• CONSUMERS
  • BROKER LOCATOR
  • CONTACT

Marzetti

Add a dressing

  • Products
    • Dressings & Sauces
    • Breads, Bagels & Rolls
    • Noodles & Pasta
    • Flatbreads
    • Croutons
    • Dairy Products
    • Dips
    • Custom Formulations
  • Recipes & Inspiration
    • Recipes
    • Signature Ideas
      • Videos
      • Pairing with Greens
      • +1 Ranch Ideas
      • +1 Blue Cheese Ideas
      • Dressing Ideas
      • Frozen Vs Dry
      • Simply Dressed
      • Bold Blends
  • Culinary Services
    • Custom Formulations
    • Special Dietary Needs
    • Ask Our Chefs
  • Who We Serve
  • WHO WE ARE
    • History
    • Brands
    • Distribution
    • Sustainability
    • Food Safety
  • ON YOUR PLATE BLOG

Thai food goes mainstream

April 25, 2016

LettuceWraps_Small

Quick, what’s the most important ingredient in Thai cuisine? None of them, says Bret Thorn, senior food editor, Nation’s Restaurant News. The journalist spent five years living and working in Thailand, where he gained an understanding that the key to this food’s deliciousness is its emphasis on balance.

“It’s never one particular ingredient that predominates,” he says. “Instead it’s about a particular palate that’s an adventure with every bite. Your brain should always be saying, ‘Oooh, what’s this?’ when you eat Thai food, and finding a balance of sweet, sour, salty, bitter and spicy.”

Sriracha and Sweet Chili Sauce

Many culinary pundits say that Sriracha sauce has been many Americans’ “gateway” to Thai food (check out Marzetti® Sriracha Bourbon Sauce, for example). But Thorn discards the notion that the super-popular sauce is classically Thai. “Thais don’t even use it that much. It’s mainly used on fried eggs, and occasionally on seafood, and that’s about it.” Speaking of another famous Thai condiment, he says he knew the cuisine had truly gone mainstream when he saw Sweet Chili Sauce as dipping sauce for McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets. “We Americans like spicy food, but we like sugar even more,” he says.

“Thai” up your menu

When asked why he thinks the cuisine finally seems to be taking off in a more mainstream way, he says:

“People are already familiar with Chinese food, so that makes Thai food approachable. He isn’t pleased with a habit he sees on many menus – adding one ingredient and calling a dish “Thai.” Just because you added lemongrass or peanuts, you’re not necessarily cooking Thai cuisine.

One great way to add Thai dishes to a menu is with the category that Thai cooks call “Yum,” which are room-temperature dishes that are spicy, sour and a little bit sweet, such as green papaya salad. “It’s a very refreshing and robust food category, and it can be very light if you need to fill in some healthier dishes on your menu,” Thorn says. The best way to learn more about an ethnic cuisine he calls “exotic and yet approachable,” Thorn says, is to try it for yourself. “If you really want to honor Thai food, go eat some of it.”

Thorn’s top picks for Thai restaurants:

Chicago

Arun’s Thai Restaurant

Los Angeles

Isaan Station Thai Street Food

New York

Pam Real Thai Food
Somtum Der

San Francisco

Ozone Thai Restaurant and Lounge

Recipes

For an extra kick, serve Marzetti® Sriracha Bourbon Sauce on the side or as a finishing sauce

Thai Lettuce Wraps
Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles
Thai Chicken Noodle Soup
Pad Thai

Marzetti® Sauceibilities!


« Smokin’ hot
Freshen up your menu with asparagus »

MAKE IT
MEMORABLE

Customize grilled chicken, shrimp, steak or salmon with Marzetti® Caesar Dressing.

logo

T. Marzetti Foodservice

dressingup-icon

dressingup-icon

marzetti_footer-icon

marzetti_footer-icon

sistershuberts-icon

sistershuberts-icon

marzettipasta-icon

Marzetti Frozen Pasta

newyork-icon

newyork-icon

flatout-icon

flatout-icon

bantam-icon

bantam-icon
  • ABOUT MARZETTI
  • FAQ
  • CONTACT
  • BROKER SITE
  • SITEMAP
  • PRIVACY
  • TERMS OF USE
  • TMARZETTICOMPANY.COM
  • CAREERS
A Lancaster Colony Company All content © 2017 T. Marzetti Company. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2021 · Divine Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Blogger

Blogger

youtube

youtube

Linkedin

Linkedin

Twitter

Twitter

Instagram

Instagram
CONNECT WITH US