Don’t be afraid to try your hand at Thai cooking. With this simple guide, you’ll soon be wowing loved ones with authentic-tasting dishes.
Classic Thai flavours
There are four principles to Thai cookery – hot, sweet, sour and salty. Get the balance of these flavours right and you can create authentic Thai dishes at home.
Hot flavours
The hottest is the small red bird’s eye chilli.
Galangal. Substitute with root ginger if you can’t find it.
Fresh coriander.
Sweet flavours
Use soft dark brown sugar if you can't find palm sugar.
Thai basil has a sweet, strong aniseed flavour.
Sour flavours
Tamarind is a sticky, brown pulp from a tree pod.
Lime juice gives a sharp sour flavour.
Fragrant kaffir lime leaves give a pungent lime flavour.
Lemongrass gives a fresh citrussy flavour to Thai food.
Salty flavours
Thai fish sauce (nam pla) has a strong salty taste.
Shrimp paste has an intense flavour; use sparingly.
Thai ingredients
Coconut milk adds richness to dishes.
Rice noodles are made from rice flour; soak before using.
Pea aubergines are Thai; substitute with regular aubergines.
Add ground dried shrimps to stir-fries or soak and use whole.
Essential Thai cooking tips
- Remember the four Thai cookery principles and adjust the heat, sourness, saltiness and sweetness to taste.
- Curry pastes form the basis of most Thai dishes, except soups and stir-fries.
- Thai curries are very quick to prepare, usually taking about 30 minutes.
When making a curry, don’t shake the can of coconut milk – open it, spoon off the thick cream on top of the milk and cook it with the curry paste. When you have a thick paste, add the milk – this should stop the milk curdling.
Where to buy
Most large supermarkets will stock everything you need for Thai recipes, but for some fresh ingredients, you will need to go to Thai or south-east Asian food shops or buy from the Wing Yip Store.
Thai essentials
Tamarind pulp needs to be soaked in water for 10 minutes. Strain and you are left with a tamarind paste.
Galangal is a fragrant, mild tuber similar to root ginger.
The whole coriander plant is used: roots and seeds go in curry pastes, and leaves in the finished dish.
Remove the tough outer layer from lemongrass before finely slicing.
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