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Royal Thai Cuisine, complete restaurants guide
in Thailand and USA |
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Thailand is a country blessed with an abundance of fishes. In the northern part of the country, most of them are freshwater fishes. Along the coast, from the border with Cambodia in the south-east to the tip of the narrow southern peninsula flanked by the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Thailand, all kinds of seafood are plenty.
Thai fish is prepared in serveral ways, depending on the type. Meaty fish is usually fried with lots of pepper and garlic or chilli sauce, sometimes it is wrapped in a banana leaf and either grilled (broiled) or barbecued (grilled), and the more delicate fleshed fish are often steamed with chilies, lime juice and other aromatic ingredients. |
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Freshwater Fish: Several kinds of fishes are found in the inland waterways in Thailand. |
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This is a fierce-looking fish with a huge mouth full of sharp teeth. During the rainy season farmers catch quite large serpent head fish in their paddy fields, even though the water is only 35- 40 cm deep. The flesh of this fish is rather bland, but it takes on the seasonings of the dish. It is famously used in "Pla Chorn Pae Za". It is deep-fried or steamed before being served in soup stock, with lime juice and salted plums. It is also can be sun-dried then deep-fried and served with a spicy-dip.
The common catfish is about 30 cm long. It is very widely distributed throughout the north of Thailand. A flavourite way of cooking it is to deep-fry pieces until crisp, then stir-fry them with a spicy chili paste and other ingredients. Catfish is also used in curries and as the basis of a hot-and sour salad called "Yum Pla Dook Foo". In addition to the common catfish, there is a slightly smaller version - Pla Boo - which is usually steamed and served whole in soy sauce or lime juice.
This popular and appetizing fish is farmed throughout Thailand. One of the most popular restaurant dishes using this fish is "Pla Nin Tord Rad Prik", where the fish is deep-fried and then served in a slightly sweet sauce flavored with mild chiles. Tilapia is also used in the pungent Thai curry called "Kaeng Som", and sometimes you will find "Hor Mok Pla Nin", a spicy but flavorful dish where the fish is mixed with condiments and coconut milk and steamed in a banana leaf. Another popular method of eating tilapia is to fry, The skin is cut into short narrow strips and then deep-fried. It is served as finger food, often seasoned with lime juice or a slice of onion.
This is a bony grey-colored fish about 60 cm long with pronounced "eye" markings in its soft underbelly. The flesh is of a very soft texture and this is usually removed from the bone and mixed with chilies and other seasonings before being formed into fish cakes. The cakes are deep-fried and served with a sweet, spicy dipping sauce as an appetizer or snack.
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Sea Fish
Off the coast of Thailand, in the Indian Ocean to the south-east and the Gulf to the west of the southern peninsula, there are enormous numbers of all kinds of sea fish. |
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More than 250 species of snapper are found in the warm seas around the world and the red-skinned variety eaten in Thailand is found in the Indian Ocean. In Thai markets, red snapper is usually sold as fillets, because it is so bony. It is generally either steamed "Chinese-style" with lime juice or soy sauce or deep-fried and covered with chopped mild chilies, or combined with a coconut-based curry paste.
This fish has a fine-flavored firm white flesh that is most suitable for cooking methods. The delicate flesh of this fish makes it ideal for steaming. An excellent way to cook is towrap it in a banana leaf and roast it over the coal stove.
Although it is sometimes wrongly referred to as tuna, this small oily fish is very popular in the markets where it is often displayed on rattan trays. Pla To is Thai typical fish seamed and fried to eat with the typical dipping, "Nam Prik Pla To" or shrimp paste.
Salted mackerel is dried and packed in oil. It has a very salty taste but a small amount fried, sprinkled with chili, sliced shallots and lime juice makes a perfect accompaniment to a rice dish
This is a good, firm-fleshed flat fish with a tasty flavor. These small silvery-skinned fish are shaped like a crescent moon and have curved forked tails not unlike those of a flat fish. The fish are 25-40 cm in length. They have very few scales and no pelvic fins, making them easy to clean and prepare. The firm texture of the flesh makes these fish ideal for steaming, with aromatic ingredients such as root ginger and spring onions (scallions), which highlight its delicious taste. It can also be prepared like red snapper, or fried and covered with curry sauce or other spicy sauces.
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Shellfish
The coastal waters surrounded Thailand are a wonderful source of shellfish of all types, from prawns (shrimps) to mussels, clams, crayfish, lobsters and scallops. Crabs are eaten with tremendous relish, whether they come from the sea or from fresh water. |
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Prawns are also abundantly used in Thai cooking, whether grilled (broiled), added to a "Tom Yam Soup", curried, stir-fried with tamarind or served as satay-style. Fermented shrimp are used to make a paste and dried shrimp are also an important ingredient in many Thai dishes.
These little shrimp dumplings can be purchased fresh or frozen in Thai markets. They can be used in soup or curry, grilled (broiled), cooked on the barbecue or deep-fried. Shrimp balls are made from pure shrimps and are usually flavored with garlic and Thai fish sauce. The mixture is made into balls and cooked for a few minutes in boiling water. Shrimp balls will keep for about 1 day in a covered container in the refrigerator, or they can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Mussels and clams frequently feature on the Thai menu. They are served together in a popular dish flavored with lemon grass and coconut cream. Mussels, steamed with Thai herbs, is another simple but very successful specialty. Oysters are often used with other shellfish to make a seafood salad dish.They are blanched in boiling water for about 30 seconds, then drained and tossed in a spicy dressing with fresh herbs and served warm.
Preparing mussels:
When buying mussels or other kinds such as clams or oysters, make sure that they come from clean, unpolluted waters. If the mussels have been farmed, it will probably not be necessary to purge them to rid them of sand, but if you have harvested the mussels yourself, clean them thoroughly then soak the mussels for several hours in a bucket of water.
Check the mussels to make sure that the shells are tightly closed. Any that remain open should shut immediately if you tap them. If they don't, throw them away. Scrub the shell thoroughly and pull off the hairy "beards". To open the shells, place the mussels in a pan with a small amount of boiling liquid. Steam them gently for 3-5 minutes. Remove the mussels when the shells open, discard any that remain resolutely shut. If you prefer, the mussels can opened in the oven. Place them on a baking sheet and put them in a preheated oven at 150C or 300F for a few minutes. When they open, serve on the half shell, or separate the flesh from the shells with a sharp knife.
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Squid is popular in Thailand and is available both fresh and frozen. The main criteria when cooking squid is to be brief; if cooked for too long it will become rubbery. It only takes about 30 seconds to cook in hot water and 1-2 minutes if stir-fried. Squid can be grilled (broiled), deep-fried, steamed or added to soup and salad.
Preparing small squid:
- Hold the body with one hand and gently off the head and the tentacles .
- Carefully cut between the eyes and tentacles. Take care not to pierce the ink sacs - discard the eyes and ink sacs. Remove and discard the small hard beak between the eyes and tentacles.
- Place the body, fin side down, on a board. Use your fingers or an angled knife to scrape off the thin skin. Pull out the guts from inside the sac, then rub the sac inside and out with salt. Set aside for 5 minutes, then rinse off the salt under cold water.
- Separate the tentacles and cut the longer ones in half.
- Soak the body and tentacles dry. The body can be stuffed by using the chopped tentacles ss part of the filling, or cut into rings. Alternatively, cut it lengthways into four; score the pieces in a crisscross pattern, then cut into strips.
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Serpent Head Fish (Pla Chorn):
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