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Wednesday, August 3, 2011

THAI COOKING 101: Spices and Herbs

Here are some of the most common spices and herbs used in Thai cooking, the spices and herbs used creates a myriad of flavors, aromas, and colors that is making Thai cuisine a very popular one. Many go on the notion that Thai cooking is just ginger, fish sauce (Nam Pla), and crunchy peanut butter and hot peppers. This is far from the truth. A seasoned Thai chef or home cook will use just the right amounts of herbs and spices to make fish taste excellent, too much and the fish dish is ruined.


Let's take a look at some of the spices and herbs. First is Horapha, it is sweet and close  to the Euro sweet basil used in lots of tomato dishes.


The characteristics of Horapha is sweet, with a licorice scent. It grows to about a foot and a half tall. Pictured here is an early season plant, as it gets to be more matured, the stems and flowers transforms into a purple color.


How to cut basil: If you are new to basil, the right way to slice or cut the leaves are like this, you get a few, stack them together evenly as best you can, and then roll it tightly into a roll. Then using a sharp knife, begin to slice end to end into thin strips. Use this over a salad or over stir fried dishes such as chicken, fish, or beef. Basil is an herb that releases flavors as soon as it is sliced, and when it is cooked the aromas come out more intense. I like to add basil towards the end of the cooking process, by adding basil in the beginning, it can get burnt. But, with wok cooking in Asian kitchens, where all of the proteins and vegetables are sliced thin, you might be able to pull off putting in basil a little early in the wok cooking process. Minced garlic and ginger are added to hot oil in lots of wok cooking such as Chinese, and Filipino cooking to release flavors, and as soon as the flavors are released the garlic and ginger is rescued by the addition of either proteins, vegetables, and a sauce. 


Practice your cooking, and remember Horapha Thai Sweet Basil is one of the most common herbs in a Thai kitchen. Basil offsets the aroma of stronger ingredients such as garlic, ginger, and fish sauce (Nam Pla). So balancing your herbs and spices is a must in any type of cooking, and remember, by leaving out some herbs or spices will lend you a genius at times.


Our next herb/spice will be Cinnamon (ob choei)



















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