Introduction
Thai food is internationally famous. Whether chilli-hot or comparatively bland, harmony is the guiding principle behind each dish.

Thai cuisine is essentially a marriage of centuries-old Eastern and Western influences harmoniously combined into something uniquely Thai.

The characteristics of Thai food depend on who cooks it, for whom it is cooked, for what occasion, and where it is cooked.

Originally, Thai cooking reflected the characteristics of a waterborne lifestyle. Aquatic animals, plants and herbs were major ingredients. Large chunks of meat were eschewed. Subsequent influences introduced the use of more sizeable meat morsels to Thai cooking.

With their Buddhist background, Thais shunned the use of large animals in big chunks. Big cuts of meat were shredded and laced with herbs and spices.

Traditional Thai cooking methods were stewing and baking, or grilling. Chinese influences saw the introduction of frying, stir frying and deep-frying.

Culinary influences from the 17th century onwards included Portuguese, Dutch, French and Japanese. Chilies were introduced to Thai cooking during the late 1600s by Portuguese missionaries who had acquired a taste for them while serving in South America.

Thais were very adapt at 'Siam-ising' foreign cooking methods, and substituting ingredients. The ghee used in Indian cooking was replaced by coconut oil, and coconut milk substituted for other dairy products. Overpowering pure spices were toned down and enhanced with fresh herbs, such as lemon grass and galanga. Eventually, fewer and less spices were used in Thai curries, while the use of fresh herbs increased.

It is generally acknowledged that Thai curries burn intensely, but briefly, whereas other curries, with strong spices, burn for longer periods. Instead of serving dishes in courses, a Thai meal is served all at once, permitting diners to enjoy complementary combinations of tastes.

A proper Thai meal should consist of a soup, a curry dish with condiments, a dip with accompanying fish and vegetables. A spiced salad may replace the curry dish. The soup can also be spicy, but the curry should be replaced by non-spiced items. There must be a harmony of tastes and textures within individual dishes and the entire meal.

Thai Food

Recipes
Recipes included herein feature some of the most popular Thai dishes that grace the menus of any Thai restaurant.

Satay	Phat Thai	Kai Yang with Khao Niao and Som Tam
Stir-Fried Mixed Vegetables	Yum Nuea	Kaeng Khiao Wan   Nuea
Thot Man Pla	Tom Yum Kung	Khao Phat
Tom Kha Kai	Po Pia Thot	Mi Krop

Preparing Thai Food

Thai Cooking

Thai cooking as now enjoyed all over the world is a blend of Asian and European influences adopted through centuries of trade and diplomatic exchanges.

Thais have traditionally lived close to the land and the waters, and original Thai cooking reflected that.

Main ingredients were rice, fish, vegetable and herbs. Very little meat was used, and traditionally beef or buffalo meat was eschewed since the animals were the mainstays of farm life. 

Thais grilled, baked and stewed their food, until the Chinese introduced the techniques of cooking with hot oil.

European merchants, diplomats and missionaries also contributed a lot to the cuisine, starting right after their arrivals in the 16th Century.

And we all have the Portuguese to thank for introducing chilies  to Thai kitchens. Curries and spices, on the other hand, were brought here by the Indians. Over the years Thai cooks have added their own ingenuity, substituting hard-to-find ingredients with what’s available locally and adapting the recipes to suit Thai palates.

Thai Herb

Many herbs and spices used in Thai cuisine have beneficial medicinal properties. Here with are some examples.

