Thai and Southeast Asia
6 short explainers. Read them in order, or jump to the question you have right now.
- 109Curry paste: pound, then fryLemongrass, galangal, chilies and shallots hold their aroma oils inside tiny cells. Pounding in a mortar crushes those cells open, so the oils and juices…
- 110When coconut milk separatesCoconut milk is tiny oil droplets spread through water and held in place by proteins. Gentle heat leaves that structure intact, so the sauce stays smooth.…
- 111Fish sauce and umamiSmall fish like anchovies get packed in salt and left for months. Enzymes break their proteins into free amino acids, including glutamate, the compound…
- 112Balancing sweet, sour, salty, hotThai dishes aim to balance sweet, salty, sour and hot. Palm sugar, made from boiled-down palm sap, brings the sweetness and a mellow caramel note. Sweet…
- 113Lemongrass, galangal, lime leafLemongrass smells lemony thanks to a compound called citral. Galangal, a ginger relative, adds a piney, peppery bite. Makrut lime leaves add a floral…
- 114Soak rice noodles, don't boilDried rice noodles are rice starch that was cooked once, then dried. Warm water softens them gently. A hard boil overcooks the surface and the strands…
