Recipes

There are many kinds of foods around the world, but Thai food is different from other foods.  Thai food has a stronger flavour than other foods. It is made with a good balance of flavours between sweet, salty, sour and spicy. First, some Thai dishes use fresh herbs and spices and special ingredients.  For example, Thai garlic, galangal, coriander, lemon grass, kaffir lime and Thai fish sauce (Nam Pla).  This seasoning is tasty and different from other country foods, so you know you are eating Thai food. Second, Thai dishes have a different prepara­­tion, step by step.  We chop many different vegetables, cut meat before cooking.  We mostly use the meat of the seasons. Third, Thai dishes are different in each of the 4 regions of Thailand. 

Popular dishes of the central part are made with curry and fresh coconut. In the north of Thailand, people use a lot of spices mixed with meat to hide the strong smell of the meat. In north east Thailand, we use a lot of fermented fish (Thai anchovies). They do not smell very good, but have a good taste. Finally, in the South of Thailand we use a lot of seafood because we are close to the sea. We use a lot of spices to add flavour.

Thai people eat a lot of fast food before going to work, but their fast food is different from the food in North America. In Thailand the fast is like street food. For example, grilled pork with sticky rice and boiled rice with pork. The foods are cooked fresh and served fast.

Recipe from Thailand

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Serves 2 people

Kai Pat King

Kai Pat King-stir fried chicken with ginger is a typical dish of Thailand. The recipe is a follows:

•  1 chicken breast sliced into bite-sized pieces   
•  fresh ginger thinly sliced into long thin strips
•  1/2 cup fresh banana chilies cut into long thin strips
• 1 tablespoon garlic crushed
• 2 tablespoons oil (vegetable or canola)
• SEASONING: 1 tablespoon­­­­­­­ light soy sauce
•  1 teaspoon ground white pepper
•  pinch of sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup stock (chicken or vegetable) or water

METHOD:

Mix all of the seasoning ingredients into a cup and set aside . Set the wok to medium-high heat. When the wok is hot, pour in oil followed by the garlic. Stir fry quickly until fragrant. Next, add the cut chicken pieces and cook until they are lightly brown . Then, add the ginger and continue to stir fry until it  is almost thoroughly cooked. Then, add some water to the wok to create steam. Continue cooking and add the seasoning sauce.   Then stir fry . Taste for seasoning.  It should be a balanced taste of spicy, salty and sweet. For different flavours, replace the chicken with  beef, shrimp, tofu, vegetables, or a variety of  mushrooms and enjoy!!