THAI COOKING CUPBOARD Adapted and expanded from Kasmas Loha Unchit Thai cuisine is known for its

balance of five fundamental flavors in each dish or the overall meal - hot (spicy), sour, sweet, salty and bitter (optional). No one flavor should dominate over the other flavors. Although popularly considered as a single cuisine, Thai food is really better described as four regional cuisines corresponding to the four main regions of the country: Northern, Northeastern (or Isan), Central and Southern. Southern curries, for example, tend to contain coconut milk and fresh turmeric, while northeastern dishes often include limejuice. Basil - Thai basil (Horapa), is used commonly in Thai and Vietnamese cuisines, and has a flavor of licorice and mint. It has small green leaves and purple stems and buds The flower buds have a subtler flavor and they are edible. Thai basil goes great with seafood, chicken, pork, and in curry sauces. Thai basil is most commonly used and found in chicken, pork, and curry dishes in Thailand and Vietnam. Thai basil can also be found served raw with pho, which is a Vietnamese favorite soup made of noodles and other ingredients. Add Thai basil to the dish at the last minute as it wilts quickly and starts to lose its wonderful flavor. Thai basil does not keep well. Try to use it within 24 hours of purchase. If unavailable to you, try using equal parts regular basil and mint as a substitute. It won't be the same but it's the closest you can come to the real thing. Bean Sprouts - Sprout of the mung or soybean. Wash before use; remove as much of the seed pot as possible. Available fresh in most supermarkets. Also sold in tins but those have lost most of their crunchiness and flavor.

Coconut milk - The coconuts rich flavor and creamy texture compliments spicy soups, curries, and rice dishes. The fat in coconut milk and cream helps mellow the spiciness of recipes and makes flavors taste more complex. Mae Ploy (in the 19 oz. can) and Chaokoh (14 oz.). Mae Ploy is very rich and creamy; Chaokoh has a delicate, sweet, natural flavor. Beware of look-alike cans of inferior brands; make sure Chaokoh has an

"a-ok" in it! If you have left over milk just freeze it in ice cube trays and use it in your next recipe. Chilies - Thai Chilies (also known as birds-eye chili, or prik kee new in Thai) are the staple flavoring of most Thai cuisine. These small but very hot peppers are not native to Thailand, but were introduced by the Portuguese. They flavor just about every food, breakfast, lunch, and dinner with these peppers. Small, about one to one and a half inches long, these chilies come in about 20 times hotter than a Jalepeno on the Scoville Scale. They are green to red in color, and either color is fresh and ready to eat. These can be found in many Asian food stores, and online. Start by using only one or two chilies, finely minced with seeds and ribs removed in your Thai dishes; you can always add more but can't take out the heat if you overdo it. Chili, Roasted Paste Mix (Namprik) - Often labeled as "chili paste in soy bean oil". Namprik is the original Thai chile paste and it's hard to find in the United States. Most Thai people leaving their country don't go without a few jars of their favorite namprik. Narok means "hell" in Thai language, and this has a higher chile heat than most. Simply spoon over steamed jasmine rice or use as a dip with fresh vegetables. Preferred brand is Pantainorasingh (Amazon carries) with a delicious mix of smoked fish 30%, chile 30%, fish sauce 15%, tamarind paste 10%, limejuice 8%, palm sugar 5%, salt 2%, no additives. Mae Ploy brand is also good. Chili sauce: Sriracha (hot!) - In both "medium" and "strong" degree, with or without garlic. This smooth, orangish red sauce, with a consistency similar to ketchup, originated in the seacoast. There are many good Thai brands. A good California-made brand comes in a plastic squeeze bottle with green pour cap, labeled as "Tuong Ot Sriracha." Chili Sauce, Sweet, Mae Ploy - The sauce has a sweet and slightly spicy chili flavoring. It's made from a blend of selected red chilies and plums. This sweet chili sauce is for dipping and is delicious with grilled chicken, seafood, and deep-fried foods. It's pinkish-red color and confettilike specks of chili flakes make it a visually appealing condiment. It adds zip to grilled meats and vegetables as well as fried foods like tempura, fish cakes, squid, vegetables and spring rolls. Like ketchup, sweet chili sauce has inspired numerous uses.

