Articles
78 posts
Cooking Thai curry paste and understanding coconut separation
How to bloom Thai curry paste in oil or cracked coconut cream, which cues show it is ready, and why coconut milk splits during simmering.
Thai jungle curry ingredients, paste and variations
What goes into Thai jungle curry (kaeng pa) paste, how to pound it in order, which proteins and vegetables cooks use, and which details remain unverified.
Galangal and ginger in Thai cooking
Is galangal young ginger? No. Galangal is a separate ingredient with firmer flesh and a sharper, citrusy, pine-like flavor. Here is how to tell them apart.
Fish sauce in Thai cooking: flavor, production and substitutes
Need a vegan fish sauce for Thai cooking? See what plant-based swaps like soy sauce with citrus can and can't do, and how to adjust by taste.
Thai sticky rice and jasmine rice compared
Is basmati rice sticky rice? No. Learn how basmati, jasmine and Thai sticky rice differ in cooked texture, and why jasmine isn't sticky rice either.
Thai shrimp paste: kapi, uses and substitutes
Kapi is Thai fermented shrimp paste. See how it's used in curry pastes, nam prik kapi chili dip and khao kluk kapi fried rice, and what's known about substitutes.
Nam jim jaew ingredients and dipping uses
What can be confirmed about nam jim jaew, the Thai chili dipping sauce: the ingredients a published recipe lists, how it differs from seafood sauce, and what is still unverified.
Thai Sweet Chili Sauce: Ingredients and Uses
How to use Thai sweet chili sauce as a dip, glaze, dressing and mix-in for chicken, seafood, tofu and bowls, plus what the sources can't confirm about making it.
Khao Soi Components, Names and Dish Comparisons
What khao soi is, the components and condiments that published recipes list for this Northern Thai curry noodle soup, a shortcut version, and what remains unverified.
Preparing rice noodles for Thai cooking
How long to soak rice noodles for stir-fries and pad Thai: soak times reported for hot, warm and room-temperature water, texture cues, and what sources leave out.