Aubergines (Eggplants)
There are several types of aubergines used in Thai cooking, but of these, three are most commonly used. Makeua yao are long, skinny, purple or pale green aubergines, and are used grilled (broiled) in salads and in nam priks (relishes). Makeua praw are round, green, and about the size of a squash ball. They are used in curries, and are often served raw to dip into nam priks, too. Makeua puang are small and round and known as pea aubergines (pea eggplants). They’re used in curries, stir-fries and dips. Unfortunately, when frozen they all tend to discolour to an unappealing shade of black, so it’s best to buy them as needed.
Basil
The two most common Thai basil varieties are sweet basil (bai horapha), which is quite similar to European basil but with slightly more pronounced notes of cloves and aniseed, and holy basil (bai krapow). The latter has a skinnier, hairier, more pungent leaf and is the star ingredient in the popular Pad Krapow (Holy Basil Stir-fry, see here). Neither freezes well. Lemon basil (bai mangluk) has a beautiful citrus aroma and adds fragrance to seafood curries and stir fries. If you cannot find the one you require, you can substitute sweet basil for holy basil, and vice versa. And if neither can be found, you can at a pinch make do with European basil. Just know that it won’t taste quite the same – and change the name of the dish accordingly.
(Every farang Thai chef has now just thrown this book across the room in horror, because they don’t realize that homesick Thais have been using European basil when they’ve had to for generations. You can put a bottle of fish sauce in your luggage when you travel; fresh krapow, not so much.)
Bamboo Shoots
These can be found in cans, in vacuum packs or slightly pickled in large jars with bai yanang leaves. In general, I favour the last of these because they keep well in the fridge. I always have a jar knocking around for an emergency Soop Nor Mai (Pickled Bamboo-shoot Salad, see here). But if I’m making Pad Normai (Stir-fried Bamboo Shoots with Pork, see here) I prefer the vacuum-sealed ones. The cans are there as a last resort.
Chillies
Where to start? You can buy chillies just about anywhere. But they are not always the right chillies. One leading supermarket sells packets of ‘Thai chillies’ that aren’t Thai chillies. They tend to be cayennes – which will do at a pinch. But still…
There are several commonly used chilli varietals in Thai cooking, most notably the fiery tiny bird’s eye (prik khee noo) and the mellower long-spur chilli (prik chee fah). Both can be found easily in Asian supermarkets. If you also find medium-long orange chillies while you’re there, grab ‘em. They’re fabulous.
Fresh chillies freeze well, and you can use them pretty much straight from frozen. I tend to buy them when I see them, so my freezer always has plenty. They lose some integrity in form, but the flavour remains intact.
You will also need dried chillies – both long dried chillies and dried bird’s eyes (which are known as bird chiles in the US) – if you plan to make your own curry pastes. You’ll find the former in the Thai sections of most Asian supermarkets. I’ve generally found the latter there too, but some people tell me they’ve had difficulty tracking them down. In which case, dried African peri peri chillies are a good substitute. They are, after all, a bird’s eye chilli too. They’re just rocking under another name. Dried chillies keep for ages. I store mine in air-tight jars in the cupboard.
Coconut Milk and Coconut Cream
As mentioned before, most brands of canned or tetrapacked coconut milk are just not as good as the freshly squeezed stuff you can buy in Southeast Asia, or you can make yourself following the instructions on here. In addition to the Aroy D Thai brand, I also recommend Clearspring Organic’s coconut milk, and Trader Joe’s if you’re in the US. All three are broadly stablizer- and emulsifier-free.
If you need coconut cream specifically and, like me, think it’s wasteful to open a 400-ml/14-oz can just for a couple of tablespoons of cream off the top of the milk, you can also buy smaller cans of about 160 ml/5½ fl oz. These, alas, contain additives, which inhibit the cracking process described in here, but they’ll do for garnishes or adding to a rich curry like Gaeng Panang. Most importantly, avoid at all costs the dried blocks of solid coconut ‘stuff’. Or else God have mercy on your soul.
Coriander (Cilantro) Root, Leaves, Seeds and Stems
Thais use all parts of the coriander plant. Keep the seeds in the spice rack, the roots in the freezer (you’ll generally find them in the freezer section of your Asian supermarket), and buy the leaves as you need them. They perish fast. Try to keep a fair bit of stem on the roots. If you cannot find coriander root – and there will be weeks on end when there doesn’t seem to be any about – use the stems instead. It’s not quite the same, but it’ll do. If you become a super-keen Thai cook, buy it in bulk when you see it, and freeze it.
Dried Prawns (Shrimp)
In Thailand, you’ll find these of differing sizes in markets all across the country, all for slightly different purposes. Elsewhere, you’ll find them – usually the small ones – in packets either on the shelf or in the freezer section. They are used ground and pounded in certain dishes, or whole in Som Tum Thai (Green Papaya Salad, see here). I keep mine in the fridge in a Tupperware container. Avoid ones that look too orange – they’ve been dyed.
Galangal
Ginger’s cousin. It’s easy to find in Asian supermarkets, so don’t swap one for the other – ever – especially as it freezes well. Buy fresh if you can. The dried slices you find in some supermarkets are very disappointing, and the pastes are mixed with sunflower oil, which simply doesn’t suit our purposes.
Kaffir Limes and Kaffir Lime Leaves
Some supermarkets now import kaffir lime leaves – and they’re very good. The limes can be harder to find. Now they’re generally coming in frozen. The leaves are too. They keep beautifully in the freezer.
Krachai (Chinese Keys or Fingerroot)
These roots have a hint of ginger about them, and are used to add fragrance and texture in stir-fries and curries.