Curry paste - Thai curry is not the same as Indian curry. Thais cook their curry dishes for a much shorter time and use more fresh herbs and garlic and fewer dry spices then in Indian curry. Mae Ploy brand (large tub size only) curry paste has a list of ingredients superior to Maesri. Consider stocking the 2 or 3 each 4 oz cans of Red, Green, Yellow, Massaman, and Panang. Start by using 1-2 Tbsps per recipe (about half the can) Tossing or Freezing the remainder (a can now is 79). You may find over time that you will use the entire can per recipe. Fish sauce - If there's any one key ingredient that is critical to cooking Thai food, it is fish sauce. This is a must-buy ingredient. Thai fish sauce is a magic ingredient if you can get past the smell. Why does it smell? Because its made of fermented anchovy juice. The primary ingredient in Worchestershire sauce is femented anchovies. Genuine fish sauce is the water, or juice, in the flesh of fish that is extracted in the process of prolonged salting and fermentation. Fish sauce makes Thai food taste great. Fish sauce is not new, it was very popular in around the Mediterranean in Roman times. It has been reported that the fishermen of Galilee were catching fish to be made into fish sauce. Fish sauce should be fairly light in color, if it is dark compared to other bottles on the shelf it is old. Brands to look for areTra Chang (meaning "weighing scale" and showing a picture of a scale) and "Golden Boy" Brand (dta dehk in Tha). The label shows a baby boy sitting on a globe, cradling a bottle on the left arm with right thumb up). Reasonably good are the Squid, Anchovy and Tiparos brands, though you may find Tiparos a bit fishy. You can also try the premium Vietnamese Three Crabs brand (my favorite). Taste several and choose your own favorite. Ginger - Aromatic, pungent and spicy, ginger adds a special flavor and zest to Asian stir-fries and many fruit and vegetable dishes. Fresh ginger root is available year round in the produce section of your local market. Ginger is the underground rhizome of the ginger plant with a firm, striated texture. The flesh of the ginger rhizome can be yellow, white or red in color, depending upon the variety. It is covered with a brownish skin that may either be thick or thin, depending upon whether the plant was harvested when it was mature or young.

Galangal - At first, galangal looks similar to ginger root. However a closer look will reveal the difference between galangal and ginger root. Galangal has a tighter skin, is lighter in color and can have pinkish portions too. All of us know the taste and flavor of ginger, Galangal tastes more like pepper than ginger. Coming to the similarities between galangal and ginger root, both grow underground and the method used to cook them (in various dishes) is similar too. Fresh galangal is now available in the west and it's easy availability makes people confuse it with ginger. Golden Mountain Sauce - Most street vendors in Thailand have a bottle of Golden Mountain Sauce on their stock table. Most street vendors add a splash of the sauce to their stir-fries but you rarely find the ingredient listed in a Thai recipe. Golden Mountain Sauce is often thought to be a secret ingredient in Thai food, at least here in North America where it is only now becoming known. Like soy sauce, Golden Mountain Sauce is composed mainly of fermented soy beans and salt. It tastes quite different from soy sauce, however: slightly saltier, plus there is a hint of sweetness (it does contain sugar). There is no MSG in this sauce. Make sure labeling states "natually fermented." This sauce adds a delightful difference to stir-fries and will have guests asking for your secret recipes. Kaffir Lime leaves Kaffir lime leaf actually looks like 2 leaves joined together: the lower leaf is oval, while the upper leaf attached to it is more heart-shaped. Together, the leaves are several inches long. While sometimes you can find Kaffir Lime Leaves being sold fresh in the produce section of Asian markets, it is more likely to be found in the freezer section. Frozen Kaffir Lime Leaves keep anywhere from several months to a year. Sometimes the leaf is left whole and simply added for extra flavor, like a bay leaf would be added to Western soups and stews, while other times it is chopped or ground up as part of the curry or soup paste. You can order Powdered: Nguan Soon brand, Fresh: Asian stores and online Asian stores, http://www.importfoods.com/

