Thai tastic

(with apologies for the cheesy headline)

How much do I love Thai food? I can't even start to count the ways.

Actually, I can. And I believe I will.

Around about when we got to Spain I really started to really miss the flavours of Asian food, especially Thai food. There is lot of Thai food in Auckland, and there is not a lot of Thai food in Barcelona. That applies to any European town or city we have visited. Even if I could have found it, I would not have wanted to eat Asian food in Europe; dedicated as I am to local cuisine. However, I can't say I was not looking forward to getting back here and immersing myself in those wonderful fresh, clean, zingy, zappy flavours.

Much as I have loved the food I've eaten all over Europe - and I really, really have, as you can probably tell from my ramblings - I do think that if I had to choose to eat food from just one country for the rest of my life, that country might be Thailand. It ranks right up there on my own personal list of great cuisines of the world. It's the lemongrass, the ginger, the fish sauce, the lime, the lime leaf, and the wonderful combinations these flavours make when they're used together to make Thai dishes. And the chillies.... mmmmm, the seductive heat of the chillies. Strangely enough I really did not eat many hot dishes in Europe, even in Spain. We didn't go to regions where chillies were a part of the local cuisine. So it's been extra nice arriving back in Thailand and getting that great, happy, high feeling you get from eating chillies in all their variety, once again.

Thai food is all about balance: sweet, salty, sour, hot. The Thais are really dedicated to this; noodle dishes are served with bowls of dried chillies, sugar, fish sauce and vinegar so that each person can get their dish balanced to their own taste. The Thai palate is very refined, I think, and sensitive to getting the balance absolutely right. When I had a Thai cooking lesson with the chef here, I would taste a dressing or sauce and say "Yum", while he would say "No, it needs more lime juice" (or fish sauce, or sugar, or chilli). It's important to him to get the complex, fascinating flavours singing together perfectly.

Chef Amnart is a lovely young man, executive sous-chef at Treetops, who taught me to make some simple, healthy dishes I'll be practising on friends and family very soon. First was laab gai; a spicy chicken salad with shallots, dried chilli, rice powder and a tangy dressing. Then we made pla goong; another salad of prawns and Thai herbs and the gorgeous zing of lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves. Finally a spectacularly tasty thing called nam prik goong sieb, which is a dip made from shrimp paste, dried shrimps (a special kind I had never seen before, which Chef said were local to Phuket), chillies, palm sugar, lime juice and fish sauce, all pounded together in the mortar and pestle. This is served with vegetable crudites, and has instantly become my new favourite dip. I am on a mission, when I get home, to scour the Asian supermarkets of Auckland for the right kind of dried shrimps.

Thai food is inherently healthy, with its light dressings and quick cooking methods. "Thai food good for the body", said Chef Amnart, patting his flat stomach. I think he is right; there are not many fat Thai people. And I do find a feeling of wellbeing comes over me after every Thai meal. You feel completely satisfied, yet not stuffed. It's been practically like being in a health spa, the past week, for Sandy and I. We both feel lighter (although I have to say we don't look it). I guess the only dishes to be careful with in Thai cooking are the coconut-based curries, which while delicious, are (sadly) seriously high in saturated fat. Also the deep-fried things, but I get the feeling many of these, even in Thailand, are more for the westerners than truly authentic.

Thai food is also beautiful to look at. Every dish is colourful, interesting and fresh-looking, and when you're out, even in a basic cafe, dishes are garnished with bright fresh vegetables and fruit carved into intricate designs. In fact you can take a class to learn how to carve the fruit, too, although piggy that I am, I can't say this interests me that much. I'm more interested in things I can eat.

Chef Amnart has kindly given me more recipes in addition to the ones we cooked together; so I can cook Treetops food every night of the week at home, once we find one.