Los Angeles Thai Restaurants

Zongzi (or zong) is a traditional Chinese food, made of glutinous rice stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves. They are cooked by steaming or boiling. They are known in Japanese as chimaki. Laotians, Thais, Cambodians (known as Nom Asom) also have similar traditional dishes influenced by zongzi. In the Western world, they are also known as rice dumplings or Chinese tamales.

Zongzi is traditionally eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival (Mandarin: Duanwu; Cantonese: Tuen Ng) which falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar (approximately early to mid-June), commemorating the death of Qu Yuan, a famous Chinese poet from the kingdom of Chu who lived during the Warring States period.

The shape of zongzi range from being relatively tetrahedral in southern Chinese cultures to more cylindrical in northern Chinese cultures. Wrapping a zongzi neatly is a skill which is passed down through families, as are the recipes. Like tamale-making in Mexico and Pamonha-making in Brazil, making zongzi was traditionally a family event with everyone helping out.

While traditional Chinese zongzi are wrapped in bamboo leaves, the leaves of lotus, maize, banana, canna, shell ginger or pandan leaves are sometimes used as substitutes in other countries. Each kind of leaf imparts its own unique smell and flavor to the rice.

The fillings used for zongzi vary from region to region, but the rice used is always glutinous rice (also called sticky or sweet rice). Depending on the region, the rice may be lightly precooked by stir-frying or soaked in water before using.

You can find authentic Thai Zongzi on many Thai Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Ping Gai (Lao: ປິງໄກ່, IPA: [pîŋ ɡɑj]) or Gai Yang (Thai: ไก่ย่าง, IPA: [ɡài jâːŋ]) is a dish originating from the ethnic Lao people of Laos and Isan, but it is commonly eaten throughout Thailand as well, where it has become immensely popular. Being a typical Lao/Isan dish, it is often paired with tam mak hoong/som tam and sticky rice. It is also eaten with raw vegetables, and often dipped in spicy sauces such as jaew bong.

The Lao name for the dish is ([pîŋ ɡɑj]) and means ‘roast chicken’. In western Lao restaurants, it is known as “Lao barbecued chicken” or “Ping Gai”. The Thai and Isan term is usually spelt ไก่ย่าง (Isan: [ɡɑj ɲaːŋ),[missing tone] although ปิงไก่, a Thai letter rendering of the Thai name, would be understood in Isan as well. In the West, where it is a common feature of menus on Thai restaurants, it is either known by its Thai name or as ‘Thai barbecued chicken’.

A whole chicken is often halved and pounded flat. It is marinated and then grilled over a low heat on a charcoal flame for a long time, but is not cooked to be burnt or dry. The marinade typically includes fish sauce, garlic, turmeric, coriander root (cilantro), and white pepper. Many variations exist, and it is also quite common to find black soy sauce, hoy sin, shallots, leaves and seeds of coriander, lemongrass, chiles, ginger, vinegar, palm sugar, and MSG. Compared to many Lao/Isan dishes, it is mild and somewhat sweet.

You can find authentic Thai Ping Gai on many Thai Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Glutinous rice (Oryza sativa var. glutinosa or Oryza glutinosa; also called sticky rice, sweet rice, waxy rice, botan rice, biroin chal, mochi rice, and pearl rice) is a type of short-grained Asian rice that is especially sticky when cooked. It is called glutinous ( Latin glūtinōsus) in the sense of being glue-like or sticky and not in the sense of containing gluten; on the other hand, it is called sticky but should not be confused with the other varieties of Asian rice that become sticky to one degree or another when cooked.

Glutinous rice is a type of rice grown in China, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Laos, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Glutinous rice does not contain dietary gluten (i.e. does not contain glutenin and gliadin), and thus should be safe for gluten-free diets. What distinguishes it from other types of rice is having no (or negligible amounts of) amylose, and high amounts of amylopectin (those are the two components of starch).

The Chinese dish, nuòmǐ fàn, is steamed glutinous rice usually cooked with Chinese sausage, chopped Chinese mushrooms, chopped barbecue pork and optionally dried shrimp or scallop.

Glutinous rice is also often ground to make glutinous rice flour. This flour is then made into niangao and sweet filled dumplings tangyuan, both of which are commonly eaten at Chinese new year. It also sometimes used as a thickener and for baking.

You can find authentic Thai Glutinous Rice on many Thai Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Chili pepper (from Nahuatl chilli), also known as, or spelled, chilli pepper, chilli, chillie, chili, and chile, is the fruit[1] of the plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae.

