Garlic - Kratiem
An essential ingredient in almost every Thai dish. Used fresh, whole, sliced, crushed, fried and pickled.
Thai Sweet Basil - Bai Horapa
A delicate leaf but a strong sweet aniseed flavour, used in curries, stir-fries and soups.
Limes - Manao
Or lemons, are used a lot in Thai cooking in order to balance both the sweet and the spicy.
Chillis - Prik
Red or green, big or small, use them sparingly until you build up resistance, a little chilli can enhance the flavour, a lot will make enemies!
Galangal - Kha
An important ingredient in many Thai soups and curries, a rhizome in the same family as ginger and turmeric. It has a lemony, piney taste and fragrance.
Lemongrass - Takrai
An essential Thai ingredient , a lemon fragrant grass of which only the stalk is used. Mainly used for flavouring soups and curries, or for making delicious tea.
Kaffir lime leaves - Bai Magrut
These leaves come from the kaffir lime tree, a wild variety of lime, that has a very strong and unique fragrance.