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Thursday, January 27, 2011

Tips: Achieving a Symphony of Tastes


Thai cooks seek to serve a meal that balances five flavors: sweet, spicy, sour, salty, and earthy. This harmony is why measurements for ingredients tend to be approximate and why taste rules. 

No one flavor should dominate your mouth. Think of it like a symphony. Unless an accompaniment calls for a solo, no one section takes center stage. All sections work together; none seek to drown out another. For example, with Tom Yum soup you shouldn't just feel heat or taste sugar. Sour (lemongrass, Kaffir Lime Leaves, lime juice) should balance salt (fish sauce), heat (chili), sweet (sugar and tomatoes) and earth (galangal and mushrooms). 

Depending on where you are you may need to make substitutions - pickled or dry Galangal for fresh Galangal, lime peel for Kaffir Lime Leaf. These substitutions change the strength of an individual component, requiring more or less than a recipe calls for to achieve the desired balance.

Some flavor affinities, identified in The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs (pp.128-129, 164, 189, 200, 324, 344), that you should keep in mind when perfecting a Thai dish:
  • Chili peppers + Kaffir lime leaf
  • Chili peppers + peanuts
  • Chili peppers + garlic
  • Chili peppers + cilantro + coconut milk
  • Chili peppers + curry
  • Chili peppers + curry + coconut milk
  • Chili peppers + curry + peanuts
  • Chili peppers + curry + fish sauce
  • Chili peppers + fish sauce
  • Chili peppers + fish sauce + lime + sugar
  • Cilantro + chicken
  • Cilantro + chili peppers
  • Cilantro + coconut milk
  • Cilantro + garlic
  • Cilantro + ginger
  • Cilantro + lime, juice
  • Cilantro + mint
  • Cilantro + tomatoes
  • Fish sauce + lime
  • Fish sauce + lime + tamarind
  • Fish sauce + sugar
  • Ginger + Kaffir lime leaf
  • Kaffir lime leaf + pork
  • Lemongrass + chicken
  • Lemongrass + cilantro
  • Lemongrass + cilantro + mint
  • Lemongrass + coconut milk
  • Lemongrass + fish
  • Lemongrass + garlic
  • Lemongrass + pork
  • Lemongrass + shrimp

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