Although botanically speaking, the fruit of capsicums are berries, the peppers are considered as vegetables or spices for culinary purposes. Depending on flavor intensity and fleshiness, their culinary use varies from use as a vegetable (e.g., bell pepper) to use as a spice (e.g., cayenne pepper).

Chili peppers originated in the Americas. Their cultivars are now grown around the world, because they are widely used as food and as medicine.

Chili peppers have been a part of the human diet in the Americas since at least 7500 BC. There is archaeological evidence at sites located in southwestern Ecuador that chili peppers were domesticated more than 6000 years ago, and is one of the first cultivated crops in the Americas that is self-pollinating.

The fruit is eaten raw or cooked for its fiery hot flavour, concentrated along the top of the pod. The stem end of the pod has most of the glands that produce the capsaicin. The white flesh surrounding the seeds contains the highest concentration of capsaicin. Removing the inner membranes is thus effective at reducing the heat of a pod.

Red chilis contain high amounts of vitamin C and carotene (provitamin A). Yellow and especially green chilis (which are essentially unripe fruit) contain a considerably lower amount of both substances. In addition, peppers are a good source of most B vitamins, and vitamin B6 in particular. They are very high in potassium and high in magnesium and iron. Their high vitamin C content can also substantially increase the uptake of non-heme iron from other ingredients in a meal, such as beans and grains.

You can find authentic Thai Chili Pepper on many Thai Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Curry is a generic description used throughout European and American culture to describe a general variety of spiced dishes, best known in Indian cuisines, especially South Asian cuisine. Curry is a generic term, and although there is no one specific attribute that marks a dish as “curry”, some distinctive spices used in many, though certainly not all, curry dishes include turmeric, cumin, coriander, fenugreek, and red pepper.

The word curry is an anglicised version of the Tamil word kari. It is usually understood to mean “gravy” or “sauce”, rather than “spices”. In most South Indian languages, the word literally means ’side-dish’, which can be eaten along with a main dish like rice or bread.

Curry’s popularity in recent decades has spread outward from the Indian subcontinent to figure prominently in international cuisine. Consequently, each culture has adopted spices in their indigenous cooking, to suit their own unique tastes and cultural sensibilities. Curry can therefore be called a pan-Asian or global phenomenon, with immense popularity in Thai, British and Japanese cuisines.

You can find authentic Thai Curry on many Thai Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Jasmine rice, sometimes known as Thai fragrant rice, is a long-grain variety of rice that has a nutty aroma and a subtle pandan-like (Pandanus amaryllifolius-leaves) flavor caused by 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline. Jasmine rice is originally from Thailand. It was discovered as the Kao Horm Mali 105 variety by Sunthorn Seehanern, an official of the ministry of agriculture in the Chachoengsao Province of Thailand in 1954. The grains will cling when cooked, though it is less sticky than other rices as it has less amylopectin.

Jasmine rice is frequently served with Thai and Chinese dishes, as the subtle, nutty flavor and rich aroma are very pleasing to the palate.

Jasmine rice is often compared to Indian Basmati rice, another long grained rice variety. However, Basmati is aged before being sold, and has a different although equally delicious flavor. Both rice varieties tend to be less sticky than other forms of rice, though, and when cooked properly will form fluffy, light piles of slightly chewy, nutty, well-formed grains. Many cooks use the two kinds of rice interchangeably, although most agree that Thai food should be eaten with jasmine rice, if possible.

You can find authentic Thai Jasmine Rice on many Thai Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Shrimp paste or shrimp sauce, is a common ingredient used in Southeast Asian and Southern Chinese cuisine. It is known as terasi (also spelled trassi, terasie) in Indonesian, Ngapi in Burmese kapi in Thai, Khmer and Lao language, belacan (also spelled belachan, blachang) in Malay, mắm ruốc, mắm tép and mắm tôm in Vietnamese (the name depends on the shrimp used), bagoong alamang (also known as bagoong aramang) in Filipino and hom ha/hae ko in Min Nan Chinese.

It is made from fermented ground shrimp, sun dried and then cut into fist-sized rectangular blocks. It is not designed, nor customarily used for immediate consumption and has to be fully cooked prior to consumption since it is raw. To many Westerners unfamiliar with this condiment, the strong smell can be considered unappetizing; however, it is an essential ingredient in many curries and sauces. Shrimp paste can be found in most meals in Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. It is often an ingredient in dipping sauce for fish or vegetables.

