The sweetness
Sweetness is an important part of Thai cuisine because it is used to compensate for the salty, acidic and spicy elements of our dishes. Many Thai restaurants in overseas sweeten their food excessively to please the western palate. So do not use this as a guide. Your Thai food should never be bloody cute!
Palm sugar | Named this look | Cane
Palm sugar is the traditional Thai sweetener that is used before granulated sugar was available. To be clear, we use a good old white, granulated sugar in Thai cuisine these days. So you do not feel that you have to use palm sugar, especially in recipes in which it is used in small quantities. However, there are times when the taste of palm sugar is important for the dish.
Palm sugar is produced by reducing and caramelizing the nectar either the coconut palm or the Toddy palm. It has a beautiful buttercotch taste that is delicious enough to be sweets. “Coconut sugar” is one type From palm sugar, but granulated coconut sugar, which is sold in non -Asian shops, is subject to other processing and does not taste like Thai palm sugar.
Palm sugar from different countries does not taste like Thai palm sugar due to different processing, i.e. Use palm sugar from Thailand to ensure the right taste. You can see mine for a palm sugar dive Ultimate guidelines for palm sugar.
If your palm sugar comes in a solid puck, Shave it with a large chef’s knife and finely chop the chips. When your palm sugar comes in a tub And is a soft paste, you can just leave it out. If your soft palm sugar is hardened, heat it briefly in the microwave to softer and then spend it while you are still warm.
Measurement of palm sugar for my recipes: My recipes are tested with massive pucks with palm sugar, which were finely chopped and then firmly packed in measuring spoons. A tablespoon of finely chopped, packed palm sugar weighs about 12-13 g, So if you use palm sugar with soft paste, use the weight measurement because it contains a measuring spoon more fully than chopped palm sugar.
Note: All palm sugar sold outside of Thailand are mixed with granulated sugar. The key is therefore to find one that has the slightest amount of granulated sugar because it has the greatest taste. The only way to know is to taste. Unfortunately, the labels usually claim 100% palm sugar (100% not true) or the ratio will not indicate.
