第二站 曼谷——泰中菜

華麗的復(fù)合型菜

曼谷是泰國(guó)的首都，也是泰中菜式的發(fā)源地。泰國(guó)中部一直是泰國(guó)傳統(tǒng)的心臟地帶，圍繞著湄南河的肥沃平原發(fā)展出許多知名的泰國(guó)佳肴。這里是泰國(guó)土地最肥沃的地區(qū)，盛產(chǎn)稻米和水果，因?yàn)榻?jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)達(dá)，人們的生活水平較高，所以中部的菜品以烹飪精致、華麗著稱。

泰中的廚師都需要學(xué)習(xí)怎樣擺放花朵及蕉葉，如何把西瓜雕成鮮花等，使得菜肴看起來(lái)既隆重又貴氣非凡。并且菜品的容器都用的是泰國(guó)獨(dú)有的手工瓷器“五彩”，上面布滿細(xì)密的彩紋，從前菜到甜點(diǎn)，都裝點(diǎn)得如同價(jià)值連城的工藝品。

紅咖喱、綠咖喱在中部被利用得淋漓盡致，相較于其他地區(qū)的咖喱，中部的各種咖喱都喜歡多放椰漿，口感更加溫潤(rùn)細(xì)膩。而中國(guó)人較為熟悉的冬陰功湯也是從中部開(kāi)始流行起來(lái)的。除了菜品豐富外，中部地區(qū)還有很多小吃也很不錯(cuò)，走在曼谷街頭，各種小吃攤云集，最讓人難忘的當(dāng)數(shù)金錢包，光聽(tīng)這名字就足夠討喜。這種以雞肉、洋蔥、香菜、青豆、咖喱粉爆炒后做餡，用春卷皮包裹后炸制的小吃，配上酸梅醬吃起來(lái)清甜中帶有肉香，其美味程度一點(diǎn)不輸大菜。

Splendid Mix

Bangkok is the capital of Thailand and the birthplace of central Thai food. As the heart of Thailand， rice and fruits grow in adundance here in the fertile Mekong River plains. Influenced by the developed local economy and affulent lifestyles， Central Thai food is known for its complexity and exquisiteness.

Central Thai chefs for example have to learn how to place flowers and banana leaves in plates， how to sculpt water melon into flowers， and how to make dishes stately and elegant before putting them into classic “five colors” pattern porcelain. From entree to dessert， each dish is presented as if it is a priceless artwork.

Red and green curry are used to the extreme in Central Thailand. Unlike curries in other regions， curries here are cooked with coconut juice to produce a smooth and tender texture. Tom Yum Goong for example get popular from here. Apart from the wide variety of dishes， central Thailand also boasts of many street food widely found on roadside stands. Among them is the so called “gold bun”， a fried snack made of spring roll skin containing different foodstuffs. Served with plum sauce， it is as delicious as any upscale dish.

泰國(guó)菜的酸辣甜

The Sweet， the Sour and the Spicy

泰國(guó)菜以酸辣口味為主，而酸、辣、甜三味，全部都由東南亞甚至泰國(guó)獨(dú)特的調(diào)料調(diào)制而成，絕不會(huì)使用食醋、糖精等物，讓我們來(lái)為你介紹幾種泰國(guó)酸辣甜味道的主要來(lái)源。

The sour， sweet and spicy flavor of Thai cuisine are created with unique local ingredients instead of vinegar or saccharin. Below are the main sources of the three flavors.

酸 Sour

泰國(guó)皺皮檸檬：泰國(guó)皺皮檸檬的外貌不起眼，好像一個(gè)個(gè)外表皺巴巴的青橘子，然而其中蘊(yùn)含的力量可不小。泰國(guó)人一般只使用其外皮，味道苦中帶甘，香味濃烈，加入菜肴后風(fēng)味特別，黃咖喱、沙爹中都少不了它。皺皮檸具有祛風(fēng)、排腸氣、止咳化痰的功效。

泰國(guó)青檸：泰國(guó)青檸是一種東南亞特有的調(diào)味水果。它個(gè)小、味酸、香味濃郁，含有豐富的維生素C，味道和外形都有別于美國(guó)檸檬口味的略甜，往往使聞過(guò)它香味的人終身難忘。泰國(guó)青檸可以用來(lái)做檸檬汁飲品、啤酒香劑，但最主要的用處還是做泰國(guó)菜的調(diào)料。

Kaffir Lime： The wrinkled lime is inconspicuous yet powerful. Locals use only its skin to add an aromatic and astringent flavor to curry， satay， and other dishes. The lime could also relieve rheumatic pain， remove phlegm， and faciliate bowel movement.

Thai Lemon： A small， astringent， aromatic and Vitamin C rich fruit unique to Southeast Asia. It could be made into lemon drink， or beer fragrance agent， but mostly used as an ingredient for Thai cuisine.

甜 Sweet

椰汁：椰汁用成熟椰子肉磨碎或切碎制成，與椰糖一樣，椰汁中也含有糖分和多種礦物質(zhì)，特別是豐富的鉀和鎂等。椰汁可利尿消腫，有殺滅腸道寄生蟲(chóng)的作用，是理想的殺蟲(chóng)消疳食品，還能益人氣力、滋潤(rùn)皮膚、駐顏美容。

椰糖：椰糖由椰子或者棕櫚樹(shù)的樹(shù)液提煉而成，屬于紅糖的一種，并且有明顯的焦糖味道。除了含有糖分，椰糖中還有不少蛋白質(zhì)、脂肪、維生素C及鈣、磷、鐵、鉀、鎂、鈉等礦物質(zhì)。

Coconut Juice： Coconut juice is made by crushing coconut flesh. Like coconut sugar， the juice is also rich in sugar and minerals， in partcular potassium and magnesium. It can faciliate diuresis， counteract inflamation， kill bowel parasites， stimulates the immune system， and beautify your skin.

Coconut Sugar： Made from cococut or palm juice， coconut sugar is subtly sweet like brown sugar but with a slight hint of caramel. In addition to sugar， it is also rich in protein， fat， Vitamin C， and has a high mineral content.

辣 Spicy

泰國(guó)朝天椒：據(jù)說(shuō)，泰國(guó)朝天椒是世界上最辣的辣椒。泰語(yǔ)把它叫做“老鼠屎辣椒”，可見(jiàn)這是一種極小但極辣的辣椒。它被廣泛應(yīng)用于泰國(guó)人的烹調(diào)藝術(shù)中，做菜不撒上幾顆切碎的朝天椒，就像吃川菜不加麻辣一樣，怎么能行？

南姜：南姜分為大型和小型兩種，常在咖喱菜或泰國(guó)菜中做輔料，如冬蔭功湯；南姜還可以剁成末，做a成咖喱醬或其他蘸醬。而最常見(jiàn)的做法是，將南姜和其他香料一起攪碎腌制肉類和海鮮，或用來(lái)熏制食物，口感辣中帶甜辛嗆味。

Thai Pepper： Thai pepper is touted to be the world’s hottest chilli. Called \"mouse shit pepper” in local language， the pepper is small but extremely spicy. It is extensively used in Thai cooking just as chilli pepper is used in China’s Sichuan cuizine.

Galangal： Grown in two varities， big and small， galangal is used in curry paste and Thai dishes such as Tom Yum Goong. It is most commonly used as a seasoning to cure meat and seafood or to smoke food to add a distinct peppery flavor.