicken can equally be used. Mushrooms are often also added.
Tom yam goong – spicy prawn soup – is probably the best-known Thai dish of all, a true classic that blends sour, salt, spicy and sweet tastes as no other dish.

2. Pad Thai

Thailand’s calling card to the rest of the culinary world, pad Thai doesn’t need an introduction. There are an infinite number of variations on this timeless tradition, but usually noodles are dressed up with tofu, bean sprouts, onion, and the brilliant final touch: peanuts ground to near dust. Pad Thai is a diner-participation meal; you put on the finishing touches of fish sauce, sugar, chili powder, and crushed peanuts to suit your taste.

3. Green Chicken Curry (Kaeng Kheaw Wan)

Chicken is one of the most popular meats used in the Thai cuisine and is a common feature of many curries and soups. Gaeng keaw wan, literally translated as “sweet green curry”, is pleasantly sweet and slightly spicy, with a delightful taste exuded by the expert blending of the green curry chili paste, plus the richness of coconut milk, with a touch of sugar and a light salty addition of fish sauce. It is usually eaten with steamed rice or served as a sauce with fermented rice noodles, known as khanom chin – which is more of a ‘spaghetti-like’ noodle.

4. Chicken in Coconut Milk Soup (Tom Kha Gai)

Tom kha gai is another variation of chicken soup, similar in some respects to tom yam gai. The broth is prepared with a combination of many types of Thai herbs, followed by the addition of coconut milk, which is what makes this soup so unique. Though the soup is seasoned with chili, lime and fish sauce, as with tom yam gai, thanks to the addition of coconut milk, the broth is milder and less spicy. A popular dish, favoured by those who prefer rich but less spicy dishes.

5. Fried Rice (Khao Pad)

At first glance fried rice would seem rather mundane as a meal but, with the addition of a few choice ingredients, khao phat becomes one of the most commonly served dishes, either as a meal in itself or together with other main course dishes for several people. Aside from the plain white rice in this dish, eggs, onion, coriander, garlic and tomatoes are added to provide taste together with the ‘meat’, such as pork, chicken, shrimp, crab, etc. Khao phat is served with prik num pla (chopped chili in fish sauce), lime, a few cucumber wedges and spring onions. The absence of chili from the dish makes it a good choice for those with delicate palates.

 Source from : http://www.nationmultimedia.com