Cooking Corner

Thai cuisine has its roots in the historical blending of Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, Vietnamese and Thai cultures. Its popularity has increased dramatically all over the world, largely because of the sharp contrasts in taste of the sweet, sour and hot dishes in a typical meal. A traditional Thai meal usually consists of three of four dishes such as an appetizer, main course, soup and dessert. If you are cooking Thai food yourself, you can exercise flexibility and change the dishes according to individual preference.

Customarily, the dishes (each requiring a spoon) are simultaneously placed in the center of the table. When ready to eat, each diner serves himself by using the spoon to scoop food onto his plate. Thais eat with a fork and spoon, using chopsticks only for noodle dishes.

Now you can try your hand at preparing some authentic Thai food at home.

Yum Woon Sen

(Bean Threads in Lime Juice)

Ingredients: Shelled shrimp, mushrooms, bean threads, wood ears, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar chili, minced garlic, shredded onion, crushed cashew nuts and mint leaves.

Cooking: De-vein the shrimps; rinse and drain; bring water to boil; add mushrooms, bean threads and wood ears, bring to a second boil, then remove them; bring fish sauce, lime juice, sugar chili, minced garlic to boil; add shrimp; stir and cook until shrimps change color. Turn off heat, and mix the foregoing with cooked mushrooms, bean threads and wood ears, adding shredded onion, crushed cashew nuts and mint leaves onto the plate as desired.

Tom Yum Koong

(Spicy Shrimp Soups)

Ingredients: shelled shrimp with tail, mushrooms, stock, lemon grass, chilies, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and cilantro,

Cooking: De-vein shrimp; rinse and drain; bring stock with lemon grass and chilies to boil; add shrimp, mushrooms to the soup and pour in fish sauce, lime juice and sugar according to your taste; cook all together until shrimp changes color; sprinkle with cilantro as desired.

Stir-fried Spicy Chicken & Cashew Nuts

Ingredients: Chicken (cut in strips), minced garlic, dried chilies, onion pieces, cashew nuts, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar and green onion in chunks.

Cooking: Heat oil, then stir-fry minced garlic and dried chilies until fragrant; add meat and stir-fry until color changes; add onion chunks and cashew nuts, then fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar; stir-fry briefly; add green onion pieces and bring to boil