Thai Food

The joys and the dangers of Somtam, the classic Thai salad.  How to prepare somtam or how to order it in Thailand.



Introduction to Thai Food - Somtam
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Robert_Orson]Robert Orson

Being married to a Thai for the last few years has meant learning a fair amount about Thai food. This isn't such a great accomplishment because it's usually the main topic of our conversations.

My wife once told me that a Thai would be most happy if she could eat seven times a day and I think she is pretty close to that mark. Any time she's not actually eating she can be counted on to be thinking of what or where to eat next.

There's obviously some kind of health secret here. If she's carrying two pounds extra, I have no idea where she's hiding it. If I ate like she did, it would take a crane to get me out of bed in the mornings. The answer must be that what she's eating must be healthy as well as delicious. Her number one favorite meal, snack, between meal pick-me-up, comfort food and health potion is ... somtam.

I confess that I had been thinking of somtam as a low class street vender food until I read a newspaper review of a local restaurant in Chiang Mai (Huen Phen) that quoted world class chef and author, Anthony Bourdain as saying that "their papaya salad is in fact the best salad he has ever eaten." Interesting.

Since then I've eaten it there, ordered it in other restaurants and stood beside street vendors in back alleys as they made some for me. It's always very good and I'm reminded of the great line that David Mamet wrote in Wag the Dog,"There are two things I know to be true. There's no difference between good flan and bad flan, and there is no war in Albania." My wife tells me that all somtam is good but there are some she likes more than others.

Regardless of where you get your somtam in Thailand, what I like is that it is always prepared fresh and usually in the front section of the restaurant (or behind the small glass booth perched on the street cart.)

The essentials are basic: a sharp knife, a spoon and a morter and pestle. The preparation is a blur of culinary poetry.

Throw a handful of chilies into the morter and give a good pound or two with the pestle to release the heat. In quick succession add some coarsely chopped tomato, a dash of sugar, a good splash of fish sauce (available now in most oriental markets,) a small spoon of lemon juice, a clove or two of garlic and (usually) some MSG.

The sauce is finished with the addition of a few tiny, whole crabs (poo) and some salted, fermented fish (balak.)

Pound and stir to bruise and mix the sauce then quickly julienne a firm green papaya and add the spaghetti sized pieces to the brew.

Pound and stir one last time to wilt the green fruit in the sauce. Spoon the salad to a plate or bowl and it will invariably look naturally elegant.

Now for the vocabulary to make sure it's done to your taste. Order Somtam Lao if you want the pungent, sour taste of the balak (fermented fish.) Somtam Thai omits the balak and adds peanuts, which I prefer.

"Mai Sai Poo" means hold the crab. "Mai Pom Chulot" is "no MSG." The somtam beginner should say, " mai phet" meaning "not spicy." I like to order "phet mai mak" or "not too spicy." Only a serious masochist should say "phet gadai" and should not then whine about the fiery pain that the true somtam addict craves.

Hot or not, somtam blends soft with crisp and has an intense but surprisingly balanced flavor that is sweet, salty, sour and bitter in every bite.

Robert Orson edits for English Editing Express http://www.english-editing-express.com/

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Do you love authentic Thai dishes as well as American Thai combos? If you do and you love to eat such food, you are not alone, in fact these types of foods are amongst my favorites too. So, let me recommend a most excellent cookbook for you, one I am sure you will enjoy and thank me for later. The cookbook to which I refer is: "Tommy Tang's Modern Thai Cuisine" by Tommy Tang; Double Day Publishing, New York, NY; 1991.



Thai Food and Great Dishes to Prepare
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow]Lance Winslow

Do you love authentic Thai dishes as well as American Thai combos? If you do and you love to eat such food, you are not alone, in fact these types of foods are amongst my favorites too. So, let me recommend a most excellent cookbook for you, one I am sure you will enjoy and thank me for later. The cookbook to which I refer is:

"Tommy Tang's Modern Thai Cuisine" by Tommy Tang; Double Day Publishing, New York, NY; 1991.

