How to season the Thai way – Simple Meal Plans

The brilliance of Thai cooking lies in their dedication to the pursuit of ‘balance’ and ‘harmony’.

While seasoning in Western cooking is generally confined to adding a little salt and pepper, the Thais focus on 4 main flavour areas: Sweet, Salty, Sour and Hot.

It may sound complicated, but most recipes have already taken the 4 flavours into account. All you need to do is a little ‘fine tuning’.

the importance of tasting

Regardless of what type of food you are preparing, the number 1 thing you can do to improve your seasoning is to taste as you go.

The simple act of tasting and asking yourself the question ‘is this in balance?‘ is all it takes to become a seasoning pro.

the thai seasoning arsenal

Here are the common ingredients used to season Thai food

hot
red chilli, green chilli, peppercorns

sour
lime juice, tamarind
note: lemon juice or rice vinegar aren’t traditional but can work if you’re out of lime,

sweet
palm sugar or brown sugar

salty
fish sauce
note: although not traditional, regular sea salt or soy sauce can be substituted for those wanting to avoid fish sauce.

a thai seasoning problem solving guide

The good news is, most problems can be fixed. Here are some tips to help when your Thai food is out of whack in the ‘balance & harmony’ department…

too hot
Add some sugar

too sour?
Add some salt, sugar and/or chilli

too salty?
Try a little lime juice and/ or sugar

too sweet?
Add a little salt (fish sauce) or lime juice

the rice factor

Thai food is commonly eaten with rice which has the effect of ‘diluting’ the flavours of your dish. To avoid having your flavours lost when rice is added to the equation, make sure you are generous with your seasoning.