All Natural Ingredients

INGREDIENTS

Chili

Chili

Chilies did not originally exist in Thailand, but were first introduced to Thai cuisine in the 1600s by Portuguese missionaries. Today, there are more than 400 different varieties of chilies found all over the world. Some of the popular varieties used in Thai cooking are bird’s eye chili and prik chee fah.

Galangal

Shallot

Galangal

Galangal is a rhizome in the ginger family with a sharp citrusy, earthy flavour. There are two types of galangal: lesser galangal and greater galangal. It is the greater galangal that is normally used in making Thai curry pastes.

Chili

Galangal

Shallot

Shallot

Shallot is a species in the onion family. There are many types of shallot, ranging in size and skin colour (from copper, reddish, to grey). The type commonly used by Thai chefs is the tiny variety with deep purple colour. This tiny shallot is an essential ingredient in curry pastes and various dipping sauces.

Chili

Galangal

Shallot

Turmeric

Turmeric is a spice in the ginger family with a brilliant yellow appearance. It is mostly used in the form of rhizome powder to impart a golden yellow colour. Turmeric can also add a mustard-like and slightly bitter flavour to foods. It can be found in southern Thai dishes such as yellow curry and turmeric soup.

Turmeric

Bamboo

Shoot

Lemongrass

Bamboo Shoot

A bamboo shoot is a cone-shaped sprout that is wrapped by several layers of dark leaves on the exterior. It is the tender, yet crunchy off-white meat in the interior, however, that is sought after in Asian cuisines. This off-white meat imparts a subtle sweet taste when cooked soon after it is harvested.

Turmeric

Bamboo

Shoot

Lemongrass

Lemongrass

Lemongrass is a tall, scallion-like stalk of the grass family. It has several tough outer layers that wrap around its core. When peeled away, the inner white core is the part that is used for cooking. Crushing or finely chopping this core will release the lemongrass’s subtle lemony flavour and fragrance.

Turmeric

Bamboo

Shoot

Lemongrass

Tamarind

Tamarind is a brown, sticky, pod-like fruit with a shell on the exterior and seeds surrounded by fibrous pulp in the interior. It is a relative of peas and beans. The juicy pulp of tamarind is often used as a souring agent. Classic Pad Thai is made with tamarind paste for example. It imparts a tangy flavour that is not as sharp as lime.

Tamarind

Kaffir Lime

Leaves

Cardamom

Cardamom

Cardamom is an aromatic seed pod which can be green, white or black. The entire cardamom pod can be used whole or ground. The type used in Thai spice mixtures and curry pastes is the black cardamom, which has camphor-like intense flavour and a smoky element.

Tamarind

Cardamom

Kaffir Lime

Leaves

Kaffir Lime Leaves

Kaffir lime is a citrus fruit with a rough bumpy skin and a bitter taste. It is the hourglass-shaped leaves of Kaffir lime, rather than the juice, that are used in cooking. These leaves can often be found as whole added to soups or as thin slivers added to stir-fries and curries. They can provide an aromatic, astringent flavour as well as help to decrease pungent odour.

Tamarind

Cardamom

Kaffir Lime

Leaves

Basil Leaves

Basil is one of the oldest herbs known to mankind, having been around for over 4000 years. The type commonly found in North American cuisine is called sweet (Genovese) basil which has a mild flavour. In contrast, the two types used in Thai kitchen are Thai basil and holy basil. Thai basil has purple stems and is slightly spicy. Holy basil has large hairy stems and has a clove-like flavour.

Basil Leaves

Pepper

Powder

Cumin

Pepper

Powder

Pepper powder is a product of peppercorn, the most traded spice in the world. In Thai cuisine, pepper powder most often refers to white pepper which is made from white peppercorn. White pepper is spicier and has a less complex flavour than black pepper. Before chilies arrived in Thailand, the main heating element for Thai dishes was actually pepper powder.

Basil Leaves

Pepper Powder

Cumin

Cumin

Cumin is a flowering plant in the parsley family. Its seeds, in dried form (whole and ground), are widely used in many cultures around the world. Cumin forms the basis of most Thai curry pastes. This is because cumin has a distinctive earthy flavour with bitter undertone that can blend well with a variety of dishes.

Basil Leaves

Pepper

Powder

Cumin

Coriander

Coriander is an herb that has been used for several thousand years. In Thai cuisine the roots and seeds, rather than the leaves, are the parts which are used for making various cooking pastes. Coriander roots and seeds have a warm, spicy and nutty flavour with a tiny hint of citrus. Their flavour profile is very different from that of the leaves which are often called cilantro in North America.

Rice Bran

Oil

Cinnamon

Coriander

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is an exotic, sweet spice obtained from the inner bark of Cinnamomum trees. It is usually used by Thai chefs to add a pleasant aroma to meat dishes. Interestingly, cinnamon is loaded with antioxidants surpassing even superfoods like garlic.

Cinnamon

Rice Bran

Oil

Coriander

Cinnamon

Rice Bran

Oil

Rice Bran Oil

Coriander

Rice bran oil is edible oil extracted from the outer brown layer of the rice grain. It has a golden-brown liquid colour, neutral flavour and high smoke point. It is sometimes called “healthy oil” because it has a well-balanced fatty acid composition plus high levels of nutrients (Oryzanol and Tocotrienols) which are rarely found in other oils.

Chili