How to make thai food: Thai ingredients

bai horapa ใบโหระพา Sweet Thai Basil
Tastes rather like anise, looks like European sweet basil, and is used in red and green curries.








bai graprow ใบกระเพรา Thai Holy Basil Leaf
Ocimum Sanctum. Green with purple reddish tinged leaves, holy basil has a clove-like taste.






bai magroot ใบมะกรูด Kaffir Lime Leaf
See pew magroot






buap liam บวบเหลื่ยม Sponge gourd, angle gourd, angled luffa
Also known as angle gourd, angled luffa, or Chinese okra. Fruits have raised ridges running from end to end, resembling okra. The ridged fruit is 1-2 ft. long and 2 inches across and is lighter than the Smooth Skin Luffa. This variety is very popular for cooking use in China and Vietnam. Flesh is very tender and delicious.






fak thong ฟักทอง Pumpkin
Cucurbita moschata, also known as Cushaw, Butternut Squash, or Winter Squash.







kuichai กุยช่าย Chinese Chive
Allium tuberosum, also known as garlic chives, the flavor is more like garlic than chives, though much milder. Both leaves and the stalks of the flowers are used as a flavoring similarly to chives, green onions or garlic and are used as a stir fry ingredient. In China, they are often used to make dumplings with a combination of egg, shrimp and pork. The flowers may also be used as a spice.


het fang เห็ดฟาง Straw Mushroom
Volvariella volvacea






het hom เห็ดหอม Shiitake Mushroom
Lentinus edodes, also known as Chinese Mushrooms or Japanese Black Mushrooms. Shiitake mushrooms have a pale brown to dark reddish brown cap that is generally two to four inches wide. The young mushrooms have an edge rolled inward, which nearly flattens out with age. The stems are tough and fibrous and are generally detached and discarded. The cap has creamy white gills on its underside and its flesh is firm and white. The mushroom grows in clusters on hardwood, such as oak, chestnut and beech. The flesh is meaty textured with a rich, smoky flavor and goes well with all foods. These mushrooms are supposed to be good for baby’s cartilage.

hoi kraeng หอยแครง Cockle
Anadara granosa and Anadara nodifera. Also known as arc shell and blood cockle.






hoi lai หอยลาย Clam
Paphia undulata, Undulated Surf Clam.






hom daeng หอมแดง Red Shallots










kha ข่า Galangal
Alphinia galangal, is a larger and lighter-colored relative of ginger and has its own distinctive taste.






kha min ขมิ้น Tumeric
Curcuma longa, is a small ginger with brown rhizones. Inside the flesh is bright orange








khing ขิง Ginger
Zingiber officinale, grows from underground stems, or rhisome. Mature ginger stems are buff-colored; young or fresh ginger, king awn ขิงอ่อน, is white and is eaten fresh and pickled, as well as cooked.






ma khuea thet มะเขือเทศ Tomato










ma prao มะพร้าว Coconut










no mai หน่อไม้ Bamboo Shoots








Phak bung thai ผักบุ้งไทย Thai Water Morning Glory, Thai Water Convolvulus Ipomoea Aquatica. Thai water convovulus is an annual aquatic plant that spreads its stems on the water surface. The stem is succulent, crisp, green in color and segmented. The leaves are heart-shaped and commonly used in kaeng teop, sour spicy soups, fried with pork, used in yen ta fo and eaten as a fresh vegetable with nam prik.



phak guang tungผักกวางตุ้ง Cantonese Vegetable
Literally, “Guangdong vegetable”, Guangdong is located in Canton, Chinese. Also know as yao choy, yu choi, edible rape, green choy sum or sarsun (in India). It has long stalks, skinny leaves, and yellow flowers. It is a little more bitter than bok choy

ton hom ต้นหอม Green Onions, Spring Onions









tua phak yao ถั่วฝักยาว Long Beans, Yard








tua ngok ถั่วงอก Bean Sprouts








ta khrai ตะไคร้ Lemongrass
Cymbopgon citratus, is an aromatic grey-green grass










phrik ki nu พริกขี้หนู Thai chiles
Capsicum minimum, small red or green fiery “bird” or mouse dropping chile.






phak kat chin ผักกาดจีน Chinese White Cabbage
Brassica pekinensis also called ผักกาดขาว, pak gaat kao. The leaves of Chinese cabage are light green and crinkly. Chinese cabbage is commonly used for soups, fried, or eaten as a raw vegetable with laab or nam prik.


