Thai dishes have a rich, spicy, sour, sweet, slightly salty taste. The flavors are also found in many types of Indonesian cuisine. It's no wonder then that Thai specialties are used as the monthly theme of restaurants in Jakarta, to pamper the tongues of culinary fans in the capital.
The Java Restaurant at the InterContinental MidPlaza Hotel Jakarta again presents a choice menu. Throughout September 2012, you can enjoy a wide selection of Thai specialties. The "Taste of Thailand" program can be enjoyed in a buffet for lunch and dinner.
To present authentic Thai dishes, InterContinental brought directly two culinary specialists from Bangkok. Culinary specialist Saranya Suttanaka and Chef Sittiwong Wongprom, mix a variety of special foods that tempt the taste buds. According to Saranya, from the various dishes served, there are several favorite menus that are most favored by Thai people. Among them are Tom Yam Gai (mushroom chicken soup), Noodle Glass with Seafood Salad, also Som Tam (Spicy and fresh Papaya Salad), Seafood Salad. For soup, you can choose two flavors. If you like fresh clear chicken soup with spices, you can enjoy Tom Yam Gai.
If you prefer a fatty soup with a more pronounced spicy and sour taste, just choose mushroom fish soup. As an accompaniment to the main course, you can also choose as a dessert, you can enjoy the signature Papaya Salad. This dish is especially suitable for those of you who like spicy taste. Finely chopped fresh green and orange papaya pieces, mixed with coarsely ground spices, from cayenne pepper, garlic, tomatoes, fried peanuts, as well as a mixture of long bean pieces.
"Som Tam is suitable for dieting, using vegetables and fruit. Papaya can be replaced with diced apples," said Saranya to Kompas Female at the opening of the Taste of Thailand program at the InterContonental MidPlaza Hotel, Jakarta, some time ago. If you are unfamiliar with Thai dishes, some of these foods can be your choice: Tod Man Pla (fried fish with spicy and salty spices), Panaeng Gai (dried curry with chicken), Pad Kapao Talay (fried spicy fish with basil), and for your drinks could try the Gluay Blued Chee (a mixture of banana and coconut syrup).
When you think of a salad, a dish of colorful vegetables usually comes to mind. However, like all Thai specialties, Thai salads are not the conventional green vegetables that are commonly consumed.
Instead, Thai salads are renowned for their use of meat, especially seafood, as well as their unique and extra-kicking spice mix, namely Thai chili.
One of the most popular is Som Tum, or green papaya salad. Here is a brief history of this savory dish, as reported by theculturetrip.
What is Som Tum?
The reassuring sound of mortar from pestle to mortar can be heard at food markets across Thailand. Chefs use these kitchen tools to make delicious salads, which only take a few minutes to prepare.
Thai chili, fresh garlic, dried shrimp, fish sauce, sweet palm sugar to soften the punch of Thai chili, peanuts, lime juice, cherry tomatoes, green string beans and green papaya are needed to make this Thai dish.
Green papaya is cut open, and seeds removed; then sliced thinly for the main ingredient of the salad. Some sellers will add grated carrots for color as well. Papayas should not be overripe, as this helps give the salad a crunchy texture.
The ingredients (except green papaya, string beans, peanuts, and tomatoes) are tossed into the mortar in the proper order while the maker consistently moves and crushes them with the pestle until the ingredients turn to a liquid form, which will act as a salad dressing.
The remaining ingredients are then added and mixed before serving. Usually, vendors will add extra roasted peanuts on top for added texture and flavor. Thai food is famous for being salty, sweet, spicy, sour and bitter all at once. Papaya salad is certainly one dish that includes all of these flavors.
Be sure to watch out for the amount of chili added to this salad; more than one will drive many visitors away. This dish is best eaten with kow neeyao, or sticky rice, and for those who enjoy seafood, a crab or two is often tossed in for added crunch and flavour.
Each region seems to have its own version of this dish, so diners are surprised almost every time they devour a green papaya salad.
History
Papaya salad is not only a signature dish in Thailand but is also popular in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, although the Thai version is of course the most popular. Food historians believe the dish originated in Thailand's northeastern neighbor Laos. Maybe this is the reason
Looks yummy