What does Thai Red Curry Paste Taste Like?
Salty is one of the five main tastes. It has a satisfying and addictive quality with hints of sourness. Salty foods include cheeses, cured meats, chips, and olives. It is used in almost every dish and prepared food. Salt is added to enhance flavor and offer a distinctly salty taste.
Spicy is a flavor that brings heat and fire to food by creating a burning sensation in the mouth or sinuses. Spicy flavors come from hot peppers, horseradish, and wasabi. Spicy adds a kick and sometimes complexity to a dish and releases endorphins, creating a mildly addictive quality.
Ingredients
Water is a substance and chemical compound made up of hydrogen and oxygen. It is clear, fluid, flavorless and odorless. Water is a necessity in nearly every aspect of life, including cooking, baking and hydrating the human body. Water can be served as a cold beverage, or at any temperature comfortable to the mouth and skin.
The round coconut grows on a tree and has a hard grey/brown shell with hairs when it is mature. The meat on a mature coconut is dense and woody, though chewable. Young Thai coconuts are have a large green shell that is sometimes removed before buying. The meat is tender and the fruit is full of sweet coconut water. Coconuts have a white flesh inside that tastes sweet and tropical. Coconut is used in many Asian and Island dishes.
Botanically speaking the tomato is a fruit, but in the culinary world it is used almost strictly as a vegetable. Tomatoes are a nightshade plant that grow on tall, thick sturdy stalks. There are many varieties of tomato, but the most common type is round and red. It has a thin skin that covers its extremely juicy and soft flesh. The center contains seeds wrapped in a gelatinous film. The tomato is sour with a hint of sweetness. It can be sliced into rounds and wedges or diced into small chunks and is eaten raw or cooked.
Sugar comes from sugar cane and sugar beets. The sugar is extracted from the juice of both plants and refined into the granulated substance known as sugar. Sucrose, the sweet substance of sugar is a combination of glucose and fructose. White sugar is composed of tiny white, dry granules. The flavor is sweet and neutral. Brown sugar is brown and has more moisture, with a richer flavor that hints at molasses. Sugar is used in both sweet and savory foods.
Cayenne is a small and moderately hot chili pepper. When mature it is bright red in color and has a thin tapered body that is between 2-3 inches long. On the Scoville heat scale for hot peppers it is considered 'scorching'. Cayenne has a crunch to it when raw, though is best cooked to reduce the heat of the plant, it is also sold as a powder. This hot pepper is used commonly in Central and South America, as well as Africa.
Ginger paste is made by blending the ginger root with water and salt to form a smooth paste. This paste is yellow/golden and tastes like ginger, with the sharp, spicy and earthy flavors that are characteristic of the root. Ginger paste is used in many cuisines including East and South Asian and Western dishes. It blends well into sauce and rubs and can be used for many culinary purposes to add flavor.
Soybean oil is used in many countries around the world and has become extremely popular in the US for its inexpensive price and neutral flavor. Soy oil is considered a vegetable oil and is extracted from soybeans. The color of this thin oil is a translucent golden yellow. Soy oil is used frequently in restaurants for sauteing, grilling and deep frying. It is also used in salad dressings and baked goods.
Salt is a mineral composed mostly of sodium chloride. It is the main flavoring used in food and is naturally occurring in certain foods, such as cheese, beets, meat and celery, plus many others. Salt is white and has finer granules than sugar. Many commercial salts include iodide, while others exclude it. Most salts are white, while some are naturally pale pink with minerals. Salt brings out the flavor of something and can create a tangy mouthfeel, if used in excess.
Cornstarch is obtained from the endosperm of the corn kernel. This is the main body and juicy part of the kernel. Cornstarch is a fine, white powder with a squeaky texture and neutral flavor. It is used in many foods, particularly in America. Cornstarch makes an easy thickener for liquids, such as sauces and an excellent binding agent for baked goods. In the 1800's cornstarch was used for starching laundry, making the clothing appear stiff and professional.
Garlic paste is a convenient form of garlic used in cooking and as a condiment. It is made from peeled cloves of garlic that are thoroughly blended together to form a smooth, thick white paste. The concentration of garlic paste is exceptionally strong and has a spicy, pungent and bright flavor. Garlic paste may have additional ingredients, such as salt and oil. It is popular in Mediterranean cuisines.
Lime juice comes from the citrus fruit of the lime tree. Limes are round and roughly the size of a small plum, but can vary. Limes have a firm texture with green rind. The pale green flesh of the lime is firm, pulpy and juicy, much like a lemon, but harder. The juice is squeezed from the flesh and is a pale green color with a sour and refreshing taste and is used in drinks and food items, including sauces.
Paprika is a spice made made not from one type of pepper but from multiple varieties of sweet peppers and chili peppers. Common paprika is not spicy, but some paprika will be mildly spicy if hotter peppers are used. The pepper is dried and ground into a fine red power used to season savory dishes. The flavor is both sweet and pungent with a hint of bitterness that can emerge when it is cooked.
The onion is a bulb vegetable, meaning its bulb and not its leaves are eaten. Onions come in many varieties, including white, yellow and red. Shallots are small and mild onions. Vidalias are sweet, while red onions are strong and sharp. The onion is usually round and has a thin dry skin around its juicy layers. This skin depends in the color of the onion, as does the flesh. The flesh, or body of the onion is made of multiple round layers, that get smaller towards the center. The flavor of onions are sharp and sweet when raw, with an astringent taste. When cooked, these flavors mellow and the sweetness emerges. Onion are a very common flavoring and ingredient for many savory dishes.
