Any night of the week in Des Moines, Iowa, you can stroll down to the strip mall and order a bowl of tom ka kai, the fragrant coconut milk-laced chicken soup found at Cool Basil, one of the seven Thai restaurants in this medium-sized, conservative Midwestern town.In Birmingham, Ala., a similarly sized city with more barbecue joints than McDonald's, there are eight Thai restaurants. According to the website Thai cuisine.com, where you can look for a Thai restaurant anywhere in the U.S., there are over 4,000 restaurants listed.Today, Pad Thai - the quintessential noodle dish of Thailand - is about as prevalent as fettuccine Alfredo was two decades ago. A lot of this interest can be attributed to the mom and pop Thai restaurants that sprung up in strip centers all across the country. In most of these eateries, the tables are Formica, the service brisk, and the prices cheap. But the humble decor belies the alluring food.At Surin of Thailand in Birmingham, what emerges from the kitchen are intoxicating dishes such as spicy nam sod, ground pork, chili peppers and fresh mint piled in crisp cabbage leaves and accented with a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Most dishes are preceded by a heady, lime- and lemongrass-infused coconut soup.Something happens when you watch someone eat Thai food for the first time. Looks of wonder, pleasure and fascination compete in their expression until superseded by delight. The flavors of Thai food are transcendental as with few other cuisines.Seth Jacobson, founder of Thai Kitchen, Union City, Calif., was mesmerized with the country and the cooking. He recognized Americans were ready for new flavors and foods that were simultaneously exciting and healthy. He started selling curry pastes and fish sauce out of the trunk of his car. The company then debuted its first in-store Thai products - traditional curry paste, sauces and coconut milk - in 1989. Today Thai Kitchen offers a line of over 50 products, including sauces and prepared foods, sold in the U.S., Canada and Japan.Thai-dal WaveIn the last decade Thai dishes broke the bonds of ethnic restaurants and began appearing on menus alongside Chinese, Vietnamese and other Far East cuisines in a restaurant phenomenon tagged "pan-Asian." Big Bowl Asian Kitchen, Chicago, was one restaurant company to get in on the action early.In the mid-1990s Big Bowl offered just about anything that came in a bowl, from Chinese noodles to hummus. But according to Matt McMillin, vice president of Big Bowl, in 1994, they decided to limit "the bowl" to strictly Asian flavors, due to the popularity of their Asian offerings. McMillin and partner Bruce Cost grew the chain to the five national locations it has now.Today you can find Thai basil chicken and Thai herb calamari sandwiched between the pot stickers and the kung pao chicken. Other pan-Asian concept restaurants, such as Wow Bao and Vong's Thai Kitchen (both Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Chicago) also integrate Thai flavors into their menus. Sesame peanut noodles and homemade curries occupy Vong's menu, while Wow Bao features Chinese-style bao - steamed buns - filled with Thai curry chicken."There's a mass-market consciousness of Thai food that wasn't there 10 years ago," says Ernest Wong, senior product development manager for Thai Kitchen. Wong believes Thai food is so popular because it's so different. "In contrast to Chinese cuisine, which is primarily soy sauce and vinegars, Thai food is an explosion of flavors."Why ThaiThai food is based on a delicate and harmonious balance of flavor sensations. It's at once, clean, big, mysterious and familiar. Zesty fresh lime juice, salty fish sauce, molasses-tinged brown sugar, garlic, cilantro - all come together for a symphony of clean, fresh flavors that are undisputedly not American, even if the ingredients are. And of course hot peppers. A number of Thai dishes are traditionally fiery hot.Thai food is an amalgam of ingredients and techniques - some its own, some borrowed from its neighbors: noodles and noodle dishes from China, ground spices from India as well as fresh herbs and spices from its own vast agricultural basin. Splash in fish sauce, coconut milk, and curry paste and you have the singular food that is the Thai experience.Possibly Thai's biggest attraction is that it assimilates well. Its key ingredients can be parlayed into other cuisines and dishes adding bright notes here and there. California Pizza Kitchen, Los Angeles, has featured a Thai chicken pizza on its menu since it opened its doors.Frank Lee, executive chef and owner of Slightly North of Broad, in Charleston, S.C., has an arsenal of Thai ingredients ready to mix with his Low country specialties for what he calls his "maverick Southern cooking." Thai curry paste goes into the shrimp bisque, and lemongrass helps marinate pork and chicken for the grill. Lee discovered Thai food while living on a shoestring budget in Chicago and Washington D.C. Which is another benefit to Thai food: While its taste is big, its price tag isn't.Thai cuisine caught on because it is at once exotic, yet accessible. In large part, it relies on items that are pantry staples in most restaurant kitchens: garlic, lime, shallots, chilies and sugar. But it also employs fish sauce, curry paste, galangal and lemongrass - items that require more effort to hunt down (see, "Thai Up Loose Ingredient Ends," below).Making the Mainstream BreakSo, the same reasons we love Thai flavors may be the very ones holding it back from being more mainstream. Fish sauce is admittedly an acquired