"Feed your habit with Pear's Crackpot"
The Staples:
Thai people believe that there are 5 elements that make up a delicious meal, SALTY, SWEET, FATTY, SOUR, and SPICY (and on occasion BITTERNESS).
We rarely use salt. I’ll admit that the smell takes a little getting used to but it makes a difference. I think the smell disappears after cooking, or I’m desensitized after inhaling it for awhile...can’t say for sure. A friend of mine says fish sauce smells like anchovies concentrate, which is in Caesar salad dressing. Bet you didn’t know that, did you? I sure didn’t.
Fish Sauce
Brand: Golden Boy Brand
Net Wt.: 7 oz
Ingredients: Anchovy Fish, Salt, Sugar.
I use these when I can because they are yummy and they smell sooooo good. But regular white sugar or brown sugar will do just fine. Ok, so this is a little hard to melt if you’re not cooking with it. When you’re using sugar as a condiment, regular sugar is better. More surface area helps it melt faster when there’s very little (stirring) to activate the phase transition. I know…once a geek, always a geek. I can’t help myself sometimes.
One palm sugar melted down to almost 2 teaspoons.
Palm Sugar
Brand: Mr. Number One
Net Wt.: 22.9 oz
Ingredients: Palm Sugar, Water
LIME! We don’t have lemon. But if you can’t get lime, go ahead and use lemon. It’s a different smell and, in my opinion, not as sour as lime.
Ground Hot Chili is one way to spice up your Thai dish.
Ground Hot Chili
Brand: Wangderm
Net Wt.: 4 oz
Ingredients: Hot Chili
On Thursday 23rd of September 2010 06:55 PM steve said:
hey pear-- looking for a place to buy galangal, don't see it in your store. -any thoughts?
Hi Steve, I've bought galangal from my local chinese supermarket. They had them in the frozen section. I suppose I can ship a frozen package to you overnight but I'm not sure if the shipping charge will be worth it for you. What neighborhood are you in? Maybe I can help figure out where you can get them locally. Have you tried asking your nearest Thai restaurant where they get their supplies?