	Chilli: "Phrik" in Thai Chilli is an erect, branched, shrub-like herb with fruits used as garnishing and flavouring in Thai dishes. There are many different species. All contain capsaicin, a biologically active ingredient beneficial to the respiratory system, blood pressure and heart. Other therapeutic uses include being a stomachic, carminative and antiflatulence agent, and digestant.
	Cumin: "Yi-ra" in Thai Cumin is a small shrubbery herb, the fruit of which contains a 2-4% volatile oil with a pungent odour, and which is used as a flavouring and condiment. Cumin's therapeutic properties manifest as a stomachic, bitter tonic, carminative, stimulant and astringent.
	Garlic: "Kra-thiam" in Thai Garlic is an annual herbaceous plant with underground bulbs comprising several cloves. Dried mature bulbs are used as a flavouring and condiment in Thai cuisine. The bulbs contain a 0.1-0.36% garlic oil and organic sulfur compounds. Therapeutic uses are as an antimicrobial, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, antiflatulence and cholesterol lowering agents.
	Ginger: "Khing" in Thai Ginger is an erect plant with thickened, fleshy and aromatic rhizomes. Used in different forms as a food, flavouring and spice. Ginger's rhizomes contain a 1-2% volatile oil. Ginger's therapeutic uses are as a carminative, antinauseant and antiflatulence agent.
	Galanga: "Kha" in Thai Greater Galanga is an erect annual plant with aromatic, ginger-like rhizomes, and commonly used in Thai cooking as a flavouring. The approximately 0.04 volatile oil content has therapeutic uses as carminative, stomachic, antirheumatic and antimicrobial agents.
	Hoary Basil: "Maeng-lak" in Thai Hoary Basil is an annual herbaceous plant with slightly hairy and pale green leaves, eaten either raw or used as a flavouring, and containing approximately 0.7% volatile oil. Therapeutic benefits include the alleviation of cough symptoms, and as diaphoretic and carminative agents.
	Kafffir: "Ma-krut" in Thai The leaves, peel and juice of the Kaffir Lime are used as a flavouring in Thai cuisine. The leaves and peel contain a volatile oil. The major therapeutic benefit of the juice is as an appetiser.
	(No Common English Name): Krachai inThai  This erect annual plant with aromatic rhizomes and yellow-brown roots, is used as a flavouring. The rhizomes contain approximately 0.8% volatile oil. The plant has stomachache relieving and antimicrobial properties, and therapeutic benefits as an antitussive and antiflatulence agent.
	Lemon Grass: "Ta-khrai" in Thai This erect annual plant resembles a coarse grey-green grass. Fresh leaves and grass are used as flavouring. Lemongrass contains a 0.2-0.4 volatile oil. Therapeutic properties are as a diurectic, emmanagogue, antiflatulence, antiflu and antimicrobial agent.
	Lime: "Ma-nao" in Thai Lime is used principally as a garnish for fish and meat dishes. The fruit contains Hesperidin and Naringin , scientifically proven antiinflammatory flavonoids. Lime juice is used as an appetiser, and has antitussive, antiflu, stomachic and antiscorbutic properties.
	Marsh Mint: "Sa-ra-nae" in Thai The fresh leaves of this herbaceous plant are used as a flavouring and eaten raw in Thai cuisine. Volatile oil contents give the plant several therapeutic uses, including carminative, mild antiseptic, local anaesthetic, diaphoretic and digestant properties.
	Pepper: "Phrik-Thai" in Thai Pepper is a branching, perennial climbing plant from whose fruiting spikes both white and black pepper are obtained. Used as a spice and condiment, pepper contains a 2-4% volatile oil. Therapeutic uses are as carminative, antipyretic, diaphoretic and diuretic agents.
	Sacred Basil: "Ka-phrao" in Thai Sacred Basil is an annual herbaceous plant that resembles Sweet Basil but has narrower and often times reddish-purple leaves. The fresh leaves, which are used as a flavouring, contain approximately 0.5% volatile oil, which exhibits antimicrobial activity, specifically as a carminative, diaphoretic, expectorant and stomachic.
	Shallot: "Hom,Hom-lek,Hom-daeng"in Thai Shallots, or small red onions, are annual herbaceous plants. Underground bulbs comprise garlic-like cloves. Shallot bulbs contain a volatile oil, and are used as flavouring or seasoning agents. Therapeutic properties include the alleviation of stomach discomfort, and as an antihelmintic, antidiarrhoeal, expectorant, antitussive, diuretic and antiflu agents.
	Sweet Basil: "Ho-ra-pha" in Thai Sweet Basil is an annual herbaceous plant, the fresh leaves of which are either eaten raw or used as a flavouring in Thai cooking. Volatile oil content varies according to different varieties. Therapeutic properties are as carminative, diaphoretic, expectorant, digestant and stomachic agents.
	Turmeric:  "Kha-min" in Thai Turmeric is a member of the ginger family, and provides yellow colouring for Thai food. The rhizomes contain a 3-4% volatile oil with unique aromatic characteristics. Turmeric's therapeutic properties manifest as a carminative, antiflatulence and stomachic.

