HERBS AND SPICES

Herbs and spices are widely used in Thai cooking - find out how these can improve your health!

Kaffir Lime (Ma- Krut)Leaves uses as garnish in certain curries, soups and salads. Peels are added to several curry pastes. Leaves and peels contain a volatile oil. The main benefit of the juice is an appetiser.
Mint (Sa ra nae)The fresh leaves are used as a flavouring and eaten raw in some Thai dishes. The beneficial uses include carminative, mild antiseptic, local anesthetic, diaphoretic and digestant properties.
Lemon Grass (Ta-khrai)Used as seasoning and flavouring in certain soups and curry pastes. The benefits are as a diurectic, emmenagogue, antiflatulence, antiflu and antimicrobial agents.
Galanga (Kha)Roots are used in some curry pastes and soups. They have therapeutic uses as carminative, stomachic, antirheumatic and antimicrobial agents.
Pepper (Phrik Thai)Used as a spice and condiment in some Thai curries. The benefits include carminative, antipyretic, diaphoretic and diuretic agents.
Garlic (Kra-tiam)Used in many Thai dishes as a flavouring and condiment. It can help reduce your cholesterol, blood pressure and sugar level. Therapeutic uses are as an antimicrobial, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, antiflatulence and cholesterol lowering agents.
Chillies (Phrik)Used as garnishing and flavouring in many Thai dishes. They are believed to beneficial to your respiratory system, blood pressure and heart. Others include being a stomachic, carminative and antiflatulence agent and digestant.
Ginger (Khing)Used in different ways in Thai dish as food, flavouring and spice. It can help reduce your blood pressure. Its therapeutic is claimed to be as a carminative, antinauseant and antiflatulence agent.
Coconut Milk(Ka Thi)Extracted from shredded coconut meat, coconut milk is used instead of cooking oil to stir-fry and to dilute curry paste. It is the main ingredient of a Thai curry, harmonising with the spicy taste and adding a creaminess. A source of natural energy for our bodies.
White Green (Phak Gad Khao)Sometimes called celery cabbage, white greens have a distinctive white stalk which when cooked with soy source is a popular side dish. It contains many important elements such as carbohydrates, protein, sodium and vitamins.
Eggplant (Ma Khua)Eggplants varies in shape from the large purple-skinned typed to small, rounded white fruits. They contain small amounts of most vitamins and minerals, and are very low in calories. The white varieties are sometimes used to treat diabetes. They are used in many Thai curry dishes.