taste. Lemongrass, curry paste, even coconut milk require a paradigm shift of the taste buds. This may be the reason concept (chain) restaurants are slow to embrace Thai dishes. A survey of most chain restaurants shows nothing more adventurous from the Far East than Asian chicken salad, pot stickers and egg rolls, and not a drop of coconut milk can be found. Out of McDonald's Corp., Oak Brook, Ill; Wendy's International Inc., Dublin, Ohio; and Hardee's Food Systems, St. Louis, none have ventured past mandarin chicken salad. In October 2004, Subway, Milford, Conn., tested a Thai chicken sandwich that consisted of baked chicken strips and a Thai satay sauce. It was tested in 1,000 restaurants in Phoenix and New York state. According to public relations manager Kevin Kane, "It went OK, but there are no plans to do anything with it at this time."With its bright, clean flavors and reliance on fresh herbs and spices, Thai food is relatively light and healthy. Meat and chicken are used in small portions, almost as a garnish, and there's an emphasis on fruits, vegetables, fish and noodles. It's an amazingly exotic low-fat cuisine packed with nutrients. And this is exactly what attracts food companies.Lipton, a division of Unilever Foodsolutions, Franklin Park, Ill., jumped into the game with its 230 calorie-3.5 g fat Thai Sesame Noodles, and Stouffer Foods Corp., Solon, Ohio, is betting health-conscious consumers will be attracted to its Chicken in Peanut Sauce and Lemongrass Chicken, introduced in its Spa Cuisine Classics line (part of the Lean Cuisine brand). Each weighs in under 280 calories with 7 g of fat.Thai GameSo how will food professionals continue to parlay Thai flavors into the American lifestyle? Thai Kitchen's Ernest Wong says convenience is the key. He sees new Thai foods heading in a direction where things are easier for the consumer. And this is reflected in the company's products.The company is built on authentic Thai products made in Thailand with Thai ingredients. Fish sauce, curry paste and coconut milk are the foundation of the company. But in 2003, Thai Kitchen launched its Noodle Cart line consisting of Instant Thai Rice Noodles & Sauce. They are single-serving, portable noodles that cook in their own tray in 4 minutes. The line includes Pad Thai, Thai Peanut and Roasted Garlic.For busy Americans where the drive-thru is almost a daily routine, accessibility and speed are the name of the game. This was what Sunrise Soya Foods had in mind when it launched its Pete's Tofu 2 Go in 2002. These totable lunch-size meals in disposable containers are filled with tofu cubes and dipping sauces. The line includes Thai Tango, flavored tofu cubes with a mango-wasabi sauce.According to McMillin, the phenomenon will continue to grow as consumers' tolerance for heat goes up. "Heat is what's making the Thai cuisine come on. People's tolerance for heat, spice and flavor has gone up," says McMillin.However according to McDermott and Wong, that is one of the misconceptions about Thai food-that it is all hot. Some of it certainly is, but what's more important is the balance of hot with sour, salty and sweet. According to McDermott, "Thais are not macho about spiciness - they want a balance."- Jill Melton, M.S., R.D., was editor of Cooking Light magazine for 15 years. She is currently director of JGM LLC in Birmingham, Ala.
| THAI UP LOOSE INGREDIENT ENDS by Mike Pehanich Many ingredients for Thai cuisine contain volatile oil components that may be lost with substitute ingredients. Dried ground versions of ginger root and garlic, for example, alter the subtle flavors of the originals. "One quick, easy and cost-effective substitute is to use a spice or herb alternative," advises Abe Sendros, marketing manager for McCormick & Company Inc., Hunt Valley, Md. (www.mccormick.com). He identifies McCormick's FlavorSpice line as one such option. "The (FlavorSpice) line includes oleoresins and extracts from the natural herb or spice. There are no variances due to seasonal, varietal, or climatic changes. This allows for consistent, standardized flavor." The line includes garlic, coriander and ginger and is available in multiple concentrations and liquid and dry forms. They are designed for instant flavor release. "Another solution to flavoring Thai cuisine is to use a flavor system," he adds. "This can include flavors, spices, or seasoning blends." McCormick's Consumer Preferred Flavor Systems are custom flavor systems derived from coordinated work with customers. "The biggest benefit of using a flavor system is the ability to customize almost any flavor profile in an easy-to-use, consistent and cost-effective way." |
| Demand and Supply by Mike Pehanich The growth in popularity of Asian foods in America puts pressure on suppliers of key ingredients. "Three produce items comprise the ‘trinity' of Thai cuisine," says Robert Schueller, spokesman for Melissa's/World Variety Produce Inc., Los Angeles. "They are lemongrass, galanga root and kaffir lime leaves." Of the three, kaffir lime leaves may be the hardest to locate consistently. Nearly every home in tropical Thailand has a kaffir lime tree, but supply has been scarce in the United States. Schueller says Melissa's is able to meet year-round demand. "Kaffir lime juice is used in cooking, but the important ingredient is the leaves," he explains. "They are very aromatic." There is no substitute for the intense citrus fragrance and superb taste of kaffir lime leaves, he says. Melissa's/World Variety Produce Inc., website: www.melissas.com, e-mail: [email protected], phone: (800) 588-0151. |
