Photographed by Steve Buchanan
I’m passionate about Thai cuisine— it’s my favorite foreign food in the world. On two separate occasions, I spent three months in Thailand. I was not only visiting historic shrines and monuments, I was exploring food markets and restaurants of all varieties. Eating incredible-tasting curries while standing on a sandy floor in an island paradise are food memories that will last a lifetime.
Thai dining style is dramatically different from ours in the West. The dishes are all presented at once, with a minimal emphasis on serving the food steaming hot— after all, you’re always warm in Thailand. The food is communal— everyone shares from the same dishes; ordering a dish just for oneself is unheard of. And the variety of those dishes always balances one another, not too much of one flavor or another. For instance, my recipes for spicy chicken salad and slightly sweet prawn curry, perfectly complement the slightly sour Pad Thai.
You can buy many of the basic Thai ingredients— coconut milk, fish sauce, chili, garlic— at your local grocery store. Another alternative is to order Asian ingredients online. Or you could drive to Catonsville and Ellicott City for their well-stocked Asian supermarkets. Wherever you find your ingredients, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this wonderful cuisine— and these easy-to-prepare recipes.
Green Curry of King Prawns (Geng Gwio)
