Whether chilli-hot or comparatively bland, harmony is the guiding principle behind each dish. Thai cuisine is essentially a marriage of centuries-old Eastern and Western influences harmoniously combined into something uniquely Thai. Characteristics of Thai food depend on who cooks it, for whom it is cooked, for what occasion, and where it is cooked. Dishes can be refined and adjusted to suit all palates.
A proper Thai meal should consist of a soup, a curry dish with condiments, a dip with accompanying fish and vegetables. A spiced salad may replace the curry dish. The soup can also be spicy, but the curry should be replaced by a non-spiced item. There must be harmony of tastes and textures within individual dishes and the entire meal.
I have compiled a few tried and tested recipes to get you going 
THAI SHRIMP WRAPS:
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
Dash of salt
1/2 cup instant rice
1 cup peeled and de-veined cooked tiny bay shrimp
1 medium carrot, shredded
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup bottled Asian peanut sauce
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 burrito-size flour tortillas, preferably spinach-flavored
In a small saucepan, bring 1/2 cup water to a boil over medium heat. Add oil and salt. Stir in rice. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand, covered, until water is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork, transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool.
Add shrimp, carrot, scallions, peanut sauce, cilantro, mint, lime juice and soy sauce to rice. Toss gently to mix.
Wrap tortillas in damp paper towels and heat in a microwave oven on high until soft, about 15 seconds. Spoon half of shrimp mixture onto lower third of one tortilla to form a 2 x 5-inch rectangle. Fold in sides to enclose filling, then firmly but gently roll up. Repeat with remaining tortilla and filling. Cut wraps in half on the diagonal and serve.
Thai Chicken Soup With Coconut Milk, “Tom Kha Gai”
Ingredients
500ml soup broth (chicken stock)
4-5 kaffir lime leaves, shredded
4 or 5 2 inch pieces fresh lemongrass, bruised to release flavor
1 inch cube (or a bit more) ginger sliced thinly.
4 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
120g chicken breast cut into smallish bite sized pieces
150ml coconut milk
small red Thai chile peppers, slightly crushed (to taste)
coriander (cilantro) leaves to garnish.
Note the number of red peppers is a personal choice. It can be as few as half a chilli per diner, to
as many as 8-10 per diner, but the dish should retain a balance of flavors and not be over whelmend by the chili peppers. We suggest about 8-12 chili peppers for this recipe.
Method
Heat the stock, add the lime leaves, lemongrass, galangal, fish sauce, and lime juice. Stir thoroughly, bring to a boil, and add the chicken and coconut milk, then the chile peppers. Bring back to the boil, lower the heat to keep it simmering and cook for about 2 minutes (until the chicken is cooked through).
Enjoy!
Thai Beef Salad, “Yum Nuea”
Ingredients
500g beef. Any beef can be used such as the top sirloin used in this recipe.
Salad
1/4 cup sliced onions, separated
2 tomatoes, wedged
1/4 cup sliced cucumber
1/4 cup thinly sliced Thai chile peppers
Sauce
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon sweet dark soy sauce
3 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons minced ginger
3 tablespoons chopped coriander/cilantro (including the roots)
1/4 cup chopped green onions (spring onions)
1/4 cup chopped shallots (small red or purple onions)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon chili oil
Barbeque the beef, and thinly slice it into bite sized pieces. Combine with the salad ingredients, and mix
the sauce and toss the whole.
Serving
Serve with sticky rice, lettuce, condiments and dipping sauce. You can also put a few thai green peppercorns
on the bbq and add them with the garnish (makes a very nice touch, as this all goes together very well).
Condiments
Serve with the usual Thai condiments. You can also add fish sauce, dark sweet soy, and sriracha sauce if you wish.
dips
A useful “auxiliary dipping sauce” is made by mixing one part dark soy with one part Worcestershire sauce, one
part fish sauce and one part hot mustard.
Another dipping sauce is the following (known as nam prik narok in Thai, it is translated as “Hell Fire Sauce” in English).
Ingredients
oil to deep fry
2 pound of filleted white fleshed freshwater fish
2 cups Thai chile peppers
1/2 cup garlic
1/2 cup shallots
3 tablespoons shrimp paste
1/4 cup fish sauce
3-4 tablespoons palm sugar.
Flake the fish and deep fry until the flakes turn golden brown. Chop the chilis, shallots and garlic, then [charcoal] broil them briefly and beat the ingredients together in a mortar and pestle or food processor to form a smooth paste.
Place in a small saucepan or wok and cook on medium high until the mixture forms a bubbling paste.
The resultant sauce paste may be stored, when cold, in a tight fitting jar, for several weeks.
Variants:
This can also be made with pork (yum moo), or even with shrimp (yum khoong). An interesting variant is to use thinly sliced luncheon meat or even Spam. Vegetarians can experiment with using a julienned vegetable mix in place of the meat.
Thai Green Curry
Ingredients
1 cup chopped shallots
2 stalks fresh lemongrass (remove outer layer, thinly slice lower 6 inches of each stalk)
2 large cloves garlic
1 tablespoon chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro stems
1-2 tablespoons Thai green curry paste
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 13 oz can coconut milk
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 14 oz package wide rice noodles
1 1/2 lb large shrimp
Method
Puree shallots, lemongrass, garlic, ginger and cilantro stems in blender with curry paste, sugar, salt, turmeric powder, and water until as smooth as possible (about 1 minute). Heat oil in a wide heavy pot over moderate heat until not but not smoking, then cook curry paste mixture, stirring frequently, until it just begins to stick to bottom of pot (8 to 10 minutes). Add coconut milk and broth and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 3 2/3 cups (8 to 10 minutes).
While sauce simmers, cook noodles in a pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until tender (4 to 6 minutes). Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water. Drain noodles well and divide among 4 large bowls.
Add shrimp to sauce and simmer, stirring, until just cooked through. Remove from heat and ladle over noodles. Serve and enjoy!
Source: Gourmet November 2005
As you may notice from the picture, camping is a lot harder than it looks…no jokes!
