Thai Herb in Thai cuisine

By Potjanat and Rakboon


Thai food is a culture inheritance transferred to and from generations. In Thai eating culture, rice is the main component to be consumed with other supplement. The Thai menu is composed of diverse method on cooking, for instance, boiling, soup, frying, spicy salad and the chili paste with the combination of tastes; sour, salty, sweet and spicy that are rarely found in other national cuisine.
Herbs are plants that are valued for flavor, scent, or other qualities. Herbs are used in cooking as medicines, and for spiritual purpose.
Thai food is well-known because of its delicious test, but not only the test that makes people love Thai food. Thai food also consists of a lot of herbs that can help your health to stay healthy. So we would like to introduce some popular Thai dishes full of herbs.



Herbs used in Thai cuisine


There are many kinds of herb used as ingredient in Thai cuisine. The herb in Thai popular dish is not only used as medicine in order to heal illness, but also used to conceal fishy smell and make the dish tests good, too. These are examples of popular dishes full of herbs.




TomyamKung
The well known first dish full of herbs is TomyamKung. TomyamKung is popular around the world because of its spicy good test. But not only the test is precious, Thai people, we know well that the herbs cooked in TomyumKung help us to stay healthy and keep us away from illness, too. TomyamKung’s seasoning includes many herbs such as galangal, lemon grass and chilli. The herbs consist of a lot of properties; galangal and lemon grass cure flatulence. Chili helps stomach working system. Having TomyamKung in a proper quantity will make you stay healthy, and its spicy test will get rid of your tiredness for sure.




Kangleang
Another dish full of herb may not be popular as much as TomyamKung, but its properties are a lot more. This one is called KangLeang. KangLeang contain a lot of herb plants which have much value for health and medicine. These are herbs cooked in KangLeang. Pepper helps sweat releasing, and good for appetizing. Shallot helps curing fever. Many kinds of vegetable are also used in this dish such as pumpkin that can maintain seeing ability; Coccinia grandis can cure stinging; corn can maintain heart and lung; sweet basil can cure bronchitis , diarrhea and fever.
Here we introduce just two of Thai herbal dishes. But there are still many Thai dishes that cooked from herb, too. If you are deciding what to eat to stay healthy, try Thai dish, and you will not be disappoint for sure.




Som Tam
One of the famous dishes is Som Tam, otherwise known as Papaya Salad. The meal is quite simple to make. The main ingredients are shredded green papaya, chopped green beans, tomato, dried prawn, chillies, garlic and lime juice. These are all pounded together in a mortar using a pestle. The sound it makes is “pok pok”. The papaya salad is best served with sticky rice(khao neow) and grilled chicken. Herbs in Som Tam help you balanced energy distribution, relatively low in total fat and saturated fat. It’s also a good source of Vitamin C and Dietary fiber-rich.




Pad Phed Kai
Hot fried chicken or Pad Phed Kai is a simple dish. Pieces of fried chicken in a spicy curry sauce with vegetables, coconut finger root or krachai, coriander root, sweet basil, galangal and pepper. These herbs help you to reduce cholesterol , cancer, infection, eject toxic and carminative. It’s so delicious although it’s a bit hot and spicy.




Dipping sauces
Dipping sauces are popular condiment to accompany a Thai meal, particulary a deep fried dish, and usually contain any combination of tamarind, lime juice, finely chopped chili, garlic and spring onion.




Nam Prik Long Rua
Nam prik Long Rua is a kind of dipping sauces that is eaten with lots of vegetables. You can eat with rice, vegetables by dipping. Herbs in Nam Prik Long Rua help you to reduce blood pressure and prevent heart disease.




Nam Prik Kung Sod
Nam Prik Kung Sod is another kind of dipping sauce. The in gredients are grilled shrim, garlic, lime juice, palm sugar, fish sauce, Ma-kheua phuang and hot chili. Nam Prik Kung Sod id proper energy distribution, relatively low in total fat and saturate fat, fairly good sauce of dietary fiber and iron


By the way, consumption of Thai food in sufficient quantity and proportion to daily needs would supply nutritional substances that suitable for adults who require weight control.

Thai food is outstanding in the combination of tastes and the nutritional values which are different from others and make the foods popular all over the world.