Galangal

Tom Kha is a classic Thai soup built on coconut milk, fragrant herbs, and a bright lime finish. This home-friendly version delivers the signature creamy–tangy balance with chicken and mushrooms, plus practical tips so the coconut stays silky and the flavours stay clear.

Tom Yum is Thailand’s famous hot-and-sour soup: aromatic lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves, a bright hit of lime, salty fish sauce, and as much chilli heat as you like. This recipe keeps the process simple while delivering the bold, restaurant-style flavour Tom Yum is known for.

Sayur Lodeh is a comforting Indonesian-style vegetable curry made with coconut milk, aromatics, and a mix of everyday vegetables. It’s naturally plant-based, easy to adapt to what’s in your fridge, and tastes even better with steamed rice.

Tom yum is characterised by its distinct hot and sour flavours, with fragrant spices and herbs generously used in the broth.

Malaysian cuisine is not a single uniform "national taste," but a practical mix of several traditions that meet and often blend in one territory and often even in one dish. This makes it all the more important to recognize the ingredients that keep reappearing in Malaysian cooking: rice and noodles, coconut, chili and sambal, aromatic herbs, tamarind and lime, and pronounced fermented marine components. In this article, we will arrange them according to their function, explain the differences, and add specific tips on how to start with them without unnecessary mistakes.

Thai cuisine is often described through famous dishes like tom yum, green curry, or pad thai. However, this easily creates the impression that "Thai tastes like this" – and that’s it. In reality, Thailand is regionally distinctive: the same principle of balancing flavors (saltiness and umami, sourness, sweetness, spiciness, herbal freshness) is composed differently in various parts of the country. If you want to cook Thai food at home or just better understand dishes on a menu, regions are one of the shortest ways for the flavors to start making sense to you.

A practical guide to the five most common Thai curry pastes — red, green, yellow, panang, and massaman. I will explain the basic flavor profiles, when to choose each paste, how to use it at home, and what to watch out for when selecting and storing.

Tom Yum and Tom Kha are two Thai soups that look similar at first glance – both are based on sourness, aromatic herbs, and strong seasoning. However, the difference is fundamental: changing the liquid base (clear vs. coconut) turns the entire character of the bowl upside down. In the article, we’ll translate the differences into practice: how to choose the soup, how to "set it" at home without a complicated recipe, and what to avoid.

Všichni bujóny známe ale opravdu víme jak se používají ty Asijské?

Indonesian cuisine is a huge island world – from Sumatra through Java to Bali – yet it has a few common ingredients that you recognize at the first taste. In this guide, you will find an overview of key Indonesian ingredients, their role in the food, main differences (especially in sambal, kecap manis, and coconut products), and a practical guide on how to cook with them without unnecessary mistakes.

Thai cuisine is based on balancing contrasts: saltiness and umami, acidity, sweetness, spiciness, and herbal freshness. To make food taste "Thai," one spicy component is not enough – it is more important to know the role of each ingredient and how to work with it in small amounts. This guide provides an overview of typical Thai ingredients, their function in the dish, the main differences between similar products, and practical tips on how to start using them at home without unnecessary mistakes.

Asian cuisine is not just about spiciness or "exotic" ingredients. It is often defined by the work with aroma: freshness, warmth, earthiness, citrus notes, bitterness and long aftertaste. Spices and herbs are not just a supplement – in many dishes they form the very backbone of flavor. And just as important as what you use is also when and how you use it.

Rendang is Indonesia’s famous slow-cooked beef cooked down in coconut milk, aromatics, and warm spices until the sauce turns deeply concentrated and clings to every piece. It takes time rather than effort—and the reward is rich, fragrant comfort with a gentle (or fiery) chili kick.

"Curry paste" is not one universal ingredient. Different types of bases can be hidden under the same name – from Thai aromatic pastes (which are briefly sautéed in fat) to Indian curry bases or Japanese curry roux. In this guide, you will orient yourself mainly by the type of dish you want to cook and avoid the most common mistakes that lead to bland or "strangely" tasting curry.

Madras curry is one of the boldest “curry” styles you’ll find in European shops: warming spices, a lively chilli kick, and an aroma that instantly signals comfort food. Here’s what the label usually means, what flavours to expect, and how to turn Madras curry powder or paste into weeknight meals without overthinking it.

