Recipe - About Thai Ingredients

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~ Thai fish sauce, called nam pla. This ambercolored, odoriferous
liquid used in everything from stirfrys to sauces cooks down to a
mellow undertone. Better brands are lighter colored and less pungent; Squid
is a recommended brand.

~ Dried shrimp. Salty and intensely flavored, these are used primarily
as a seasoning ingredient. Usually sold in 4ounce packages, dried shrimp
should be plump and resilient, retaining enough moisture to evidence a
little "give" when squeezed.

~ Thai chili sauce, called sriracha. This is a sort of chiligarlic
"catsup," fiery, flavorful and slightly sweet. Huy Fong Foods Inc., of
Rosemead, Calif., makes an excellent sriracha, packaged in a clear plastic
squeeze bottle with a drawing of a rooster on the front.

~ Holy basil. Thai cooking uses many different types of basil, and this
type is intensely mintflavored. Unless you grow it yourself, holy basil
can be difficult to find; fresh mint makes a good substitute.

~ Thai "bird" peppers. These little hot peppers, usually green but
sometimes red, pack a notoriously powerful punch and are not for sissies.
Serrano peppers make a good substitute if Thai chilies are unavailable.

~ CHILIESINVINEGAR SAUCE (Makes about One half cup); hot and sour
ingredient in soups and pad thai etc.

One half cup distilled white vinegar

One half tablespoon Thai fish sauce

12 small Thai chilies, or 3 serrano chilies, finely cut or sliced up

Combine all of the ingredients in a small serving bowl. Let stand for 30
minutes to allow the flavors to develop.

Adapted from "True Thai The Modern Art of Thai Cooking" by Victor
Sodsook with Theresa Volpe Laursen and Byron Laursen (William Morrow and
Company Inc., New York, 1995). Reviewed by CURTIS GLENN, food columnist for
the Courier in Cedar Rapids/Waterloo, IA. 6/

Recipe by: Curtis Glenn, 6/03/97, Courier.com

Posted to MCRecipe Digest by KitPATh phannema@wizard.ucr.edu on Feb 16,
1998