Thai cuisine

 

Today’s topic is not my favorite Japanese foods but Thai foods. Since my father had worked Thailand for five years, I have been there about seven times. I like Thailand and there foods. I want to introduce two Thai foods, Pad Thai and Som Tam. Pad Thai is a stir-fried rice noodle dish. Main ingredients are dried rice noodles, eggs, bean sprouts, and shrimp. Main condiments are Nam Pla (fish sauce), garlic, red chili pepper, and palm sugar. Pad Thai is not spicy. Som Tam is a green papaya salada and literally means “sour pounded”. Thai cuisine has four basic elements; sweetness, sourness, hotness, and saltiness. Som Tam contains all of them; papaya is sweetness, lime is sourness, red paper is hotness, and salt is saltiness. When I went a restaurant in Thailand, I saw how to make Som Tam. It was interesting for me. The ingredients and condiments are mixed and pounded in a mortar. It is customary that a customer ask the preparer to make the dish suited to his or her tastes. I hope I visit Thailand and eat Thai foods again!