Kecap Manis - Indonesian sweet soy sauce. Very thick and dark in color. Delicious, slightly sweet, aromatic dark sauce to cook with and as a condiment on table. If unavailable you can use dark Chinese soy sauce to which you add 1 or 2 spoons of dark brown sugar but the result will not be nearly as good.

Lemon Grass One of the famous Thai food ingredients is lemon grass. Thai cooking uses lemon grass in soups, stews and stir fried dishes. The ingredient that gives the intense lemon aroma and flavor to many Thai dishes is lemon grass. Taste lemon grass and you will be impressed with its lemon flavor and a hint of ginger will also be noticed. Slice off and finely mince the light colored root end for use. Lemon grass can be frozen. Substitutes for fresh lemon grass could be dried, powdered or lemon grass paste (www.gourmetgarden.com on line for paste or store locator) Noodles Cellophane: These noodles are fine, stringlike, dried transparent noodles made from mung beans. They are only available dried. They have firmer texture than the rice noodles once softened. To soften Cellophane Noodles, soak them in warm water for 10-15 minutes, but sometimes they are plunged into boiling water and cooked until tender. Rice: Both fresh and dried rice noodles are available in Asian markets. Fresh ones are highly perishable and must be cooked as soon as possible after purchase. Rice noodles are available in a range of shapes and widths. Medium Rice Noodles: Resembling spaghetti, these noodles are sold both fresh and dried. Rice Stick Noodles: Also known as rice river noodles, these are sold both dried and fresh, although the latter form is more popular. When fresh they tend to be rather sticky and need to be separated before cooking. Oyster sauce - Should be a Thai product, which is less salty and more flavorful than the Chinese variety and also does not contain MSG. The preferred brand is from Thailand is "Mae Krua" -- the front of the label depicts a plump woman stir-frying while shaking sauce from a bottle into the wok. Underneath her are the words Mae Krua, which means "mother of the kitchen," the Thai way of referring to a female chef.

Peanut oil Peanut cooking oil is a clear, pale yellow oil with a high smoking point, which enables it to be used in deep-frying food items. Its nutty and peanut flavor is distinctive, yet not overpowering and is perfect to make French fries and to be added in salads. Peanut cooking oil or groundnut oil is an organic material oil extracted from peanuts. In South Asian, Chinese and Southeast Asian cuisine, this oil is used in large quantities just as how olive oil is used in the Mediterranean. A good brand is Lion and Globe from Hong Kong. Rice: Jasmine rice, white and brown - Jasmine rice is a long grain rice variety; also known as fragrant, aromatic, or scented rice. Grown in the mountain highlands of Thailand for centuries, jasmine rice was first cultivated for the royalty of the kingdom of Siam. Named after the sweet-smelling jasmine flower of Southeast Asia, jasmine rice has a naturally distinctive scent released during the cooking process and is likened to a flowery perfume. Jasmine rice is praised for its whiteness and silkiness. Cooked, it is soft, white and fluffy. The taste of this rice enhances the traditional spices of oriental cookery. Should be Thai Jasmine rice. Preferred brand is Golden Phoenix. Rice: White Sticky Rice - Also known as sticky, waxy or sweet rice, glutinous rice can be either white or black. Its name is purely a description of its texture, due to the high sugar and starch content which causes the cooked grains to stick together." It is meant to be formed into small balls that you make with your fingers. Then dip it in spicy sauce and let it soak up like a sponge. Golden Phoenix Brand, Butterfly Brand, and Sanpatong brand are all good. Roasted Rice - Roasted rice is used to make Larb Gai (spicy ground chicken) which is a delicious dish served throughout Thailand and becoming very popular in America. It's also a key ingredient in Thai Waterfall Beef (namtok) and Lao-style beef salad (pra neua). You can make roasted rice very easily at home: get a medium sized wok or skillet fairly hot, and add a couple of tablespoons of uncooked jasmine rice. Keep in movement until the rice starts to turn golden brown. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Grind to a fairly coarse powder in a spice mill, or a mortar and pestle, or a pepper mill or a good clean coffee grinder (all of these work well but keep in mind that a coffee grinder tends to grind too fine-the powder should retain some "texture"). You can buy

