A to Z of Thai Cuisine

What is it about Thai cuisine that makes it so very irresistible? Anyone who has travelled in Thailand will be captured by the smells alone.

It’s the mixture of hot, salty, sweet and sour flavours that makes the food so very distinct and it’s a taste that we can replicate and make kosher when we get home from a magical Thai adventure.

Let’s have a look at some of the dishes you may have come across in your trips to Thailand and, if you haven’t been lucky enough yet to experience Thailand first hand, Krabi Holidays can always be found at decent prices if you’re prepared to put a little online research in – we promise it’d be worth it!

We’ll pick just the highlights of the A-Z of Thai food, but remember that there is much, much more that you can create at home and plenty that you can make sure is kosher.

Paad Thai – this is probably one of the best known Thai dishes in the West. Every Thai restaurant and many Chinese too, will offer a version of Pad Thai. A noodle base with a delicate balance of flavours distinguishes a good Pad Thai from a great Pad Thai. All the skill is in the sauce which, of course, uses fish sauce.

Fish sauce is a stalwart of Thai cooking and is made of a mixture of salt, water and fermented anchovies. There is no fish sauce on the market with a hechsher but you can always substitute the fish sauce out for an alternative that gives the correct umami flavor or make your own, either try this Kosher Fish Sauce recipe or this Vegan Fish Sauce recipe. The taste does need to be replicated though as it’s the basis for the dish.

It’s definitely possible, with a few adjustments, to make Pad Thai kosher and we suggest you do, it’s a lovely dish that fills your mouth with bursts of true Thai flavour.

Som Tan – this dish comes from north east Thailand and is basically a spicy papaya salad that has become incredibly popular throughout the whole country. You will probably find small differences from region to region, particularly when it comes to how sweet or sour the overall taste of the dish is. The common ingredients are always shredded green papaya and a lot of heat. Barbecued chicken and sticky rice are the usual accompaniments.

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We’ve barely scraped the surface of the amazing food out there in Thailand – check out all the other dishes you can make at home by browsing for our kosher versions of Thai favourites.