the "Thai" difference

What makes Thai taste Thai?  How can you do it quickly and easily at home?  Here are a few ingredients/substitutions for you folks "woking up a stir-fry" in the chinese style at home with your soy sauce and garlic...

Fish Sauce is to Thai what Soy Sauce is to Chinese.  It is now easily found at the grocery - either in condiments or the chinese aisle.  Lime Juice is used in conjunction with Fish Sauce either 1/2 1/2 for puriests,  or 1/3 Fish Sauce to 2/3 Lime Juice for those of you who can't or don't want to take the sodium.  Thai cooking always balances heat with sweet, and palm sugar is their go to sweetener, but these days they use white sugar equally, and it's much easier for us to find, so go for it!   Always add onion in some form or other, be it shallot or green or whatever.   Round out whatever you're stir-frying with some fresh chopped cilantro and mint, and blissfully float to the shores of exotic Thailand! - Lula