Jasmine and Fish Sauce

A few weeks ago, my closest, adult Thai friend came over to the house to cook some Thai food. I was rather excited because homemade Thai food is always better than having it in a restaurant. It is more authentic in that we always cook with fresh ingredients and we add whatever we want to the dish to make it that much better than anywhere else.  Anytime I cook Thai food at home, I have to open the windows and doors due to the tantalizing aroma of the room.

The art of cooking curry is like a ritual. It starts with going to an oriental store to find all the Thai herbs, vegetables, sauces, and pastes. Then I come home and bring out all the Thai cookware. The most important cookware is the rice pot. A Thai meal without jasmine rice is just not a real Thai meal. As the rice cooks for a long, steamy forty-five minutes, it balances out the room with warm and watery smell of flavorless, cooked grain.

Cooking curry is not about the appearance of the curry itself, but more of what went into the curry that makes it a mouthwatering dish. This food has a lot of stuff that is put into to it such as meat and all sorts of vegetables. Curry also uses a large amount of sauces that adds a unique flavor. It creates an aroma of garlic, lemongrass, onions, and fish sauce. Standing along the ingredients would turn many people away from Thai food, but the taste of a hot dish of curry sends me back to the days I was living in Thailand.

The hint of jasmine and fish sauce together always sends me back to my home in Thailand with my mother. It brings back the memory of me playing around the kitchen floor as she hurries around trying to do her own unique ritual.