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If you’re a fan of Thai food, you might be wondering what it is about Thai cuisine that makes it so special and delicious. The answer is simple. Thai cuisine has a perfect balance of flavours, all of which work in harmony together to create a culinary delight.
Thai philosophy is to blend the five essential flavours, using the delicate art of achieving the perfect balance, to create a truly unique culinary experience. But what are the five flavours? And why is it so important to balance them in every dish? Let’s explore these questions in more detail.
The five essential flavours
According to Thai philosophy, there are five essential flavours:
Sweet
The sweetness of Thai food is deliberately delicate and perfectly balanced with the other flavours in the dish. Through the use of ingredients such as palm sugar, coconut milk and tamarind paste the subtle sweetness aims to compliment the other flavours in a dish.
In Pad Thai, for example, the savoury flavour of the noodles, are complimented with a hint of sweetness. While in sweet sticky rice and mango, the tropical taste of the mango and the flavour of the fragrant sticky rice, is balanced with a drizzle of sweet coconut sauce. Thai curries are also a fantastic example of how sweetness is added into Thai dishes to round out the flavour.
Sour
To spring the tastebuds into life, sourness is added into Thai food to give it a tangy and flavoursome twist, while making the overall flavour palette one that is refreshing and invigorating. This sourness is added through the use of citrus food, such as limes, lemon, orange, and the tropical fruit, tamarind.
Thai green curry is a perfect example of sourness balanced with other flavours, given it’s fiery and tangy taste. Som Tum, is another dish that showcases a tangy flavour, with shredded green papaya mixed with chilli, garlic and fish sauce, coated in a lime juice. Tom Yum, a popular Thai soup, also boasts a zingy twist, with lime juice and lemongrass, combined with kaffir lime leaves.
Salty
Adding depth to a dish and enhancing the overall flavour, salty flavours often form the basis of a Thai dish. This savoury and salty flavour is usually added through ingredients such as soy sauce, fish sauce, and shrimp paste.
Perfect examples of salt inspired dishes include Salted Fish Fried Rice, which combines salted fish, eggs, a medley of vegetables and stir-fried rice. The salty flavour of Thai food can also be found in Thai dipping sauces such as Nam Prik Kapi, which is made primarily from fermented shrimp paste, lime, chili and herbs.
Spicy
One of the flavours Thai cuisine is well-known for is its spiciness. The fiery flavours added to Thai food add a heat to it that is designed to leave a lingering taste on your tongue. The sensational flavour is created by perfectly balancing this spice with other flavours. The fiery flavours used to add spice usually come in the form of ingredients such as bird’s eye chillies.
One of the best-known spicy Thai dishes, is the Thai green curry. With rich flavours that derive from green chillies, basil and a range of aromatic spices, it has a vibrant green colour and a rich and spicy taste. Another iconic spicy Thai dish is Tom Yum Soup, made with Thai chillies, lemongrass, lime leaves and galangal. Thai dishes have a range of spice levels, allowing you to explore and find your preferred heat level.
Savoury/umami
Umami (otherwise thought of as savoury) is a fundamental flavour in Thai cuisine, adding a depth and richness to the dish that really rounds out the flavour and takes the edge off flavours like sour and spice. Umami is added to Thai food through ingredients such as fish or oyster sauce, shrimp paste, fermented soybeans, mushrooms, tomatoes, seaweed, aged cheese, and green tea.
Noodles are a classic savoury flavour found in Thai food. Dishes such as Khao Soi, a noodle soup with coconut milk and a rich broth; Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao), a stir-fried noodle dish with a rich sauce; and Pad See Ew, a stir-fried noodle dish with a soy sauce-based sauce are perfect examples of savoury Thai food. Rice dishes, such as Khao Pad and Som Tam are other perfect savoury Thai cuisine examples.
Reflecting the philosophy of Ying-Yang and contrasting elements coming together to create a whole, the five flavours of Thai cuisine work in perfect harmony with one another. With the sweet flavour balancing the heat, the sourness complimenting the salty flavours, and the bitterness adding to the overall depth of flavour.