Asian celery is a leafy plant with thin long stalks, and is more aromatic and stronger flavor than regular celery.  Asian celery Is usually available in Asian grocery stores all year.  If you don't have Asian celery, you can substitute with regular.

Fresh bamboo shoots are hard to find in the USA, but sometimes Asian markets will have them from early summer to early autumn.  You can always find canned bamboo shoots, but they will never have the subtlety of the freshly cooked product.  If using the canned shoots, brand I like is called "Chaokoh” in a yellow can.  Rinse several time with water before using

There are three main types of basil commonly used in Thai cooking.  The most often used is Thai Basil, called "horapha" in Thai.  Thai basil have small, narrow green leaves and purple stems with an anise fragrance and strong flavor.  Mostly used in curries, stir-fries and soup

Thai chillies are one of the smallest and most memorable of all the chilies in the world.  Spicy!  You can find them packaged fresh or frozen in any Asian grocery store

Prik Haeng is fully ripened red spur chilies dried either in the sun. They can be large or small, depending on the variety of spur chilies used.

Num prik pao is caramelized chilli paste that has a sweet and roasted, spicy flavor. It can be used in tom yum soup, stir-fry or even in salad dressing. There're many brand that you could choose from, but the popular brand that I normally use is called Pantai Norasingh, Thai Kitchen or Mae Pranom. You can buy it at any Asian grocery store or Amazon website. 

Coconut is an essential of Thai cuisine.  When buying a fresh coconut, alway choose one that is quite heavy for it's size.  Shake the coconut to make sure there is water inside, and avoid any coconut that is cracked or punctured.  

Fresh coconut milk is made from grated coconut mixed with warm water, then squeezed through a muslin cloth into a bowl. Since is hard to get fresh coconut milk and take time to make it. Sometime I used package coconut milk instead, and the brand I normally used is called AROY-D. 

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There are many types of Thai curry pastes, but the most commonly known are green, red, yellow, panang and massamun curry.  These curries contain the same main ingredients but there are slight differences in chillies and spices.  Green curry is made with fresh green chilies.  Red curry is made with dried red chilies.  Yellow curry contains turmeric, giving it the yellow coloring.  Panang curry is similar to red but has the addition of spice and ground peanuts.  Massaman curry is a Southern Thai curry, similar to stew.

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Fish sauce is a staple ingredient in Southeast Asia.  It's an unusual condiment, it smells and testes extremely pungent, as it is often made from anchovies, salt and water. 

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Galangal is extensively used in Thai cuisine, for example in tom yum soup, tom kha gai soup and in curry paste.  Fresh galangal has stronger taste than common ginger and is lighter-colored.  You can find it at most Asian grocery stores.

Sometimes known as lesser ginger.  Krachai is a cluster of pencil-like stems with a thin brown skin.  You can find it in the frozen section or in glass jars, but not fresh in the USA.

A citrus tree with green fruit and aromatic leaves that are commonly used in Thai curry.  The zest is mainly used in curry pastes, and the juice is occasionally used in some dishes.  The leaves are best when fresh, but dried leaves can be used with a loss of fragrance and flavor.

Lemongrass is commonly used in soup, curries, and teas.  Lemongrass is very fibrous, so remove any dry outer layers before using. Then bruise, cut, finely chopping or mincing.

There are so many types of noodles, usually made from either rice flour, wheat flour or mung bean flour. Rice noodle comes in three varieties: Sen Yai are wide flat noodles, Sen Lek are thin flat noodles and Sen Mi are round and thin noodles also knows as rice vermicelli. Bami is made from egg and wheat flour, it is similar to the Chinese noodle. Wun Sen is made from mung bean flour, extremely thin and clear noodles.

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Gapi is made from ground shrimp that have been salted, fermented and then dried in the sun for up to a year.  It is used in many curry pastes and sauces, either raw or slightly roasted.

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Many kinds of soy sauce are used in Thai cooking.  Light soy sauce, "see ew khao" is  a clear brown liquid, different then  Japanese soy sauce. Never substitute Thai light soy sauce to Japanese soy sauce, it will make food taste different.   Dark soy sauce, "see ew dam" is opaque, black and sweet. Seasoning soy sauce is used in many stir-fry dishes.  

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Palm sugar, Nuhm Tarn Bip, is made from the sap of the plamyra and sugar date palm. It's rich in flavor and has creamy sweetness. Coconut sugar, Nuhm Tarn Maprao, is  much lighter in flavor the palm sugar. Almost like brown sugar but with slight hint of caramel. Both are used in many Thai desserts, curries and also sauces.

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There are several varieties of tamarind. A ripe, sweet version can be eaten fresh or some times used in desserts. A sour tamarind, when the flesh has ripened and been compressed into compact blocks, and used for cooking for sour flavor. 

Package, compressed tamarind can be found at any Asian grocery store.

Tamarind water, Num Makaam, to make tamarind water, break off one part of the pulp and add three part of warm water and soak for 5-10 minutes until soften. Squeeze and work the pulp until dissolved, then strain the liquid to remove any fibers and seeds.

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