Thai Basil - "Bai Krapow"
The botanical name for basil is Ocimum basilicum. This aromatic herb is native to Thailand, SE Asia, and NE Africa and is an important herb used and Thai cooking (and less significantly in other cusines). Thai Basil is "the" key ingredient in "Pad Kraprow" dishes which includes garlic, and meat like chicken, pork, or shrimps.
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Thai Basil
Thai Basil is also know as Sweet Basil or Asian Basil and another the Thai name is bai horapa Theses tropical varieties of basil are referred to as "Thai Basil" are slightly sweeter in flavor and are more stable when cooked than the Mediterranean basil. Another common variety is called Holy Basil, bai gaprow, and has little aroma or flavor until it is cooked. The leaves have a recognizable purple tinge.
In general the leaves of Thai Basil are more long and narrow while the Mediterranean version is more rounded.
History and Lore
Basil was first introduced to Europe in the 16th century. In India it was believed it would ward off misfortune and the herb was planted throughout their temple gardens. For much of it's early history it was used as "funeral herb" and was scattered or planted on gravesites.
Basil had a love/hate relationship among many cultures. It represented everything from hat and misfortune, to "love washed with tears", and some even thought it was poisonous. 16th Century Britain awarded it more positive virtues and considered it a sweet herb and used in scented waters and even put into nosegays.
Where To Buy
Fresh Thai Basil can be purchased at most Asian markets. If you don't live in an area where you have access to Asian markets you may want to grow your own. You can purchase live plants and seeds online.
Store
Basil is best picked or purchased fresh and used within a few days. To refrigerate first wrap whole stalks and leaves in slightly dampened paper towels, place in a plastic bag, and store for 4 days. Another storage method is to place a "bunch" of basil stems down, in a glass of water. You can also place a plastic bag over the leaves and refrigerate for up to two weeks. Basil stored in this manor will benefit from a water change every couple of days. You can also place basil in a blender with a small amount of oil, blend, and store in ice cube trays.
Basil is one of the least successful herbs when dried. The dried product loses most of it's flavor. Better methods of preserving basil include storage in olive oil or even honey.
Medicinal Uses
Medicinally basil is used both as an antidepressant and an antiseptic. Leaves can be rubbed on the skin to relive itching from insect bites. The leaves are also made into a concoction with honey and used for cough syrup. The essential oil extracted from the leaves can be used as an insect repellent or massage oil to aid in depression and anxiety. (Source: Herbs and Herb Gardening, Jessica Houdret)
Takrai (lemon grass)
Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf GRAMINEAE
Flavor: Lemony
Parts Used: Stalk, leaves
Culinary Uses: Curry pastes, hot & sour seafood soup, chicken with galanga soup, and Thai salads
Medicinal use: Carminative, diuretic
Plant care: Tropical (perennial in mild weather)
*Some use as a mosquito repellant.
Prik Keenooh (Thai pepper)
Capsicum frutescens Linn.
Flavor: Spicy
Parts Used: Pepper pods, fresh leaves
Culinary Uses: Adds flavor to all Thai dishes
Medicinal use: Expectorant, treats intestinal parasites in children, carminative, counterirritant, anti pyretic
Plant care: Tropical hardy, full sun
Magrood (Kaffir lime or leech lime)
Citrus hystrix DC. RUTACEAE
Flavor: Sour fruit, lemony aromatic leaves
Parts Used: Leaves, fruit peel, fruit juice
Culinary Uses: Fruit peel- curry paste; leaves-hot & sour soup, curry dishes
Medicinal use: Fruit juice- anti scurvy, expectorant; anti dandruff fruit peel- relief of stomach pain, carminative
Plant care: Tropical (perennial in mild weather), full sun, well-drained soil, water when needed.
Coconut Milik
This is not really consider herb but it is a key ingredient in serveral Thai cuisines. Coconut milk is a sweet, milky white cooking base derived from the meat of a mature coconut. The colour and rich taste of the milk can be attributed the high coconut oil content in addition to coconut sugars. The term "coconut milk" does not refer to the watery liquid found inside the nut; this is called "coconut water" or "coconut juice."
Two grades of coconut milk exist: thick and thin. Thick coconut milk is prepared by directly squeezing grated coconut meat through cheesecloth. The squeezed coconut meat is then soaked in warm water and squeezed a second or third time for thin coconut milk. Thick milk is used mainly to make desserts and rich, dry sauces. Thin milk is used for soups and general cooking. This distinction is usually not made in western nations since fresh coconut milk is usually not produced, and most consumers buy coconut milk in cans. Manufacturers of canned coconut milk typically combine the thin and thick squeezes, with the addition of water to maintain a consistant product between batches.
Coconut milk is a common ingredient in many tropical cuisines, most notably that of Southeast Asia (especially Thai, Singaporean Malaysian, and Sri Lankan), West Indian, and Polynesian cuisines. Coconut milk can usually be found in the Asian food sections of supermarkets either frozen or canned. Frozen coconut milk tends to stay fresh longer, which is important in dishes where the coconut flavor is not competing with curries and other spicy dishes.