Tommy Tang is a master chef and owner of fine Thai Restaurants in Los Angeles and New York. This book has over 90 Thai Recipes in it, much more than his menu and many of these recipes are illustrated. This cookbook is unique in that it has a glossary of all the ingredients in the front and if you buy all those for your kitchen you will be able to prepare any of the fine dishes in the book. This sure makes it easy to make great Thai food at home.

I think you will enjoy the Thai Chili Fish and Thai Pasta, of course, for me it is hard to decide which is better Tommy's Duck recipe or his special sushi. Tommy dedicated this book to his mom with a great poem and judging by his generosity in sharing all this with the world, I'd say Tommy is the real deal and I'll be happy to eat in any of his restaurants, if I do not cook his delicious dishes in my own custom kitchen. This book is a must for those who wish to cook Thai food at home.

Tommy has a unique way of mixing and matching cultures to find the best of everything, some of the dishes are pure Thai and others are modified to fit nearly anyone's taste buds. The juries in; Tommy Rocks.

"Lance Winslow" - [http://www.carwashguys.com/history/founder.html]Lance Winslow's Bio. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; [http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/]http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/.

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Thais love food! It is everywhere. No matter where you are in Thailand, you are almost always within walking distance of food. Food in Thailand is so important that a common way of greeting someone is "did you eat already?"



There is More to Thai Food Than Meets the Eye
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Shama_Kern]Shama Kern

Thais love food! It is everywhere. No matter where you are in Thailand, you are almost always within walking distance of food. In many western countries you have to drive for miles to find something edible, but here it is everywhere. Restaurants, food vendors with carts on wheels, mini restaurants set up on motorbikes with sidecars, food markets, food stalls, floating food vendors, grocery stores, supermarkets... You can always find something to eat regardless of the time of day or night.

Food in Thailand is so important that a common way of greeting someone is "did you eat already?" You see people eat in public at all times and in all places. Eating is not considered a private affair.

•Westerners go to a park to be in nature, Thais go to a park to have a picnic.

•Westerners go to the beach to swim and get a tan, Thais go to the beach to eat and drink.

•When Thais go to any outing in nature, they always take a basket with food and drink.

Have you ever been asked in the US if you like American food? Most likely not, because nobody really cares what food you like. Have you ever been asked in England if you like English food? Probably not because nobody is interested in your culinary taste.

However in Thailand you will be asked countless times if you like Thai food. If you meet a Thai, chances are that in the first few minutes of conversation you will have to answer this question. If you say that you do, you become a little more acceptable. If you indicate that you like spicy food, you move up the acceptance ladder even more. But if you say that you really don't care so much about Thai food, people will be perplexed and wonder and even ask you why you have come to Thailand then.

We just had the 22nd annual food festival here in Chiang Mai. It is a huge, week-long event with hundreds of food stalls and thousands of visitors crowding the area every night. There is a gigantic stage with all kinds of entertainment, speeches, bands playing, and dance performances. Thais love a good party. The food is incredibly colorful and there seems to be an unending variety of different dishes, most of it prepared in front of your eyes.

Thais don't eat like westerners. They don't have drawn-out sit down meals with starter, salad, main course, dessert and coffee. Meals mostly consist of one plate of food which is not only eaten quickly but also prepared in no time.

Unlike western restaurants where your meal order can take 20 or 30 minutes, in Thailand most dishes can be prepared literally within minutes. Thais don't eat big meals, but rather small meals frequently throughout the day.

Thais are very attached to their food, and they don't take easily to international cuisine. When they travel outside of Thailand, many times their biggest challenge is not being able to eat Thai food.

Eating in Thailand is inexpensive, convenient and fun. Imagine strolling around, picking up a fresh squeezed orange juice, having a quick "pad thai" noodle dish for US$ 0.50, sampling a local sweet, drinking some fresh coconut juice, eating a steamed sweet potato or a black bean dumpling, all available right on the street or in a market -- within walking distance. No wonder food is so important here!

Shama Kern practices and teaches Thai massage and other Asian therapies. He lives in Thailand and shares his knowledge of the culture, natural beauty and healing arts of his adopted home country through writing, photography, and video. He also conducts specialty tours of Thailand.

Blog: http://www.shamakern.com

website: http://thaihealingmassage.com

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