Colombo curry (often simply “colombo”) is a Caribbean-style spice blend that behaves a lot like curry powder—but with its own identity. Bloom it briefly in oil, simmer it with chicken, fish, or vegetables, and finish the dish with something creamy (often coconut milk) plus a bright squeeze of lime.

Curry spice is less a single seasoning and more a shortcut to layered flavour—warm, earthy, aromatic, sometimes spicy. Learn what “curry powder” really means, how it differs from curry pastes, and how to get the most from it in everyday cooking.

"Typical Thai dishes" are not just a few famous names like pad thai, tom yum, or green curry. Thai cuisine is based on balancing contrasts – saltiness and umami, sourness, sweetness, spiciness, and herbal freshness – and it is this flavor logic that connects Thai dishes across styles and regions. In the article, we will show you how to navigate typical Thai dishes, what the main differences between the most common types of dishes are, and how to put together the Thai taste at home without unnecessary mistakes.

Korean cuisine is not just "spicy and kimchi." It is built on a thoughtful use of fermented bases, contrasts of flavors, and the harmony of rice, soup, and several smaller side dishes at the table. In this guide, you will clarify which ingredients make the Korean flavor Korean, what functions they have in the food, and how to select and use them at home without unnecessary mistakes.

Asian cuisine is not just about spiciness or "exoticism" – its typical flavor often comes from how it works with aroma, freshness, and a long aftertaste. It is precisely herbs and fresh aromatics that can elevate a dish from a "good sauce" to something that truly smells and tastes like a favorite bistro. In this guide, you will get clarity on which herbs are good to know (coriander, Asian basils, perilla/shiso), how they differ, when to add them, and what mistakes to watch out for.

Indonesian cuisine is not a single "national taste," but a broad family of regional styles spread across a vast archipelago. Yet, it repeatedly returns to several fixed points: rice as the center of the meal, chili and sambal, sweet-salty depth thanks to kecap manis, aromatic pastes, and coconut, which can both soften and intensely concentrate the flavor. In this article, we will put these pillars together so that when cooking at home for the first time, you know what you are actually looking for and why it tastes "Indonesian."

Malaysian cuisine cannot be reduced to one “typical” flavor. It is a living mix of Malay, Chinese, Indian, Peranakan and local Bornean influences – and you will often find them all on one plate. In this guide we will show you how to reliably recognize Malaysian taste, how it differs across dishes and regions, and how to practically construct its most important flavor pillars at home.

Substitutes for Asian ingredients are practical — and at the same time deceptive. Often you’re not simply swapping “one thing for another,” but trying to replace a function: saltiness, umami, acidity, sweetness, aroma or texture. In this article you’ll find a system for making substitutions properly and with as little disappointment as possible — including cases when it’s better to admit a full substitute doesn’t exist.

For Asian ingredients, the simple rules of "this goes in the fridge" and "this is shelf-stable" often don’t apply. Some things may still be safe to eat but taste worse, while others don’t lose flavor but moisture ruins their texture. This article provides a practical way to sort ingredients at home into pantry, fridge, and freezer so they last longer and cooking consistently turns out better.

The Asian pantry is not a list of “exotic” items you have to buy all at once. It’s a thoughtful foundation that lets you repeatedly cook dishes with a clear character at home – even when you don’t have a full fridge. In this guide, you’ll clarify what is good to buy first, what to add later according to your favorite cuisine, and how to avoid typical shopping mistakes.

Chilli in Asian cuisine is not just a “test of courage.” In a balanced dish, spiciness is one layer of flavor – it can add energy, contrast, and depth, but only when you know what type of heat you are adding and what role a specific product plays. For a beginner, the key difference is between plain chilli, sambal, and curry paste.

Seasoning in Asian cuisine often matters more than the recipe itself. It's not just about spiciness or adding salt at the end. Flavor is built in layers: some develop when toasting spices, some in the sauce or marinade, and some only at the very end with fresh herbs or final condiments. In this article, we will go through the most common mistakes, why they happen, and more importantly, how to easily fix them in practice.