Thai food has garnered its place around the world for its unique flavor profile and diversity. Whether it's traditional Cuisine or street food, there is a distinct flavor and requires culinary skills.
However, if you break it down to prominence, Sweet, Sour, Spicy, and Salty profiles dominate Thai food. For some recipes, each flavor profile may differ in dominance.
The main source of sweet comes from palm sugar, and for zest, lime is used. Chili pepper, turmeric, lemongrass, basil, and galangal are some primarily used spices for taste and aroma.
Another most used ingredient is fish sauce made with fermented fish, and salt is a key ingredient.
In most Thai cuisine, different flavors are achieved by combining spices, cooking techniques, and maintaining certain temperatures.
Mostly the dishes are made in the harmony of flavors, keeping them light and savory. Just like other Asian countries, rice and noodle are the staple food of the country.
Thai prefer to use long grain rice. Khao is the name of the long-grain rice. With various foods, Thai folks like to pair with sticky or jasmine rice.
While noodles made of rice, wheat, and egg are cooked depending on the dish, sometimes noodles are stir-fried while sometimes depending on the recipe consumed in a soup. For additional flavor, chopped nuts, kaffir lime, and basil are some of the favorite toppings.
Thai fried rice
Herbs and spices are the main components of Thai cuisine, and they grant that unique flavor profile to make their Thai food stand out.
Each dish is meticulously cooked with various herbs and spices. Kaffir lime and its leaves are used in different soups and curries in central areas.
The leaves are often combined with lemongrass and galangal to give that distinctive aromatic flavor. It is the key ingredient of Tom Yam soup.
In curries to basil, coriander, spearmint, ginger, turmeric, and holy basil, add more depth in terms of flavor. Another Thai favorite is Larb; it is a mixture of cumin, long pepper, star anise, cinnamon, and cloves.
Acacia leaves, commonly known as Cha-om in Thai, are frequently used leaf in cuisine. From rice to curry, omelet, or even soups, the leaf is used in all kinds of recipes.
Banana leaf is an authentic Thai way to parcel food that can be wrapped without messing. At the same time, the banana flower is a favorite used in desserts, curries, and salads.
Another interesting fact is the diverse range of chili. In Thai Cuisine, five different types of chilies are incorporated. The smallest chili Phirk khi nu suan is extremely spicy and is used carefully, while the biggest chili is easy to eat hence used as a vegetable.
Thai herbs
Pasta is one of the favorites of Thai Cuisine. Similarly, dips and sauces are also very diverse in taste profile. Dips and sauces are the preferred combination of meat and vegetables.
Nam pla is one of the commonly found sauces in all regions. It is made with fermented fish or anchovies. And found across the country with slight variations in taste and aromas.
Another favorite is pla ra made with fermented fish and rice. Pla ra is pungent and strong in flavor compared to Nam pla.
Kapi is a shrimp paste and is an often occurrence in Thai Curries. Nam Phrik is a type of chili paste used to make curry pastes like Phrik kaeng and khrueang kaeng with slight variation in different areas.
Another favorite is soy sauce and dark soy sauce, which make noodles and stir fry, and vegetables.
Thai pasta and sauce
Thai prefer to eat the vegetable in their truest form; raw. Depending on the dish, they stir-fry or steam the vegetables too. Bamboo shoots, tomatoes, bean sprouts, sweet potato, winged beans, cucumber, and corn are found in various dishes.
Eggplant or aubergine is a favorite vegetable is grown in various varieties such as round, long, and pea-sized.
Most leafy dishes are consumed as a side dish. They are paired with paste or fish sauce.
Mushrooms are also frequent in Thai cuisine. Most favorite mushrooms to reprise are straw mushroom and white jelly fungus.
Other leaves to frequent are water mimosa, morning glory, Chinese cabbage, Thai basil, rice paddy herb, yellow burr head with rice and noodle.
Like various European cuisines, flowers also have a huge role in Thai foods. They are eaten raw like a vegetable. Banana flowers, blue dok anchan, and the flower of Clitoria Ternatea add color and flavor to the Cuisine.
Thai local vegetables
In Thailand's long regime, it has derived influences from various neighboring countries. Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam have greater influence in Cuisine of some regions, while China, especially Yunnan, has different cuisines that depict the influence.
Moreover, the south of Thailand has dishes that India and Malaysia influence.
During the fifteenth and eighteenth century, Chinese folks introduced Chok Thai (rice porridge), Salapao is known as Baozi in China are steamed buns. Fried rice and fried noodles are also some influences coming from Chinese cuisines.
Somewhere between the 15th and 16th century, the time of Ayutthaya, various visitors and traders coming from India and Persia stayed for a long time on the island. They brought their distinct flavor and food to the country, and some cuisines stayed with the islanders.
Fios de Ovos, known as Foi Thong in Thailand, is a dessert made with eggs, a delicacy from Portugal. Spain introduced tomatoes, corn, papaya, cashews, peanuts, and pineapple in cuisines.
Around the 1960s, Thai Cuisine gathered some hype in the west. It was around the time when tourists were frequenting the island. Tourists were blown away by the variety and flavor Thai cuisine offered, especially the street food.
Soon they dubbed Bangkok "the world capital of street food."
The government also took a major initiative of promoting Thai Cuisine globally. "Kitchen in the world" was a famous project aimed to train restaurants and cooks to open restaurants in different parts of the world.
The initiative was aimed to bring the flavor of Thailand across major metropolitan cities of the world.
Thai dessert - Foi Thong
While visiting any new country, tourists aim to get the best of any country without disrupting the harmony of the country. For that reason, one can spend some time researching some basic ethos and traditions that are important to a country.
Thai street dishes
To stimulate your taste buds, enjoy creative and diverse Thai cuisine with an abundance of flavors. Look for the Orient local restaurants and street foods that give you the authentic Thai experience.
Our creative itinerary ideas will give you some travel inspirations. We will definitely tailor make unique trip for you and there are many more options available.