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Basic Tools and Utensils

When I started cooking Thai food, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had most of the tools and utensils in my kitchen already. If you cook Asian food at home, you probably have most of the tools necessary to cook Thai food too. Simplicity applies not only to the techniques but also to the tools used in Thai cooking. If you stop and think about the amazing meals that street vendors create in Thailand with hardly any space or equipment. Or the millions of Thai people living in rustic dwellings in the country where a burner on the porch serves as the kitchen, it occurs to you how their minimalist approach to cooking applies to the whole process. That said, here’s a primer on the basic tools and utensils I think you need to make Thai food at home including some modern inventions for convenience.

WOK, STIR-FRY PAN OR SKILLET A wok is central to Thai cooking like most Asian cuisines. It’s incredibly versatile and used for everything from stir-frying and deep-frying to steaming and braising. Woks are extremely efficient as they heat up quickly and their concave shape allows the pan’s surface to become evenly heated with a minimal amount of oil.

There are two types of woks: Cast iron and carbon steel. Carbon steel woks are most readily available. Cast iron woks tend to retain heat better but either is a solid choice. The most user-friendly size is 14 inches (29 cm) in diameter. Look for a wok with sturdy handles and a lid. Woks with rounded bottoms are best for gas stoves as the flames can travel up the sides for even heat distribution. A flat-bottom wok is preferable for electric stoves. Chinese cast iron woks need to be “seasoned.” this means the wok has been put through a process of warming, cooling down, and oiling to prevent it from rusting and giving it overall protection. If you season your wok properly, a natural non-stick surface will be created and it will turn dark black.

Here’s how to season your cast iron wok:

1 Wash the wok in hot water with a green scouring pad. Dry thoroughly with a paper towel.

2 heat the wok on high heat. Tilt and turn the wok until it becomes a yellowish-blueish color. Remove from the heat.

3 Using a paper towel, wipe the inside of the wok with a small amount of vegetable oil.

4 turn the heat to medium-low. Place the wok on the burner for 10 minutes.

Wipe with a fresh paper towel. There will be black residue on he paper towel. Repeat steps #3 and #4 about three times, or until there is no longer black residue on the paper towel when wiped.

If you don’t have a wok or you can’t remember where you put the one you got for Christmas 10 years ago, you can make all of the recipes in this book with a frying pan or skillet. Just make sure you use a frying pan or skillet with high edges or else the ingredients will fly out of your pan. I like to use a non-stick skillet because you need less oil, and meat won’t stick as much. Just make sure to use a non-stick spatula to avoid scratching the non-stick surface of the pan.

For deep-frying and steaming, I like to use an electric wok that I can place in a separate area of my kitchen and provides extra space if I’m also stir-frying or braising a separate dish on my stovetop.

CUTTING BOARD Quality cutting boards are vital to Thai cooking. As with all styles of cooking, I like to keep a separate cutting board for meat proteins and one for fruits, vegetables, and breads. Invest in one large sturdy cutting board for all the chopping, mincing, and dicing in Thai cooking. I use both a bamboo cutting board and plastic cutting boards. I feel that bamboo cutting boards are superior to other cutting boards because they’re made from sustainable material which makes them eco-friendly plus they’re often made from laminated strips of bamboo so they don’t absorb as much water or odors and are less prone to warping.

KNIVES With all the mincing, chopping, and dicing in Thai cooking, invest in quality knives and keep them sharp. A standard 8-inch (20 cm) chef's knife should do the trick along with some paring knives.

You may also want to consider a Chinese cleaver because it’s extremely versatile: it slices, it dices, it shreds, it pounds, and it minces! I remember my late mother wielding her cleaver to hack chicken bones for stock and watching it dance across our wooden chopping block as she made cloves of garlic into finely minced pieces.

When shopping for knives or a Chinese cleaver, choose the stainless steel kind as carbon steel is susceptible to rust. It should feel firm and sturdy in your hand but not weigh you down.

MORTAR AND PESTLE a mortar and pestle is used in Thai cooking to pulverize and smash aromatic herbs with other ingredients to make fragrant pastes. A small food processor or blender will do in most cases but you will need a mortar and pestle to make the classic Green Papaya Crab Salad (page 59) where you smash the papaya and green beans. It’s one of those recipes where there’s nothing like the real thing, baby. It’s also used to smash and grind dry toasted rice for the Spicy Thai Salad with Minced Pork (page 54). I also use the pestle to smash lemongrass for soups. Look for a traditional heavy, large Thai mortar and pestle or kroke made of granite.

RICE COOKER I love my rice cooker like I love my dog. It’s obedient, doesn’t talk back and loves me unconditionally. All this, plus the added benefit of cooking rice perfectly every time. Rice cookers can sense through an internal temperature sensor when boiling water has been absorbed by the rice or grains in the pot. It automatically turns off or switches to warm when this happens which results in fluffy, perfect rice every time. This means you don’t have watch it or worry about it burning. We could all use one less thing to have to think about! they take up little space on are easy to clean, especially if you purchase one with non-stick bowl.

There are several models available from $10 up to $500+. The higher priced models have fuzzy logic technology which is a like a rice cooker with a brain able to calibrate the temperature and water quantity for a superior end product. Fuzzy logic machines really do make the best rice i’ve ever had in my life. I recommend Zojurishi and Cuisinart fuzzy logic rice cooker brands. For the recipes in this book, you can use any method to cook rice, but I recommend getting a rice cooker because you’ll use it all of the time especially the jasmine rice.

STRAINER OR SLOTTE D SPOON I recommend a traditional Chinese style strainer (spider strainer) with a long bamboo handle. It’s made out of wire mesh and is great for removing deep-fried foods from oil as well as removing blanched foods from boiling water. You can find this type of strainer at an Asian market or specialty gourmet stores. It's an indispensable tool in my kitchen. You can also use a wide, western-style slotted spoon in place of a Chinese style strainer.

SPATULA When using a wok, I recommend using a Chinese steel spatula, wooden spatula or a heavy duty plastic, non-stick spatula. You want a heavy duty tool when stir-frying because you will be tossing and flipping ingredients quickly and you want to ensure even cooking.

If you’re using a non-stick frying pan, stick with a wooden or non-stick plastic spatula. It’s a good idea to have your tools laid out before you start cooking. If you’re cooking a multi-course meal, make sure you have a spatula ready for each stir-fry dish.

LEMON/LIME SQUEEZER Many Thai recipes call for freshly squeezed lime juice so it’s a good idea to have a manual or electric lemon/ lime squeezer. In a pinch, you can buy store-bought lime juice, but nothing beats the real thing. My mother taught me to press and roll limes on a counter with your hand a few times before juicing to get the most juice.

LATEX SURGICAL GLOVES Capsaicin, is the compound in the hot chilies responsible for the heat. It’s important to wear latex, surgical gloves while handling or cutting hot chilies or else the capsaicin residue while burn your skin and is especially painful if you touch your eyes, nostrils, or mouth. It’s even more important if you have small children in your home as you don’t want to accidentally touch their eyes or skin after handling hot chilies without wearing gloves. I buy a large box and keep them in my pantry so they’re always on hand (pun intended).

FOOD PROCESSOR I say, keep life simple. A food processor makes life a lot easier for blending salad dressings, blending pastes such as roasted red chili paste, grating papaya, chopping lemongrass—oh, I could go on and on. As with lemongrass, I like to mince large quantities of ginger in advance and freeze it for later use.

There are many models available at affordable price points. I recommend buying a standard model and as well as a small food processor to blend pastes. Get the attachment blades so you can grate carrots, papaya, and other veggies in a snap.