Local Flavor

Phuket has a number of foods different in character and flavor from those of other areas in Thailand. The international character of the island, however, with so many different restaurants catering to a multitude of tastes, makes it difficult for non-Thais to identify Phuket cuisine. Below is a list of local dishes and shops where they can be sampled.

Mee Ton Poh near the clock tower traffic circle on Phuket Road in Phuket Town.

Mee Sapam on Thepkrasatri Road in the village of Sapam.

Mee Ao Geh on Phunphol Road in Phuket Town. Yellow noodles are also cooked in both "dry" and "wet" versions, and as a prawn soup. For these try :
- Somjit near the clock tower traffic circle on Phuket Road in Phuket Town.
- Jirayuwat near the Pearl Cinema on Phang-nga Rd., in Phuket Town.

Mee Huhn Pah Chang Dry fried noodles eaten with pork bone soup. For this try (all in Phuket Town) :
- On Thanon Yaowarat.
- Near the Tessaban Ban Bang Niao School on Takua Tong Rd.
- On Vichit Songkram Rd., near the entrance to Soi Lorong.

Mee Sue Breakfast noodles served with the boiled rice dishes Khao Tohm or Johk. This can be ordered at various shops around town, but the best known in Phuket Town is :
- Kou Kwan near Ruampaet Hospital on Phuket Rd.

Kanom Jin Phuket Noodles often compared to spaghetti usually served with a spicy curry sauce, the most common made from fish. It is usually eaten as a breakfast food and is, if you can stand its fresh character, delicious. It comes with an array of fresh vegetables and boiled eggs that are mixed with the dish by dinners at their table. It  is often found with the fried pastry called Pah Tong Go and the curried fish mousse called Hor Mohk, both of which are very tasty. Some of the curries are not spicy, so try a shop that has many curries to choose from if you are sensitive to spicy cuisine. There are many shops to choose from everywhere in Phuket but the most famous are in Phuket Town : 
- Kwan Kanohm Jin on Tungka Rd.
- Pah Mai on statun Rd.
- Pha Ri on Pahtiphaht Rd.

Lo Bah Fried sausages served with fried tofu and spicy sweet and sour sauce. For this try (In Phuket Town) :
- On The way to span Hin. 
- On Poonphol Rd.

Oh Tao Oysters fried with flour, eggs, and taro root. The best known places in Phuket Town are :
- near the circle by the Fresh Market.

Tao Sor or Kanohm Bia Phuket Spring rolls, Chinese crepes. The best known are found at:
- Kaeng Tin near Ruam Paet Hospital on Phuket Rd.

on Soi Suhn Utit, Yaowarat Rd., in Phuket Town.
- Kuhn Mae on Thep Krasatri Rd., in the village of Sapam.
- Mae Boon Tahm on Surin Rd., Soi 4.

Oh Aew An iced sweet made of flour, banana, and a little seaweed. Look for it at :
- On Soi Soon Utit, Yaowarat Rd.
- On Ranong Rd., at the entrance to Soi Lorong

Other foods held to be characteristic of Phuket include cashew nuts, which are planted along many of Phuket's highways, and pineapples--though to be crisper and sweeter than elsewhere.

Cashews try at :
- Maeti on Tilok Utit 2 Rd.
- Sri Boorapa Orchid on Takua Tung Rd., and Kwang Ban Teen Kao Rd.
- Sri Supalak Orchid on Thepkrasattri Rd.

Pineapples can be purchased in the Fresh Market, and are found generally.