Intro to Thai Cooking

Thai cuisine has evolved over the years and has been influenced by the outside world but typical methods of cooking Thai food still remain the same as they were in the past.

The first is grilling. This method derived from the fact that Thailand is abundant in the supply of natural wood that can be applied to set the fire and cook food. Thai people normally grill meats and fresh seafood and eat them with dips (locally called as 'Nam Phrik') which has sweet-and-sour flavors so that they become tastier.

Another popular Thai cooking method is 'Yam' basically a kind of salad. But Thai-style salad is different from the western because the Thai dressing contains no fat in its ingredients, unlike mayonnaise and different types of Ranch that are high in calorie and fat. In cooking a dish of Thai salad, simply add a portion of salty seasoning such as fish sauce of salt, lemon juice, chili, and sometimes, garlic and shallot, and mix them together. Then, you can make several dishes of Thai salad be they shrimp salad, pork salad, papaya salad, beef salad and so on depending on a person's creative ideas. Therefore, some can find a dish of 'yam' very delightful while its herb and spice ingredients are good for health as well.

Boiling is another typical way of Thai food preparation. Before the age of modern cookery, Thai people used clay pots to boil food. They also used clay pots to cook rice and make variety of soups. The famous 'Tom Yam Goong' also originated from boiling technique. Curries were also developed in the olden days as well but the present-day curries are much different from they were previously because ancient Thais did not use coconut milk in those spicy soups. However coconut milk is an important part of modern Thai cuisine