![]() ![]() Sriracha may be a favorite on Western shores, but to round out a full Thai pantry, your fridge should hold a few other bottles, too. McDermott describes fish sauce as "one of the great inventions of the culinary universe" because it is as suited to Western kitchens as it is to Thai ones: Use it to add meaty depth to ragù Bolognese, chili, and slow-cooked tomato sauce add it to barbecue sauces and marinades use it instead of Worcestershire sauce (which, by the way, also contains anchovies) in a Bloody Mary. Mixed with chopped fresh chiles, it becomes an essential condiment add garlic, lime juice, and sugar and you've got nam jim tha-le, the ubiquitous hot-sour-salty-sweet sauce accompaniment to grilled fish. Nam pla (literally "fish water") adds savoriness to Thai salads, curries, soups, stir-fries, and marinades, just as soy sauce does for Chinese and Japanese dishes, and salted or oil-preserved anchovies do for some Western preparations. ![]() The bourbon-hued liquid is bottled runoff from the slow, sunshine-induced fermentation of barrel-packed anchovies layered with salt. It's "everywhere, every kitchen," says Nancie McDermott, who, after three years teaching in Isan, wrote Quick & Easy Thai and teaches a Craftsy class on everyday Thai cooking. If your pantry has room for only one piscine product, make it nam pla (fish sauce). Nam phrik, the ubiquitous Thai chili-based dips, are at their best and most varied in the north, and bitterness-from herbs like Vietnamese mint and cashew leaves, vegetables like pea eggplant, and bile (collected from cow stomachs)-is central to the region's distinctive flavor profile. Cultural connections to neighboring Burma and China's Yunnan province are reflected in the warm dried spices, like coriander and cardamom, that season dishes like khao soi (a sunset-hued curry soup packed with yellow noodles and topped with more noodles, deep-fried). Northern Thais adore pork (crispy cracklings are sold in bulk at markets) and offal in dishes like lap mueang mu, a spicy pork offal salad seasoned with blood. Local diets are heavy on wild herbs, greens, and mushrooms. Northern Thailand: This jungly area is a forager's dream.The food is light and fresh, with no coconut milk dishes to speak of but lots of bright yam (salads) starring pomelo, preserved bamboo shoots, green mango, and the green-papaya salad that's become so popular on American shores. Isan cooks are masters of the barbecue- kai yang, the best grilled chicken in Thailand, is found here. Northeastern Thailand (Isan): Cooks in this landlocked region rely as often on freshwater fish–based condiments, like pla ra (fish paste, also known as pla daek) and pickled paddy crabs, as they do on the fish sauce most foreigners associate with the nation's cuisine.Stir-fries and noodle dishes abound, as does the use of condiments like soy sauce, fermented bean paste, and oyster sauce. ![]() It is in the foods of this region, and in Bangkok especially, that we often see a clear Chinese influence.
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