Many of our customers ask for recipes or how certain dishes are prepared. We are always pleased to pass on recipes but to replicate our dishes at home can be difficult, as you probably do not have commercial cooking equipment such as a turbo wok that is needed for the high heat of stir fry dishes. However, some Thai dishes such as Green Papaya Salad with Prawns can be made with just a papaya shredder and a good mortar and pestle.

The first thing to know is that it is essential to taste food as it is being prepared. All our chefs have trained their taste buds to detect the 4 distinct flavours of Thai cooking which are sweet, sour, salt and spice. These flavours when in balance compliment and contrast each other but when used incorrectly the dish will be either too sweet, too salty, too spicy or just tasteless. Unfortunately, a lot of Thai restaurants in Sydney are far too sweet for my taste.

The perfect som tam combines the 4 main tastes of Thai cuisine: sour lime, hot chili, salty fish sauce, and sweetness added by palm sugar. I could write a recipe formula for this dish but I prefer to do what the Thais have been doing for centuries; passing down recipes by observation but with the aid of modern technology: Youtube. This is how I have witnessed som tam being made at roadside stalls in Thailand and is quick and easy to follow.

A note of warning; be careful when adding chillies as Thais tend to eat this dish with plenty of spice. They usually order by saying the number of chili they want added; pik kee noo hok met (6 birds’ eye chillies). It is usual to serve som tam with sticky rice and grilled chicken.

In the Thailand; there are any different Som Tam recipes depending on the region such as Issan in the North East or the version from  Laos. Often small brined crabs and shrimp paste are added when making som tam but I prefer the som tam Thai. This is the version we serve at Chedi Restaurant.

Enjoy Spice

Posted: Friday, March 12th, 2010 @ 2:53 pm
Categories: Thai recipes.
Tags: best place to eat in Newtown, birds eye chillies, chedi, chedi concept, chedi restaurant, Green papaya salad, recipies, thai recipe, Thai recipes.
Subscribe to the comments feed if you like. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.