Can we get enough Thai cuisine? It appears not.
Thousands of restaurants specializing in the exotic dishes of Thailand have spread across the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. And throughout River City.
What's not to like about Thai? The cooking is largely one of pleasurable contrasts: warm and cool, sweet and sour, soft and crunchy. Its emphasis is on fresh ingredients accented with spices, herbs and vegetables – basil, mint, lemon grass, tamarind, coconut, kafir lime leaves – to produce intriguing flavors. It is a cuisine influenced by the cooking of India (the curries), China (the stir-fries) and even Portugal, which in the 1500s introduced a hot little number called the chili pepper.
We made recent trips to two Thai restaurants and found creative dishes at market prices. Best advice: Go and explore the menus on your own. Surprise your taste buds with something they've never experienced; they will send a thank-you card.
First, a word about pad Thai, sold by street vendors throughout Thailand. It's been the national dish of that country since World War II, mainly because of a rice shortage back then. Basically, it's pan-fried noodles with fish sauce, egg, bean sprouts, tofu, seafood and/or meat or fowl, plus anything else the chef chooses to add. We've had our share but avoid it now, as it's on every Thai restaurant menu and we want to explore new dishes.
Krua Thai Cuisine, Folsom
The menu at Krua Thai Cuisine in Folsom is extensive, priced from $5.95 (some appetizers) to $12.95 (prawns in red curry with fresh mango). It includes seven vegetarian dishes, plus white, brown and jasmine rices.
We sampled a bunch during lunch and dinner hours (the menus overlap): wide chow fun noodles stir-fried with chicken and broccoli; steaming duck noodle soup and wonton soup; lamb with vegetables in a deeply flavored coconut-accented curry sauce; wonderfully fresh steamed Thai dumplings; meaty chicken wings; and a plate of overcooked calamari tasting a day past its prime.
A dish we didn't try, but will, is the "boneless honey-roasted duck with bok choy and spicy soy sauce."
In 2005, Krua Thai was the Thai Bistro in Rocklin. The owners closed to move back to Thailand, but returned to town recently.
Chantara Thai Cuisine, El Dorado Hills
The elegantly decorated and comfortable Chantara in El Dorado Hills also has a long menu, from $6.75 (egg rolls) to $16.95 (seafood combination), and many dishes fit for vegetarians. Note that we were disconcerted when one particular server was quite abrupt on one visit ("I already told you what comes with noodles!") and almost charming on the next.
Our choices included wor wonton soup (the presentation involves actual fire); outstanding honey-roasted baby back ribs; angel wings (two boned and stuffed chicken wings, cooked tempura-style, with honey plum sauce); plump pot stickers with ginger sauce; rice studded with pineapple, cashews, shrimp and chicken; and a so-so green papaya salad, which we thought needed more shredded papaya and more heat.
A dish we didn't try, but will, is the "spicy rock Cornish hen: Deep-fried game hen with a magnificent chilies sauce."
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