phak kat ผักกาด Lettuce
I’ve also seen lettuce






phak khana ผักคะน้า Chinese broccoli, Chinese Kale
Brassica alboglabra, also known as as gai lohn, kai lan, and Chinese kale. The plant resembles regular broccoli, although the leaves appear to be a bit broader and the stems somewhat longer than broccoli. The flowers form first into diminutive heads and then elongate rapidly into flower stalks bearing yellow flowers.




tua pu ถั่วพู Wing Beans











ma khuea pro มะเขีอเปราะ Thai Eggplant Solanum melongena, also known as Brinjal, Thai eggplants are small and round and a a creamy white color with green stripes. They are eaten as a fresh vegetable with nam prik, or used in curry and in Gaeng Paa (Jungle Curry) แกงป่า



ma khuea fuang มะเขือพวง Pea Eggplant
Solanum torvum, small pea-sized green eggplants with smooth skin. The young fruit is eaten as a fresh vegetable, put in nam prik, or used in curry, green curry, and kaeng kai.





phak chi lao ผักชีลาว Dill
Literally “Laotian Cilantro“. Commonly seen with street food vendors to add a taste to soups.









hai maelang phu หอยแมลงภู่ Mussel
Perna viridis, green mussel, also called hoi maeng phu หอยแมงภู่, in Thai.







phak chi farang ผักชีฝรั่ง Stink Weed, Long Leaf Cilantro
Eryngium Foetidum. Stink Weed is an annual plant with a short clumpy stem. The leaves are long-shaped, about 3 to 4 inches and 1/2 inch wide with dark green, with jagged edges. They are smooth and have a pleasant fragrance and a characteristic slightly sour taste. The leaves are eaten as a fresh vegetable and used to give fragrance to foods.


phak chi ผักชี Cilantro
Coriandrum sativum, is of the parsley family. The leaves and stems are eaten fresh and used frequently as a garnish. The root and the seeds are ingredients in many dishes.

How to make thai food: Stir fried clams with roasted chilli paste

Ingredients

450 grams fresh clams, cleaned well

1 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup sweet basil leaves

2 tablespoons roasted chilli paste

4 fresh chillies, cut into long strips

2 teaspoons garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fish sauce



Preparations

1. Heat oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add garlic in the hot oil and fry until it becomes golden.

2. Add clams and stir until they are cooked (clams will open when they are cooked). Season with fish sauce, sugar, and roasted chilli paste.

3. Before removing from heat, sprinkle with sweet basil leaves and red fresh chilli. Stir-fry for another 10 seconds. Transfered to a serving dish and served with steamed rice.

How to make thai food: Raw White Prawns with Chiles in Fish Sauce

1 pound prawns
15 prik ki nu
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
10 peeled cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon palm sugar
1 teaspoon chopped cilantro root
2 tablespoons nam pla
1 ½ tablespoon lime juice
4 to 5 sprigs of mint
shredded cabbage




To prepare the prawns, shell, vein, remove the head, but leave the tail attached.

Chop the chiles finely and mix with the cilantro root and chopped garlic. Add the nam pla, sugar, and lime juice so that a sour taste predominates.

Place a bed of shredded cabbage on a serving plate, and arrange the prawns on the cabbage. Place the peeled garlic cloves next to the prawns. Just before serving, pour the sauce over the prawns and sprinkle with mint leaves.

How to make thai food: Shrimp Grilled in Banana Leaves

300 grams (about 10.5 ounces or 2/3 pound) Goong Fawy see note below
3 tablespoons scallions/green onions, chopped
3 tablespoons cilantro, choped
loose banana leaves
2 large dried chiles, seeds removed and soaked in water
4 tablespoons lemongrass, chopped
1 teaspoon galangal, finely chopped
½ teaspoon fresh tumeric, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground salt
1 teaspoon gapee (shrimp paste)

Make a chile paste by crushing and pounding the chiles in a motar and pestle until it is fine paste. Wash the shrimp until clean. Put in a strainer to drain water. Mix shrimp with chile paste, green onions and cilantro. Mix gently and divide into three portions. Tear banana leaves about six inches wide and clean thoroughly. Lay the leaves next to each other. Add a scoop of the shrimp mixture to one side of the leaf. Fold over into a square packet and secure with a bamboo toothpick.

