All Thai’d up!

Thai cuisine seduces. It is the kind of food you can go back to again and again without getting bored. And any certified gourmet chowhound will attest to that. Nirvana lies in the melding of the five tastes: sweet, salty, sour, spicy, and umami. It is contrast as well as harmony. The interplay of these flavors creates a balancing act where one flavor never supersedes the other. This is the essence of Thai cuisine. And if you can stand the heat, popular Thai dishes are just right up your alley, such as spicy shrimp soup with lemon grass and Thai beef salad. We Pinoys just love to chow down on tagaktak-pawis dishes with steam coming out our ears. And with good company, spicy food like this definitely fans the flames of stimulating conversation. It’s an affair with fiery fare worthy of one’s adventurous taste buds.

Thai cuisine has definitely carved a niche in the international gourmet market. It is certainly alive in the local food scene. We have a good share of reputable Thai restos doing pretty well. My particular favorite is Benjarong at Dusit Hotel Nikko Manila and the unpretentious Thai restaurant of my good friend Chariya Thaikupt at 168 Mall in Divisoria. It’s no wonder then that Thai cuisine is one of the world’s leading culinary traditions.

The Royal Thai government is currently undertaking a Thai food promotion to further enhance the reputation of this esteemed cuisine. Just recently, I had the privilege of meeting Charoenchai Phiriyathorn, a popular Thai chef, who guested in my weekly television show. He expertly took me through the process of creating Thai masterpieces, such as fried fish fillet with a trio of herbs and spicy sauce and trio of sticky rice dumplings in coconut cream. Here are the recipes.

Fried Fish Fillet with Trio of Herbs and Spicy sauce

500 grams garoupa fillet
15 grams colored chilies (red, yellow and green)
50 grams palm sugar
60 milliliters cider vinegar
120 milliliters chicken stock
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon onion powder
60 milliliters fish sauce
60 milliliters tamarind juice
salt and pepper to taste
lime juice, as needed
bread flour
cooking oil

Season fish with lime juice, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle with flour, then panfry until done. Set aside.

Put palm sugar in a small thick saucepan. Melt and cook until slightly thick. Add cider vinegar and the colored chilies.

Add chicken stock, tamarind juice, fish sauce, minced garlic, and onion powder. Simmer for a few minutes.

Pour the sauce on top of the fish.

Marinated Roasted Spring Chicken

1 piece Magnolia spring chicken
45 milliliters cooking oil
1/2 teaspoon McCormick chili powder
1/2 teaspoon McCormick ginger powder
1/2 teaspoon McCormick Spanish paprika
1 teaspoon McCormick garlic powder
1 teaspoon McCormick rosemary
1 tablespoon McCormick curry powder
60 milliliters soy sauce

Combine spices, cooking oil, and soy sauce. Marinate chicken in this mixture. Chill for two hours.

Bake the marinated chicken in a 350°F preheated oven for 35 minutes. Let stand for five minutes then cut into portion size.

Trio Of Sticky Rice Dumpling In Coconut Cream

150 grams sticky rice flour
300 milliliters coconut cream
70 grams palm sugar
warm coconut milk, as needed
1/2 teaspoon pandan flavor
1/2 teaspoon banana flavor
green and yellow food colors
boiling water for blanching

Put coconut cream, palm sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Set aside.

Knead sticky rice flour with warm coconut milk. Divide into three. Add pandan flavor and a drop of green liquid food color on one part. For the second part, add banana flavor and yellow food color. For the remaining part, leave the last one plain. Therefore, you will get three colors: green, yellow, and white. Knead each part to obtain a soft shiny paste. Rest for 15 minutes.

Roll paste into small balls.

Blanch in boiling water. Once the balls float to the surface, remove and strain. To stop cooking, place onto the previously boiled coconut cream.

Bring coconut cream with sticky rice ball to a boil once . Serve warm.

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He certainly has mastered his craft. Phiriyathorn is a culinary icon in his homeland. He is the head chef instructor of the prestigious Dusit Thani College in Thailand, which provides education in the field of service management, training the world-class staff of the the five-star Dusit chain of hotels. He is the appointed ambassador, promoting Thai cuisine for over three decades. His mission of sharing his expertise and passion has taken him around the world, traveling to countries such as Italy, France, Singapore, Japan, Australia, and the United States, among others.

He has done a couple of food demos in the Metro to great success with the full support of Thai Ambassador Asha Dvitiyananda. And just recently, a gathering of the rich and famous from the diplomatic corps including the ambassadors of Mexico and Brunei Darussalam had a chance to marvel and savor the "Flavors of Thailand" at the Benjarong Royal Thai Restaurant at the Dusit Hotel. They feasted on exceptional culinary marvels such as phad thai, deep-fried marinated shrimps, spicy beef salad, and sublimely comforting sticky rice with mango, among others. And just how a spice lingers in the palate is an experience whose memory is worth keeping and sharing.

The culmination of this delectable undertaking will be a three-day Thai food festival to be held at the Festival Super Mall from June 30 to July 2. This is actually the second year this event is mounted due to its successful take-off last year. This can be attributed to the all-out support of the Embassy of Thailand in cooperation with their Tourism Authority, Thai Airways and Festival Supermall. It will be a grand showcase of not only Thai cuisine but also an invitation to experience Thai culture at its finest with exhibits of traditional Thai arts and handicrafts. Ultimately, these events aim to enhance friendly relations between Thailand and the Philippines, as well as to bring about better understanding between our two peoples through cultural exchange.

Exotic, exciting Thai cuisine is surely here to stay. It’s arharn (Thai for food) that excites the palate beyond the pleasures of the chili and the spice. Its balance of aromatic flavors will keep haunting me in my gastronomic dreams. Yum (Thai for salad) is definitely the word!