A few of the many vegetables used in Thai cookery.
Preparing palm sugar.
Coconuts awaiting collection by boat at the Damnoen-Saduak floating market.
In this slender volume, I am saddened that I do not have the space to eulogise at length over the subtleties and fundamentals of Thai cooking, so here, in a plain and straightforward way, are some brief, but important guidelines:
Basic utensils
Since in Thailand most of the cooking is done in huge aluminium vats over charcoal-fired barbeques, or in woks, or even, such as is the case with the famous sticky rice, cooked in bamboo tubes about 7.5 cm/3 inches in diameter (or baskets) over a low charcoal fire, it is going to be quite difficult, in our highly sophisticated Western kitchens, to replicate the amazing flavours that these simple heat sources create.
Cooking up a storm at the floating market.
The indispensable wok, for sale at Klong Toey Market.
These baskets are used for cooking sticky rice.
Sticky rice for sale, alongside wooden pestles and mortars.
The chopping boards are sturdy and need to be to withstand all the use they’re put to.
Unidentified frying objects.
The colours and shapes of turned wood are very attractive.
Charcoal-fired cooking stoves.
Since a lot of Thai cooking is done in woks, it is good to have a high-flamed gas stove, or, indeed, a powerful bottled-gas camping stove – you can cook outside when it is not raining. You will need a couple of woks, a small one and a large one. If you have an electric cooker, buy flat-bottomed woks; if you have a fiery gas cooker, buy round-bottomed woks. You need a large pan for deep-fat frying, with a wire basket for straining. You need a couple of large bamboo steamers with lids and a suitably large pan the same size as the steamer so that it can sit on top of the boiling water. I do think an electric rice cooker is a really brilliant idea. Not only does it mean you will cook rice perfectly every time, but the rice will stay hot without spoiling for up to a couple of hours, and since the essence of Thai cooking is rice placed in the centre of the table, while everything else is just an accompaniment, this means that you can serve a small portion of rice time after time with each successive dish. For the serious-minded and those with ample time, a large, heavy pestle and mortar is de rigueur for preparing your pastes and salads. For those with less time, invest in an electric food processor. You will need sensible tongs to turn and lift the food; you will need wooden spoons or spatulas for stir-frying; a set of very sharp knives, and some substantial chopping boards. Should you find yourself on holiday in Thailand, you will notice in the markets that their chopping boards are mostly circular and cut from the trunk of a tree, upon which they deftly chop everything from chickens to vegetables with an extremely sharp cleaver – not for them a posey little knife rack filled with blunt knives acquired from some readers’ offer in a magazine.
Ingredients
The Thais relish virtually every kind of green vegetable that there is, from Morning Glory, which is a form of lily pad, through to long green beans called Snake Beans. They can be between 30, 38 or 45 cm/12, 15 or 18 inches long. If you can find them, well and good, but I have substituted them with French green beans, a.k.a. haricot vert, which need to be topped and tailed and cut according to the recipe. They are a very good alternative.
Galangal or Thai ginger.
Krachai, a relative of ginger root, but milder than ginger or galangal.
Lemon grass.
Where recipes call for shallots or onions, please use red shallots and red onions.
Many Thai dishes require some sugar. Unless otherwise stated, this should be palm sugar or soft Demerara (or soft light brown sugar).
The basic dark green leaves used in Thai cooking are known as Chinese kale. In good Asian stores this is known as Gai larn. For ease of accessibility, I have substituted pak choi or choi sum. You could, of course, also use spinach.
Thais favour galangal over fresh root ginger because it is slightly sweet and more tender than ginger, but either can be used. Another great favourite, and member of the ginger family, is fresh turmeric root, a little yellow-ochre knobbly root about the size of your little finger. You might find this in good Asian stores.
When using lemon grass, remove the outer leaves and use the bottom 15 cm/6 inches of the stalk (or the white part only as specified). If you can’t get lemon grass, use dried lemon grass (add a little extra for flavour), or the zest of 1 lemon (zest from 1 lemon = 2 stalks lemon grass).
An essential ingredient for cooking Thai food is kaffir lime leaves. However, if you can’t obtain them, 1 tablespoon lime or lemon zest = c.6 kaffir lime leaves. If you are substituting dried leaves for fresh, they are much less flavourful, so use twice as many as the recipe calls for and, if possible, add dried leaves to the recipe earlier than you would fresh in order to extract the maximum amount of flavour.
Green curries, in particular, benefit from a few fresh green peppercorns; however, if they are difficult to find, buy green peppercorns pickled in brine, rinse them well and drain them. They make a fair substitute. The ones from Madagascar are particularly good.
Most Thai curries use baby aubergines the size of a large pea. They may be difficult to source outside of London, Manchester, Bradford and Leeds and other large cities, although you may find them frozen. If you are unable to find them buy small aubergines, cut them into 1 cm/1/2