Shrimp pastes vary in appearance from pale liquid sauces to solid chocolate-colored blocks. Shrimp paste produced in Hong Kong and Vietnam is typically a light pinkish gray while the type used for Burmese Cuisine, Lao cuisine, Khmer Cuisine and Thai cooking is darker brown. While all shrimp paste has a notoriously pungent aroma, that of higher grades is generally milder. Markets near villages producing shrimp paste are the best places to obtain the highest quality product. Shrimp paste varies between different Asian cultures and can vary in smell, texture and saltiness. Therefore, the correct shrimp paste should be chosen for the food being prepared.

You can find authentic Thai Shrimp Paste on many Thai Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Fish sauce is a condiment that is derived from fish that have been allowed to ferment. It is an essential ingredient in many curries and sauces. Fish sauce is a staple ingredient in Filipino, Vietnamese, Thai, Lao, and Cambodian cuisine and is used in other Southeast Asian countries. In addition to being added to dishes during the cooking process, fish sauce can also be used in mixed form as a dipping condiment, and it is done in many different ways by each country mentioned for fish, shrimp, pork, and chicken. In parts of southern China, it is used as an ingredient for soups and casseroles.

Fish sauce, and its derivatives, impart an umami flavor to food due to their glutamate content.

Some fish sauces (extracts) are made from raw fish, others from dried fish; some from only a single species, others from whatever is dredged up in the net, including some shellfish; some from whole fish, others from only the blood or viscera. Some fish sauces contain only fish and salt, others add a variety of herbs and spices. Fish sauce that has been only briefly fermented has a pronounced fishy taste, while extended fermentation reduces this and gives the product a nuttier, cheesier flavor.

You can find authentic Thai Fish Sauce on many Thai Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Nam prik is Thai chilli sauce or paste. Each region has its own special versions. It is prepared by crushing together chillies with various ingredients such as garlic and shrimp paste using a mortar and pestle. It is then often served with vegetables such as cucumbers, cabbage and yard-long beans, either raw or blanched. The vegetables are dipped into the sauce and eaten with rice. Nam prik may also be simply eaten alone with rice or, in a bit of Thai and Western fusion, spread on toast.

Thai food is generally eaten with a fork and a spoon. Chopsticks are used rarely, primarily for the consumption of noodle soups. The fork, held in the left hand, is used to push food into the spoon. However, it is common practice for Thais and hill tribe peoples in the North and Northeast to eat sticky rice with their right hands by making it into balls that are dipped into side dishes and eaten. Thai-Muslims also frequently eat meals with only their right hands.

Often Thai food is served with a variety of spicy condiments to embolden dishes. This can range from dried chilli pieces, or sliced chilli peppers in rice vinegar, to a spicy chilli sauce such as the nam prik mentioned above.

You can find authentic Thai Nam Prik on many Thai Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Pad Thai is a dish of stir-fried rice noodles with eggs, fish sauce , tamarind juice, red chilli pepper, plus any combination of bean sprouts, shrimp, chicken, or tofu, garnished with crushed peanuts and coriander. It is normally served with a piece of lime, the juice of which can be added along with Thai condiments. Pad Thai is one of Thailand’s national dishes.

Two different styles of Pad Thai have evolved: the version most often found in the streets of Thailand, which is relatively dry and light, and the version that seems dominant in many restaurants in the West, which is heavier and may be covered in red oil.

Though the dish had been known in various forms for centuries – it is thought to have been brought to the ancient Thai capital of Ayuthaya by Vietnamese traders – it was first made popular as a national dish by Luang Phibunsongkhram when he was prime minister during the 1930s and 1940s, partly as an element of his campaign for Thai nationalism and centralization, and partly for a campaign to reduce rice consumption in Thailand. The Thai economy at this time was heavily dependent on rice exports; Phibunsongkhram hoped to increase the amount available for export by launching a campaign to educate the poor in the production of rice noodles, as well as in the preparation of these noodles with other ingredients to sell in small cafes and from street carts.

During the recession following World War II, the post-war government of Field Marshall Pibul, desperate in its efforts to revive the Thai economy, looked for ways to stem the massive tide of unemployment. Among the occupations the government aggressively promoted to give the populace a way to earn a living was the production of rice noodles and the operation of noodle shops. Detailed instructions on how to make the noodles and recipes were printed and distributed around the country. From these efforts, rice noodles became firmly rooted in the country and have since become a widespread staple food.

You can find authentic Thai Fried rice on many Thai Restaurants in Los Angeles.