BITE
A TASTE OF THAILAND
by Melissa Byrd
KIT LEFFLER
Bye-bye, burger — make room for something exotic
If you've ever wanted to try Thai food, but you don't know your panang from your pad thai, read on. Knowing a few Thai food basics will make you an expert in no time.
When I tried Thai cuisine for the first time,
Thai food essentials
I actually thought I was in a
Chinese restaurant — until I saw the menu. Dishes such as green curry beef, tom yum and chicken pad sea-ewe are far removed from the old Chinese standbys like General Tao's chicken and crab rangoon.
The helpful server gave me a tip: Thai food is generally sweet, sour, spicy or salty — sometimes a mixture of all four. In fact, in Thailand, a meal may not even be considered satisfying unless it covers
all four tastes, says Darlene Schmidt, Thai food cook, educator and enthusiast.
WANNA TRY SOME THAI?
Thai Siam, 601 Kasold Drive, 331-2525
Thai food is famous for its curries. In Thai dishes, curries usually come in three colors — green, yellow or red, says Dustin Sirsutiva, owner of Thai-Siam, 601 Kasold Dr. Green curry gets its distinctive flavor from Thai holy basil and kaffir lime leaves; yellow curry is similar to the curry powder you find in the spice aisle of any grocery store; and red curry is the spiciest of all, thanks to the inclusion of chili powder and red chilies.
Thal House, 724 Massachusetts St., 312-9991
A typical Thai meal
> Zen Zero, 811
Massachusetts St., 832-
0001
Thai meals are grand affairs, with many dishes ordered and then served simultaneously. Starters do not exist in Thai culture. A Thai menu usually consists of a curry dish, typically made with red meat or chicken; a fish dish, most often a
whole fish served over hot coals with a spicy sauce; a vegetable dish, stir-fried; and a noodle dish, stir-fried with shrimp or chicken and served with plenty of Thai jasmine rice, Schmidt says.
to order?
To drink, lager beer is common, as is ice tea (made with steeped tea) and limeonade (made with key limes).
What to order
So you decide to try a Thai restaurant. Now, what
First, be open-minded. A Thai food once told Schmidt the best Thai food looks like a mess, but tastes like heaven.
Once you get past your preconceived notions, Schmidt suggests trying one of these more famous Thai dishes:
- Tom Yum Soup — a spicy, fragrant and slightly sour soup that contains many of the key ingredients found in Thai food: lemongrass, kaffir lime, fish sauce and coconut milk. It's one of his customers' favorites, Sisutiva, Thai Siam owner, says.
- Curry — many restaurants have their own version that they make particularly well. Try Thai Green Curry.
*Pad Thai — rice noodles that are stirred with your choice or meat or tofu,
plus veggies. It is the most-ordered dish at Thai Siam by far, Srisutiva says.
Manisawn Luangamath, Olathe freshman, adores Thal cuisine and her parents are from Thailand and Laos.She recommends her favorite Thai dish: pho. Pho is a noodle soup that can be made from any kind of meat, herbs or vegetables. She also likes lad na, another noodle soup with a gravity-like consistency.
- Thai dessert — unique sweets often made with rice and coconut. "Just tasting a Thai dessert feels like stepping into the culture," Schmidt says.
Many Thai restaurants compromise flavor and spice to suit Western tastes, Srisutiva says. "The flavors are not too strong, and not too spicy" he says. "It's
missing something," His customers like the taste of authentic Thai food, so he cooks it the same as he would if he were in Thailand,
he says.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DISH?
Megan O'Neill, St.
Louis, Junior: "Pad Thai
because it's so flavorful
and different from the
everyday bland food I
eat."
When you visit a Thai restaurant, try to order a variety of dishes. Because of the myriad flavors and textures, you will want to sample a little of everything.
Sasha Graybosch, Lincoln, Neb. sophomore: "The curries are my favorite, Red curry with tofu is the dish I usually order because it has such a unique, spicy flavor and it compliments the tofu really well."
Adam Shoffner, Derby senior:"Pad Thal. Simple, easy to fix, but tons of flavor."
When most people think of Thai food, they think spicy. But that's not necessarily true. Most Thai restaurants customize spiciness to each customer's individual preference, though nothing changes the spice of curries. Curries are naturally spicy, especially red and green curry.
To spice or not to spice?
"What we think of here in North America as hot is nothing for a Thai person," Schmidt says. "So don't be too brave or you'll end up regretting it and worst of all, you won't be able to taste anything else for the rest of the night." If you typically like your food hot, try scaling down to a medium — probably spicy enough for even the bravest tongue.
"As long as it can make my eyes water and
nose runny," Luangamath says, "that spicy food always hits the spot."
03. 16.2006 JAYPLAY <05