The Basics

While traveling throughout Thailand you will notice that all of the restaurant tables are filled with various condiments from fish sauce to vinegar and chili sauce. You see, Thai people like to pour a “little of this here” and top with “a little of that there” until they’ve created their perfect balance of sweet, sour, hot, and salty, according to their palate and whim for the day. This is a collection of some basic sauces and condiments that can be used to enhance flavors while cooking or as a condiment such as Roasted Red Chili Paste or popular dipping sauces like Sweet Thai Chili Sauce and Hoisin Peanut Sauce. I’ve also included basic recipes which are the backbone of popular Thai recipes like Basic Curry Sauce or Basic Chicken Stock. The variety of sauces and dips in Thai cuisine is far and wide so this is by no means a comprehensive collection. I believe what I offer here will give you the flexibility to “add little bit here” and “a little bit there” to satisfy your budding Thai palate as well as letting you improvise with the recipes in this book.