{"id":647,"date":"2012-10-13T17:30:38","date_gmt":"2012-10-13T17:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joeplumstead.com\/?p=647"},"modified":"2012-10-13T17:42:47","modified_gmt":"2012-10-13T17:42:47","slug":"some-must-have-thai-ingredients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joeplumstead.com\/?p=647","title":{"rendered":"SOME “MUST HAVE” THAI INGREDIENTS"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

FISH SAUCE (Nam Plah)\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

Fish sauce is probably the most commonly used ingredient in Thai cuisine.\u00a0 It\u2019s also used in Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese cuisine, in much the same way soy sauce is used in other Asian cultures.\u00a0 Soy sauce may be used as a substitute in Thai cooking, but its flavor has a noticeable absence of authenticity.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

One who is unacquainted with fish sauce will probably not experience love at first whiff.\u00a0 Simply put, it smells like fish\u2014salty fish that isn\u2019t altogether fresh.\u00a0 It is made from the liquid extracted from heavily salted fish, thereafter left to ferment for as long as a year to a year-and-a-half.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In spite of this rather gross\u2014but honest description\u2014fish sauce has magical properties.\u00a0 When combined with other ingredients such as limejuice, vinegar, sweeteners and fresh herbs, the aroma and flavor are transformed into a delightful, rich saltiness.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I buy Squid Brand Fish Sauce\u2014in one-liter bottles\u2014from Asian markets.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t plan on using much fish sauce, or don\u2019t have an Asian market nearby, most grocery stores sell small bottles of it that I have found are saltier than the brand I buy.\u00a0 Ounce for ounce, these grocery store versions are much more expensive too.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Store you fish sauce in a cool dry spot in your kitchen.\u00a0 Avoid storing it where there is a remote chance of spillage\u2014particularly near clothing or upholstery.\u00a0 One time, on a hot summer\u2019s day, I spilled a mere few ounces inside of my car.\u00a0 It took days of airing, scrubbing and deodorizing before my car stopped smelling like an untended dumpster.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SRIRACHA SAUCE<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This very spicy red chili sauce gets its name from the city, Si Racha, located south of Bangkok on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand.\u00a0 Huy Fong Foods makes a very good version of sriracha sauce, easily found in all major grocery stores in this country because it is made in this country.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Thai versions of sriracha sauce can be found in Asian markets.\u00a0 Their versions tend to be a little sweeter and runnier than the Huy Fong Foods sriracha, but no less spicy.\u00a0 Both are generally made with sun dried red chilies, garlic and vinegar, with the amount of sugar varying from brand to brand.\u00a0 To me, the Huy Fong brand doesn\u2019t taste sweet at all.<\/p>\n

Even if you\u2019re not preparing Thai food, sriracha sauce is a great way to add some hot spice to your food.\u00a0 It\u2019s a great alternative to Tabasco sauce.\u00a0 It even works in a Bloody Mary!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n
<\/div>\n


\n<\/span>THAI CHILIES (PRIK KEE NOO)<\/span><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The first time I took a pinhead-sized bite of a Thai chili, my head, tongue, throat and stomach felt as if they had\u00a0exploded in flames. \u00a0Thai chilies are one of the spiciest peppers on earth. \u00a0In Scoville Units–the scale of measurement used to determine spice heat in chilies–the Thai Prik Kee Noo scores between fifty to one hundred thousand units. \u00a0This is just above cayenne and\u00a0Tabasco\u00a0peppers, and only slightly below scotch bonnet and habenaro peppers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Prik Kee Noo” literally translates as “mouse shit peppers”. \u00a0They are about the same size as a mouse turd–and, as it did with me–my first bite evoked the cry of, “holy shit that’s hot!”. \u00a0Over\u00a0consumption\u00a0of these miniature fireballs will give one a clearer understanding of the expression, “a taste so nice it burns you twice”.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Fresh Thai chilies are hard to find in Maine. \u00a0Dried or frozen are\u00a0accessible in Asian markets, but these can be a poor substitute for fresh. \u00a0Whenever I need a fresh\u00a0chili pepper in a Thai recipe I use\u00a0Serrano chilies–a much milder version of fresh chilies at a mere ten thousand Scoville units. \u00a0Given the intensity of Prik Kee Noo, this might be a wise–if not altogether genuine– substitute.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Many thanks to my Travel Guru and good bud, Roger Brooke, for contributing the header photo of this entry, as well as his sage advice on all things Thai or hilarious.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FISH SAUCE (Nam Plah)   Fish sauce is probably the most commonly used ingredient in Thai cuisine.\u00a0 It\u2019s also used in Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese cuisine, in much the same way soy sauce is used in other Asian cultures.\u00a0 Soy sauce may be used as a substitute in Thai cooking, but its flavor has a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":648,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,34,19,16,32,20,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cooking","category-dipping-sauce","category-fish-shellfish","category-garlic","category-rice","category-sauces","category-thailand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joeplumstead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joeplumstead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joeplumstead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joeplumstead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joeplumstead.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=647"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/joeplumstead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":664,"href":"https:\/\/joeplumstead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647\/revisions\/664"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joeplumstead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joeplumstead.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joeplumstead.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joeplumstead.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}