Lemongrass
Another ingredient that freezes well, but is also readily available. When preparing it, it’s best to remove the tough outer layers first. Then give it a good bashing along its length with the back of your knife before you chop it. This helps to bring out the flavour, and makes it easier to break down if you’re making a curry paste.
Nam Pla (Fish Sauce)
I always refer to Thai fish sauce as nam pla because its flavour is distinct from its Vietnamese relation nuóc châm, from the Italian colatura, and from the British Worcestershire Sauce, all of which are also ‘fish sauce’, leading to potential confusion and your food not tasting right.
To me, nam pla is the very taste of Thailand. It is in almost every Thai dish you will ever eat. If you’re cooking for a strict vegetarian or a vegan, or someone with a seafood allergy, you should use soy sauce as a substitute (check the ingredients of any bought curry paste you might plan to use, too). You can also make the Vegan Fish Sauce on here, which approximates the funky flavour of the real thing. I favour Squid brand or the one from MegaChef. They’re both made by the same people, so think of MegaChef as haute couture and Squid brand as prêt à porter. They are priced accordingly.
Nam Prik Pao (Roasted Chilli Paste)
This is not a curry paste or chilli jam – it’s a whole different beast. Most people buy it at the Thai supermarket. The Mae Pranom brand is one of my favourites, but they’re all pretty good.
Oyster Sauce
Most oyster sauces are not made with real oysters anymore. However, the MegaChef one is, and it is worth the extra cost. Other than that, they’re all generally pretty serviceable. Mae Krua is my go-to for everyday use.
Palm Sugar
This is the primary sweetening element in most Thai food. Its quality varies. Sometimes you find it in grate-able hard blocks; sometimes you’ll find it in a softer, more pliable form. It imparts a deeper, darker flavour than brown cane sugars. You can use cane sugar if you can’t find it, but it’s worth seeking out. While testing these recipes, I’ve confined myself to ones I can find in the UK, and the one from Thai Taste is pretty good. If you find that your palm sugar is too hard, and grating it to measure becomes difficult, just put it in a ramekin with a couple of teaspoons of water and microwave for 30 seconds.
You can use pickled cabbage or pickled mustard greens (pak gard dong) almost interchangeably, and you can buy both either vacuum-packed or in small cans. I use both, though I especially like to keep a few cans of the latter in the cupboard to serve with Kow Soi (Chiang Mai Curried Noodles, see here).
Pickled Garlic
Kratiem dong in Thai and sold in jars in most Asian supermarkets, you’ll generally be buying Chinese-grown European garlic, which has cloves about twice the size of Thai garlic. Not to worry – the flavour is basically the same.
Pla Ra
Fish sauce on steroids. Metaphorically speaking. This thick and pungent sauce from the northeast of Thailand is made by fermenting freshwater fish with rice. It’s funky as hell, and I love it.
Preserved Radish
Hua chai po in Thai, this is also sold as ‘pickled turnip’. It is the same thing: daikon (mooli). Generally speaking, it keeps for about 3 months once opened, and it freezes well if you want to keep it longer. I favour the Kirin Brand, if only because that’s the one I see most often.
Rice
Rice is integral to Thai food (see here) and, even within Thailand, it comes in many forms. Most often, you’ll want to use Thai jasmine rice, or sticky rice if you specifically want to cook Isaan or Lao food. Do not, please, use basmati rice. It’s a lovely rice, but it does not go with Thai food. And to use American long-grain rice, also perfectly good in the right context, would be a crime.
Shrimp Paste
Kapi in Thai, this is one of Thailand’s most prominent ingredients. When used front and centre as in Nam Prik Kapi (Shrimp Paste Relish, see here), it’s a wild taste sensation. It’s used in most curry pastes, where it’s often the ingredient that pulls all the rest together into a union of flavour. It’s easy to find. Keep it sealed in the fridge.
Soy Sauce
There are three kinds of soy sauce: light soy, dark or thick soy, and sweet soy. They are not interchangeable. Buy small bottles of each, not because they go off quickly, but because of space. If you’re using soy as a vegetarian substitute for nam pla, use the light version. There are several good gluten-free versions available if required.
Tamarind
Tamarind paste or purée is a big deal in the cooking of central Thailand. It keeps for ages in the fridge. I tend to use the Garden Queen Trademarked Concentrated Cooking Tamarind, which comes from Thailand and has a blue plastic lid. You’ll find it in most Asian supermarkets.
Thai Shallots and Thai Garlic
These are both smaller than their European counterparts – by at least half – and they both tend to be slightly sweeter, too, but you can easily replace Thai shallot for regular shallot. Where you see ‘2 Thai shallots’ in an ingredient list, assume one regular shallot will do as a substitution. As for the garlic, I have used European for all the recipes in this book – it just makes your life easier.
I place the two together here because you will often find one or both deep-fried as a topping or condiment. You can buy this in plastic jars at most Asian supermarkets, but it’s very easy to make your own:
Very finely chop your shallot or garlic. Heat a 2.5-cm/1-inch depth of vegetable oil in a wok. When hot, add the shallot or garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until the shallots are nicely browned or the garlic is golden. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels.
Turmeric
Fresh turmeric is yin and yang, pleasure and disaster. On the one hand, it imbues every dish with warmth, depth and colour. On the other, it stains your kitchen, utensils and hands to the point that it looks as though you smoke 120 a day. Wear surgical gloves. And use a dedicated chopping board. And realise that, when you’re washing up, it will stain your scrubbing brush bristles a deep yellow. Consider yourself warned…
Yellow Bean Sauce
Confusingly, this can be labelled ‘salted soybeans’, ‘soy bean paste’ or ‘brown bean sauce’. You can buy it as either a smooth product, or – my preference – with the whole beans in it.