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If, like us, you love dining out in Thai restaurants, you may be tempted to give Thai cooking a go at home. This section is designed to inspire you.
As you’ve found yourself on our recipe page, we’re guessing that you have previous exposure to the delights of Thai food… However, if you are one of the poor deprived souls that haven’t yet enjoyed a steaming bowl of tom yum goong (that’s hot and sour shrimp soup by the way!) we’d like to set a few things straight…
 Many people in the UK assume that Thai and Chinese cuisine are one and the same – they’re not. This may be due to the growing trend in Chinese restaurants offering a Thai menu but they are just jumping on our bandwagon. Also, contrary to popular belief not everything in Thai cuisine is sweet chilli flavoured. As Thai has become a fashionable cuisine over the past few years our supermarkets have become filled with Thai sweet chilli flavoured food items from crisps to noodles, rice to chicken even nuts and mayonnaise! The reality is that in Thailand sweet chilli sauce is know as “chicken dipping sauce” and is rarely eaten with anything else other than the occasional fish cake. Oh, and if you are one of those “I’ll have the spiciest dish on the menu” types, be careful in your local Thai. The spiciness of Thai cuisine tends to be much more raw than the Indian curries you may be used to – don’t say we didn’t warn you!
 One of the great things about Thai food is that many dishes use a similar combination of herbs and spices but it’s variations in the quantity of each element used that can drastically change the taste of a dish. Thai food is all about balance. It’s quite simple actually; if you don’t like things too spicy take out a few chillies. If you taste your sauce and it’s a bit bitter, add some extra sugar and so on. It might take a bit of practice but after some experimentation you’ll soon know how to get the perfect balance for your taste buds!
 The growing popularity of Thai food in the UK now means that you can get most of your ingredients in your local supermarket on your way home from work, so there’s no excuse not give it a go! We might add though that for the freshest and best value ingredients you should try exploring your local oriental supermarket. We love exploring international supermarkets - it makes us feel like we’re on holiday!
If you would like to find your nearest Thai supermarket, have a search in the VeryThai Directory.
rice
 Cooking Jasmine Rice
 Cooking Sticky Rice
starters
 Thai Fish Cakes (tod mun plaa)
 Thai Spring Rolls (po pia tod)
soups
 Spicy Prawn Soup (tom yum goong)
 Chicken in Coconut Soup (tom kha gai)
 Fisherman's Tom Yum Soup (tom yum poh tag)
 Sour Soup with Okra (gaeng som gra jieb kiaow)
spicy salads
 Green Papaya Salad (som tam)
 Spicy Seafood Salad (yum ruam mit)
 Thai-Style Grilled Beef Salad (phla neua ma kheua proh)
 Spicy Lemongrass Salad (yum ta krai)
 Spicy Squid and Papaya Salad (som tam plaa muk)
curries
 Thai Green Curry (gaeng keaow wahn)
 Prawns in Red Curry and Kaffir Lime Leaves Sauce (panaeng goong)
 Red Chicken Curry (gaeng phet gai)
stir-fried dishes
 Chicken Stir-Fried with Chillies and Holy Basil (pad gaprao gai)
Stir-Fried Fish with Chillies and Herbs (plaa pad chaa)
 Stir-Fried Seafood with Crisp-Fried Herbs (talay pad sa mun prai grop)
noodles and rice dishes
 Pad thai Fried Noodles
Fried Rice with Chinese Kale and Salted Fish (khao pad kha-na plaa kem)
 Crisp-Fried Egg Noodles with Prawns and Vegetables (ba-mee grop raad na goong)
 Pineapple Fried Rice (khao pad sapparot)
vegetable dishes
Stir-Fried Green Bean with Garlic
Stir-Fried Baby Corn with Prawns (pad khao pord on goong)
desserts
 Sticky Rice with Mango (khao niaow mamuang)
 Bananas in Coconut Milk (gluay buat chee)
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