Thai National Cuisine

It is no secret that Thailand is one of the most visited countries by tourists. It is travel packages to Thailand that travelers buy most often. One reason for the country's popularity is that Thai cuisine is one of the best cuisines in the world. This is acknowledged by true gourmets who have appreciated all the charms of Thailand's national cuisine. What is its distinctive feature?

First of all, practically all Thai dishes are very spicy. For Europeans this is quite unusual, and sometimes it can cause stomach problems. However, we do not recommend immediately trying to wash down burning sauces with water — it won't help. It's better to do as the locals do — they take as much rice as possible and mix the sauce with it; this slightly tones down the heat.

Rice is the staple food in Thailand. There are two types of rice, and accordingly two ways of preparation. The first type is khao suay, which means white, fluffy rice. This is the traditional product of central and southern Thailand. The second type is khao nieo — sticky rice, which is much loved in northern and northeastern Thailand. Dishes made with white, fluffy rice are customarily eaten with spoons. A fork is held in the left hand to push rice onto the spoon, which is then eaten. Sticky rice is formed into small balls with the right hand. In Thai table settings they do not use a knife, because all ingredients are pre-cut very finely, so they can be picked up by hand. All Thai dishes are very aromatic; the reason is that Thais almost always use their favorite seasoning — coriander — as well as lemongrass.

Europeans especially like khao phat — fried rice, which is not as exotic as other varieties. It is the only dish where rice is served with vegetables, crab, fish and eggs. All other Thai dishes are prepared separately. Rice is used for them only as a side dish. Traditional and simplest Thai dishes include a stir-fry with rice (phat phrik bai kraphao), seasoned with basil and many other spices; sweet-and-sour rice (prieo waan); and a dish with oyster sauce (nam man ho). More original dishes are the soups tom yam and tom kha (sour-spicy), and a cold salad seasoned with a sour-and-spicy sauce called yam. For the distinctive aroma of the sour-spicy tom soup they add leaves of the herb bae makhruut, lemongrass, and also special roots that are boiled for flavor but not eaten.

The popularization of Thai cuisine in our homeland has been aided by the development of travel agency networks. Many people order website creation in Moscow and other cities, turning the Internet into yet another advertising platform.