Tom Yum Goong or Hot and Sour Prawn soup is Thai cuisines’ most famous dish both within The Kingdom and in the many Thai restaurants around the globe. In Thailand, it is served in a charcoal steamboat and eaten with rice. Each region in Thailand has a different recipe for this ubiquitous dish but the version below originates in Bangkok and is probably the most common.

During service at Chedi Restaurant, I am often asked by customers “how big are the serves?” My standard response is that we offer quality sized portions. What else can I say? Eating in Thai should be a shared meal with a variety of small dishes and perhaps a larger fish or mixed seafood dish. But unfortunately, many Thai restaurants are now serving super size portions of muck on rice.

Many recipes for Thai Green Curry recommend making your own curry paste. But in multicultural Sydney, any Asian grocery will have a selection of packaged curry pastes, which can be used if you do not want to make your own.

I never watch Masterchef Australia; due to being at the restaurant when the show is televised. However, one of our Chefs mentioned an episode on June 3rd which was an Elimination Challenge featuring Thai Green Curry. As all Masterchef episodes can be viewed on-line at the Masterchef Australia 2010 Official site; I went to my computer to view.

A customer commented on the Tom Yum Gung soup that he had just eaten. Her reply was perfect, “only canned straw mushrooms in brine are available in Australia”. And thus the brine spoils the taste of the soup; fresh is always best.

In Australia we have responded to this gastronomic trend with the likes of Neil Perry, Curtis Stone and Bill Granger. No national cuisine has been spared by the glare of the media and has been chopped, stirred and fried by the likes of Tetsuya Wakuda for Japanese, Kylie Wong for Chinese and Martin Boetz for Thai. Which leads me to ask; where are the Thais?

There are many Thai restaurants in Sydney, who proclaim to serve only Authentic Thai Food. But having lived in Thailand for 10 years, I am puzzled to define what actually authentic Thai food is?

Luckily for suffers of this disease Thai food is the perfect choice when dining out. For further information regarding ceoliac disease and gluten intolerance please visit The Coeliac Society homepage.

However, some Thai dishes such as Green Papaya Salad with Prawns can be made with just a papaya shredder and a sturdy mortar and pestle.