Cuisine of the Month: Thai

One of my favorite types of food to eat is from the beautiful country of Thailand. My family and I never get tired of it, and cook Thai food and go to Thai restaurants all of the time! One of our favorite Thai restaurants is Yupha's Thai Kitchen in Tempe. They have out of this world Thai food, complete with a very relaxing and comfortable ambiance. If you haven't tried Thai food, it's a great restaurant to try for the first time, and if you are already a fan of it, it's one of the best Thai places out there.

Thai food consists of aromatic flavors. Some of my favorite Thai dishes are curries, especially Panang. To flavor Panang curry, lemongrass, Kaffir lime leaves, and coconut milk are added. The result is absolutely spectacular; a creamy curry with  sweet notes of palm sugar are balanced perfectly with the lemony flavors of lemongrass and kaffir lime, complete with a fiery kick.

Doesn't this look so good?

My favorite Thai noodle dish would have to be Pad Thai. It consists of rice noodles with a sweet, sour, and spicy peanut sauce. The delicious sauce has tamarind paste, palm sugar, peanuts, and more. The noodles are sometimes served with bean sprouts and crushed peanuts for extra texture.

How can you not be drooling right now?

The two dishes above are probably my two classic favorites, but there are so many more delicious Thai dishes like the ones below!

Green curry is another of the many types of delicious coconut based Thai curry dishes available. It's name comes from its soft green color, due to the curry  paste used in its base. It has a more mild flavor as opposed to some other Thai curries. I prefer to have seafood in my green curry.

The last dish I am going to feature is my favorite soup EVER called Tom Yum soup. I like it with shrimp, which can be ordered at a Thai restaurant as Tom Yum Goong. The soup has a clear broth which is spicy, sour, and lemony. It, too, has lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves, along with fish sauce and palm sugar. Another ingredient that makes it unique is Galangal root, which is a stronger version of ginger. Some varieties of Tom Yum soup may include mushrooms, tomatoes, or other ingredients.

Some varieties, like this one, can include noodles.

I hope this post has inspired some of you who haven't tried Thai food to go out and try it! And if you have already, I hope I made you crave it horribly. All I know is that I am starving, and I need to get my hands on my favorite Thai food ASAP! I'll be posting more soon, so stay tuned!