Thai cuisine has borrowed a lot from China and India. First of all, this is the way of processing food (quick frying, steaming), fine cutting of ingredients, unusual combinations of tastes (sour and sweet, salty and spicy), as well as the use of numerous sauces and spice mixtures. In Thai cuisine, there are dishes in which there are up to 40 flavors – juices, leaves of various plants, herbs and spices. The most popular foods in Thailand are seafood, fish, fruits, vegetables and rice.
The taste of many Asian dishes is unusual for Europeans. And those who want to learn the secrets and master the basics of cooking exotic Thai dishes will face difficulties: not all ingredients and spices can be found in our stores. But Thai cuisine offers the opportunity to combine different ingredients. If suddenly some products are out of stock, they can be replaced. For example, the recipe for Thai tom yam soup involves replacing coconut milk with regular cream. But it is better, of course, to purchase coconut milk, which is often used in the national cuisine of Thailand. To make tom-yam soup, you will need: – 450 g of peeled shrimps; – 100 g of mushrooms; – 5 cloves of garlic; – 2 heads of onions; – zest of one lemon; – fresh ginger root; – 1,5 liters of chicken broth; – 200 ml of coconut milk; – 2 chili peppers; – 1 tbsp. granulated sugar; – 4 tbsp. vegetable oil; – 2 tbsp. lemon juice.
Peel and chop onions and garlic with a knife, cut pepper into rings. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry in turn, first the garlic, then the onion, then the pepper. Then mix everything well, transfer to a blender, beat until smooth and fry in the same pan.
Then grate the ginger root and lemon zest. Add together with granulated sugar and lemon juice to the pan to the onion-garlic mass. Saute lightly and remove from heat.
Chinese black wood mushrooms are used in Thai cuisine. It is better if the mushrooms are fresh, but you can cook dishes with dry tree mushrooms.
Wash the mushrooms and cut them into small slices. Pour the broth into a large saucepan and bring to a boil, add the coconut milk and 3 tablespoons of the resulting paste. Cook everything over medium heat for two minutes. Then put peeled shrimps and prepared mushrooms in the soup, cook for another five minutes. Then remove the tom-yam from the heat and decorate with herbs.
In the national cuisine of Thailand, there are many recipes for cooking Thai rice. Among them there are very intricate ones, with many unusual ingredients, and there are simple ones that you can master and cook at home. One of these recipes for Thai cuisine is rice with cheese and mushrooms in Thai style. For him you will need: – 60 g of grated hard cheese; – 25 g of dried tomatoes; – 20 g of dried Chinese tree mushrooms; – 1 head of onion; – 3 cloves of garlic; – 1 head of onion; – 180 g of brown rice; – 600 ml of water; – 1 tbsp. olive oil; – ½ tsp. dried sage; – salt; – ground pepper.
Place the Chinese tree mushrooms in a bowl and fill with 350 ml of boiled hot water. Place the tomatoes in another bowl and cover with the rest of the water. Set aside mushrooms and tomatoes for 20 minutes to swell. Meanwhile, peel the onions with garlic and chop. Rinse the rice with cold water.
After the required time has elapsed, remove the swollen mushrooms with tomatoes and cut them into pieces. Mix the water in one bowl.
Pour vegetable oil and 3 tablespoons of mushroom and tomato liquid into a frying pan, add onion and garlic and simmer until light golden brown. Then pour in the remaining liquid and add all the ingredients: rice, mushrooms, tomatoes, salt, pepper and sage. Mix everything well and bring to a boil.
Parmesan cheese is good for this dish.
Then transfer to a heatproof dish and place in an oven preheated to 180 ° C for 40 minutes. When the rice is ready, put this Thai dish on plates and sprinkle with grated cheese.