Grill the shrimp packets over low heat charcoal until done.

** Goong Fawy are small freshwater shrmip with small, transparent bodies generally found in fresh-food markets

How to make thai food: Red Curry Shrimp with Kaffir Lime Leaves and Basil

1 pound medium shrimp
3 orange or red serrano, jalapeño, or fresno peppers
1 cup rich unsweetened coconut cream (preferably Mae Ploy or Chao Koh brand-spoon the thickest cream off the top of an unshaken can of coconut milk)
2 to 3 tablespoons red curry paste
nam plah, as needed (some packaged curry pastes are already heavily salted)
2 teaspoons palm sugar, or to taste
8 kaffir lime leaves, very finely slivered
½ to 1 cup Thai basil leaves (bai horapa)
1 to 2 short sprigs of Thai basil (bai horapa) with purple flower buds, for garnish

Shell, devein, and butterfly the shrimp; give them a saltwater bath to freshen. Rinse and drain well, and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before cooking.

Cut two of the three red peppers into thin rounds, including seeds, and pound with a mortar and pestle to a coarse paste. Cut other pepper with seeds into fine inch-long slivers.

Heat 2/3 cup coconut cream in a wok or skillet over high heat. When it has warmed to a smooth consistency, spoon out 1 tablespoon and reserve. Reduce remaining cream for a few minutes until it is thick and bubbly and the oil begins to separate from the cream. Add curry paste, mushing it into the cream and fry, with stirring, over medium-high heat for a few minutes, until it is aromatic and darker in color; and the mixture is very thick.

Increase heat to high and add the remaining 1/3 cup coconut cream, stirring to make a thick, well-blended sauce. Season to taste with fish sauce and palm sugar: Stir well to melt sugar and blend seasonings. Toss in shrimp and cook in the sauce, stirring frequently. When most of them have lost their raw pink color on the outside, stir in the crushed chillies and kaffir lime leaves. Stir-fry 10 to 15 seconds before adding basil and slivered chilli. Stir well to wilt basil and, when shrimp are just cooked through, turn off heat.

Transfer to a serving dish and dribble reserved tablespoon of coconut cream over shrimp. Garnish with a sprig or two of basil.

Notes:
To make the sauce, follow the instructions to the end, simply skipping the shrimp. Try the sauce over crispy fried, whole small or flat fish, such as pompano, butterfish, sole, white perch, smelts, and anchovies. The sauce is also good over pan-fried or grilled mackerel. Or, if you prefer, smother over grilled halibut, salmon, albacore, tuna, mahi mahi, jumbo prawns, lobster, or whatever else you like to toss on your charcoal grill. Top with the coconut cream and garnish with basil sprigs. For strong-tasting fish, about 2 tablespoons of fine inch-long slivers of fresh rhizome (qkrachal) can be added to the sauce at the same time as the basil and cooked until both are wilted.

Besides cooking with shrimp, as in this recipe, substitute squid, scallops, shelled clams, and mussels, or a combination of shellfish and mollusks.

How to make thai food: Curry Chile Paste

Ingredient

1 teaspoon sea salt
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced cilantro roots and stems
1 dried New Mexico (or California) chile, softened in warm water and seeded
15 dried de arbol or Japones chiles, softened in warm water
1 tablespoon dried shrimp, softened in warm water and pureed (optional)
½ teaspoon Thai white peppercorns, dry roasted, and ground
½ teaspoon caraway seeds, dry roasted, and ground
1 teaspoon minced galangal, or 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger as a substitute
1 lemongrass stalk, green parts and hard outer layers removed, minced
1 teaspoon grated kaffir lime zest, or 1 tablespoon grated regular lime zest as a substitute
2 shallots, minced
1 tablespoon fresh grated coconut flakes
1 teaspoon fermented shrimp paste, or 1 tablespoon red miso as a substitute

Using a mortar and pestle, pound the sea salt and garlic into a paste. One at a time, add the cilantro roots and stems, chiles, dried shrimp, if desired, the peppercorns, caraway seeds, galangal, lemongrass, lime zest, and shallots in sequence, adding each new ingredient only after the previous one is pureed and incorporated into the paste. Add the grated coconut and mix well, then add the fermented shrimp paste and mix well. The chile paste can be stored in the refrigerator for at least 1 month.