The 4 basic states of human consciousness are Aha! Ho-Hum, Oy Vey and Yum, yum
Author unknown¹
My kitchen window faces a little bit north of west. If the rice wasn't tickling the elephants belly², 
you still wouldn't be able to see the next village even though it is only about a kilometer and a half straight across the paddies. Such is upcountry Thailand. The paddies provide a lot more then just rice: eels, freshwater shrimp, frogs and snails thrive there in along with the inevitable mosquitoes. The Thai people use this bounty from the paddies except for the mosquitoes, which they would use if they could find a use for the vicious vampire bugs. The walkways between the paddies are harvested for the grass that grows there to feed the local cows and water buffalo. Basil, spearmint and dozens of other herbs and edible plants make use of the paddies abundant water and proliferate around the edges. The Thai people use many of these plants. I read somewhere long ago that in the America I grew up in that the average person only regularly consumed an average of 10-12 different vegetable species. Think about it and try to list them. Here they use many times that number. Listing them all would take a book in itself. I will however list them as they are used in the recipes herein, describe the flavour and do my best to offer practical alternatives if the recipe calls for them.
Basic Utensils
Many Thai recipes require that the ingredients be mashed using a Mortar and Pestle, which is called a "Kroc" 
in Thai. The Krocs range from 4 inches (small) to about 16 inches (large). A Kroc consists of a heavy glazed deep ceramic bowl with a wooden pestle.
¹ Author unknown because I read this somewhere years ago, copied it from memory and probably paraphrased it.
² The rice is tickling the elephants belly. The rice is almost ready for harvest. Upcountry Thai expression.
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Copyright 2001 / 2544 Dave Harris
Last Updated: 31 October 2001 / 2544
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