Sourness is one of the tastes that contributes to the well-rounded characteristics of Thai cuisine, a palatable subtlety that comprises sour, sweet, nutty, salty, spicy, bitter, tart and mild tastes.
The sour taste, like other flavours, is enjoyed as an expected feature of natural ingredients rather than through seasonings or condiments.
In a samrab (a traditional Thai meal consisting of various dishes to be eaten with rice), sour taste is commonly found in a nam phrik (relish) dish.
A choice of tangy native fruits such as ra-kam (salacca), ma-uek (hairy eggplant), kra-thon (santol) and talingpling (bilimbi) may be pounded into the mixture of nam phrik, while other recipes may be served with sour-tasting fresh young leaves of ma-kok (Thai olive) and makham (tamarind) as a part of the accompanying vegetables.
Despite Thailand’s various choices of tangy ingredients,…
