Thai food as we all come to know and enjoy, has evolved over the years and has many influences from the outside world. Thai cooking techniques were limited, at the embryonic stage of Thai cuisine.
In the early days, there were no complicated utensils and equipments used to cook Thai food. Not to mention large cooking equipments such as pots, pans woks because they didn’t exist in those days. The only metallic utensil used in cooking was knife. Therefore, cooking techniques were limited at the initial stage of Thai cuisine. However, the Thai ancestors were so creative that even without complicated utensils, they could make several delicious dishes that still present until today.
In recent years, there has been a wonder why Thai food has become very popular. The rising recognition of Thai cuisine is due to the fact that most western people today are more health-conscious. They realize that having the traditional western-style food in their diets can be critically harmful for their health because of an excessive amount of fat and cholesterol. Now people feel like changing their eating habit and looking for healthier alternatives.
Thai food is lighter. Moreover, the herbs and spices used as common ingredients have medicinal properties. Some of them are good for digestion while some have benefits to drive away your fever and clear your throat. Best of all, Thai cuisine can easily beat gourmets from all over the world because of their amazing taste.
What gives Thai food its distinctive character is a harmony in its tastes. There are soups that look plain in color but the taste combination is sour, salty, hot and aromatic. The use of peanuts and coconut in the Thai curries are very characteristically Thai as well. In Thai cooking distinct herbs are used such as lemongrass, kaffir lime, both the leaf and the fruit, galangal, one in the ginger family, and mix them with the pungent sourness of fresh lime or the pleasurable sweetness of palm sugar.
The most important thing to remember about Thai food and Thai cuisine is to appreciate its lightness, its heat and its passionate smell long before it arrives at your dining table. Herbs used in Thai food have a dissimilar scent from western ones. They are much more aromatic and yield different flavors in each Thai dish.
The art of Thai cooking evolved according to the cultural influences from other countries, mainly China and Western Europe. Thai people much welcome a Chinese quick-frying method as the Thais have created a large choice of stir-frying entries in their menu. Another influence from the mainland reflects in an extensive use of noodles in Thai recipes. While the Chinese deep-fry noodle and create savory sauces to mix, Thais apply it in many characteristically Thai styles. Thai noodles taste sweet, sour and sometimes spicy. A distinctive dish is Mee Krob, or crispy noodle.
When Thais meet, the first word they greet each other is “where are you going?” and the next question is “have you already eaten?” Thai people like good food and have a very palate and like to experiment. Thailand is a nation of bountiful supplies of raw materials, ready to be transformed into flavor tempting delicacies. Thai food is actually not difficult to make but one must understand the mixes of ingredients and the taste combinations.