Brass Wok--Ingredients

Chef Pui described the "trinity of Thai cooking" as lemongrass, galangal, and Kaffir lime but that doesn't include the base of garlic and shallot. I see it more as a Boddhisatva with multiple arms that include chilies, cilantro, and turmeric along with sugar, salt, fish sauce, and coconut milk. A trinity times 3 perhaps...

Yes, there are a lot of them. And they repeat in every dish, in various states of mashed or chopped, roots or stems or leaves, peel or juice, different applications in each recipe. How to keep it all straight? Have Chef Pui by your side, adjusting and sampling, adding a spoonful of this or that for more umami, more flavor.

We had whole leaves and stems in our soup and chopped bits for the curry paste. The fish bed of herbs was prepared for the steamer, an aromatic cradle. We moved to our hot station to each prepare our own version of Tom Yum Soup. Rose pounded the lemongrass to smithereens!