the jarred roasted rice on line from www.importfoods.com Shrimp paste - Shrimp paste is made from fermented, tiny brine shrimp. The thick paste that forms as the shrimp are broken down (fermented) by salt is then ground up into a smoother paste and sun dried. It comes in slabs or blocks (usually labeled dried shrimp paste), or in a round jar with a tight-fitting lid. The lid is important for keeping that strong smell out of your refrigerator; this condiment can last almost indefinitely. The thing about shrimp paste, similar to Fish Sauce (Nam Pla) is that once it's cooked, the flavor and odor mellow into a lovely background taste and provide a salty, nuanced undertone. Soybean sauce/paste - This salty brown sauce/paste is made from fermented soybeans, and is available in cans or jars. If you buy it in a can, transfer it into a jar. It can then be stored indefinitely in the refrigerator. This sauce is a common ingredient in Thai cooking. Its main uses are for seasoning fried vegetables and steamed dishes such as steamed fish. Or use this sauce as a table condiment for dipping. It makes an excellent seasoning for vegetarians. Soy sauce, dark - "Naturally brewed" or "naturally fermented." An excellent brand now widely available in Oriental markets is Pearl River Bridge, which comes in a number of grades with varying prices. Its premium "Superior aged longer" label is superb. Soy sauce, light Pearl river Bridge also makes an excellent Superior "Light" soy sauce. Kikkoman light soy sauce is also fine. Soy sauce, black - Black soy sauce and kecap manis are both sweet soy sauces. By sweet, I really mean it - its thick and viscous and basically syrup. Black soy sauce is a little saltier than kecap manis, but it shouldn't make too much of a difference when cooking. Just make sure you don't get Chinese black soy sauce, which isn't sweet at all. You'll know the difference because the Chinese stuff will be thin, while the sweet stuff is always thick. Black Soy Sauce is used in many Thai Noodle dishes. It also works great as a marinade.It's also delicious on dumplings and a top-tier ingredient in Pad Kra Pow. Two good black soys are made by the Kwong Hung Seng

company of Thailand, which uses the dragon fly logo on the front label and Healthy Boy Brand. Sugar: Palm - Palm sugar is a sugar that is extracted from the sap of palm trees. Numerous varieties of palm tree are tapped for their sugar, although palm sugar from date palms and palmyra palms tends to be the most prized. It can also be extracted from sago and coconut palms. This sugar is widely used throughout Southeast Asia. Palm sugar varies in color from a light golden color to a rich dark brown. It tends to be extremely grainy, with dried forms being highly crumbly, and it is typically minimally processed. Many people like to use palm sugar in cooking because it is so coarse and unprocessed, and many Southeast Asian recipes call specifically for palm sugar. The light processing leaves much of the flavor of the sugar intact, creating an almost molasses-like flavor. You may substitute light brown sugar if you cannot find palm sugar. Tamarind - Fruit of the Tamarind tree. Very tart, tangy flavor. This is sold in oriental stores as blocks of pressed pulp or jarred as a concentrate or paste. To make tamarind water, break about 3 ozs. of pulp into a bowl, add 6 ozs. hot water and soak, stirring occasionally. Sieve mixture, pressing through as much pulp as possible and use as directed in recipe. Limejuice may be substituted but the flavor will not be quite the same.