Depending on the brand and age of the milk itself, a thicker, more paste-like consistency floats to the top of the can, and is sometimes separated and used in recipes that require coconut cream rather than coconut milk. Shaking the can prior to opening will even it out to a cream-like thickness.
Coconut milk is the base of most Thai curries. To make the curry sauce, the coconut milk is first cooked over fairly high heat to break down the milk and cream and allow the oil to separate. The curry paste is then added, as well as any other seasonings, meats, vegetables and garnishes.
Open cans of coconut milk must be refrigerated, and are usually good for a few days. Never leave an open can at room temperature, as the milk can sour and spoil easily.
Source: Wikipedia - The free encyclopedia
Galangal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Kaempferia galangaGalangal (Thai: ข่า, Malay lengkuas, Cantonese lam keong, also known as blue ginger), is a rhizome with culinary and medicinal uses, best known in the west today for its appearance in Thai cuisine (e.g., tom kha gai) but also common in recipes from medieval Europe. It resembles ginger in appearance and taste but has an extra citrus aroma with a slight hint of soapiness. It is available as a powder from vendors of Oriental spices and also available in whole, cut or powdered from vendors of herbs. Also known as galingale or laos (its Indonesian name). Coincidentally, it is one of the most prominent herbs in Lao cuisine.
The word galangal, or its variant galanga is used as a common name for all members of the genus Alpinia, but in common usage can refer to four plants, all in the Zingiberaceae:
Alpinia galanga or greater galangal
Alpinia officinarum or lesser galangal
Kaempferia galanga, also called lesser galangal or sand ginger
Boesenbergia pandurata, also called Chinese ginger or fingerroot
A. galanga is also known as Chewing John, Little John Chew and galanga root. Under these names, it is used in folk medicine and in voodoo charms (see John the Conqueror for related lore).
Garlic
(Allium sativum) is a bulbous perennial plant in the family Alliaceae. It is not known as a wild plant, and is thought to have arisen in cultivation, probably derived from the species Allium longicuspis, which grows wild in southwestern Asia.
The bulb is 4-8 cm diameter (occasionally larger), white to pinkish or purple, and is composed of numerous (8-25) discrete bulblets. The foliage comprises a central stem 25-100 cm tall, with flat or keeled (but not tubular) leaves 30-60 cm long and 2-3 cm broad. The flowers are produced in a small cluster at the top of the stem, often together with several bulblets, and surrounded by a papery basal spathe; each flower is white, pink or purple, with six tepals 3-5 mm long. The flowers are commonly abortive and rarely produce any seeds.
All parts of the plant contain a strongly smelling essential oil, essence of garlic, composed of diallyl sulphide (C3H5)2S. This gives the plant its strong and characteristic odour and acrid taste.
The word 'garlic' derives from Old English gārlēac, meaning "spear leek", from its resemblance to the leek.
Fingerroot
(Boesenbergia rotunda), also known as Chinese ginger, is a medicinal and culinary herb from China and Southeast Asia. In Thai cooking it is called krachai (Thai: กระชาย). It is sometimes confused with Lesser galangal (Alpinia officinarum), which is also in the family Zingiberaceae.
Synonyms include Boesenbergia pandurata and Kaempferia pandurata
Magosa - Sadow
Sadow is truly for the adventuresome.
Sadow is a big tree that grows throughout Thailand. It is one of a few trees that lose its leaves in January and then immediately flowers. The new flowers are picked with its branch attached. Other times of the years, young leaves are picked.
Before cooking, Sadow is probably the most bitter thing you can find. You can either blanch it or grill it. You blanch it in boiling water a couple of times to reduce the bitterness. The drained water from the blanching is strong enough that you can use it as a natural, effective bug repellent on plants. To grill it, you just place it on a warm grill.
To eat Sadow, you take the base of the stem in one hand and then pull the individual stems through the pinched finger and thumb of your other hand. This way you can pull off the leaves, berries, flowers, and tender tips.
Sadow is served with grilled shrimp or grilled catfish and sweet and sour tamarind sauce. When you eat it with sweet and sour sauce, the tastes collide with the bitterness of sadow violently. Sadow is only for those who dare to enjoy strong flavors and contrasts and, in Thailand, is not served to kids.
Cumin is a most popular spice all over the world, especially in Latin America, North Africa and all over Asia. Cumin seed have an aromatic odour and bitter taste. It is used as a condiment, and is an ingredient in curry powders, seasonings of breads, cakes and cheese. It is employed in native dishes of Central and South America. In medicine, it is used as a stimulant, carminative, stomachic and astringent. Cumin seed oil is used in perfumery and for flavouring liqueurs and cordials. Cumin is also very popular in Western to Central Asia ; spice mixtures from this region featuring cumin are Yemeni zhoug and Saudi-Arab baharat. Lastly, cumin is also typical for the tagines of Arab-influenced Northern Africa.
Cumin is quite often use in THai cuisine. Especially dishes in the southern provinces such as Had Yai, Narathiwas and Na Korn Srithammarad
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