Thai Flavours

A closer look at garlic.

You’ll know if someone has eaten it, particularly if you haven’t. And they’ll know you know, just from the look on your face! For such a versatile and widely-used food, Garlic certainly produces varying reactions. And yet, in many ways, we really couldn’t do without it.

Garlic is a cousin to onions, leeks, chives and shallots, and has been around for more than 5,000 years. Native to Asia, it has also been cultivated in Mediterranean regions since Ancient Egyptian times, and can now be found growing around the world.

Made up of around ten to 12 cloves, a garlic bulb’s flavour will depend on variety, maturity and environmental conditions. Known in Thai as kratiam, it is also used extensively in French, Italian and Chinese cuisines, amongst others. A combination of garlic, onion and ginger is the basis of many Asian dishes. And in Western cuisine it will very often be used in soups, sauces, marinades, pasta, dips and bread.

Most professional chefs agree that the worst way to prepare garlic is with a garlic press. It tends to release too many of the volatile oils which produce an acrid flavour. Often chefs will crush or smash the cloves using the flattened blade of a large knife. And the more you do this the stronger it will be. Otherwise, for a gentler flavour you can use a whole peeled clove. It’s best to chop garlic right before using it because, like onions and shallots, it will lose its juice immediately, oxidize and become acrid. You can keep chopped garlic for several months in an air-tight jar if you cover it with olive oil, but if your use is minimal, it’s always best to use fresh.

Of course, garlic is also renowned for its health and healing properties, and as a dietary supplement. An Egyptian papyrus from 1,500 BC recommends garlic for 22 ailments. And throughout the ages, it was believed to prevent or cure dog bites, bladder infections, leprosy, asthma and even the plague. Beyond superstition, however, modern research has confirmed many health benefits. In 1858, Louis Pasteur documented that garlic killed bacteria. And during the Second World War, when penicillin was scarce, garlic was used as an antiseptic on open wounds and as a preventative for gangrene.

Garlic can also help regulate blood-sugar levels, be effective for skin infections and promote sweating; though that really isn’t necessary here! It also comes in capsules, pearls and as a pure juice. And if you’ve been looking for mosquito repellent recently, no doubt you will have come across garlic-based sprays. But whatever way you eat it, drink it or wear it, there’s going to be that smell!

Can you get rid of the smell quickly? Some suggest chewing raw parsley, fennel seeds or coffee beans. And the French swear by red wine as a cure, but they pretty much believe red wine cures everything! Time is the only sure cure - between 24 to 48 hours usually.

There’s one other noted benefit in that it should repel vampires. Long before Bram Stoker’s gothic creation, there were several legends surrounding the subject. One suggests that vampirism is symbolic of mosquito bites. As they suck blood, they also spread disease, as do vampires. Some of the symptoms of malaria, such as exhaustion, fever and anaemia are reminiscent of the reputed effects of being bitten by a vampire, without being totally drained or turned. This fits well with vampire folklore and gothic fiction. And in Romania, the preferred method for killing a vampire is to remove its heart, cut it in two, stick garlic in its mouth and put a nail in its head!

No matter what you believe, one thing is sure – it smells! So, it’s probably best to enjoy it for its great flavours and its health-giving properties. And as the old New York Jewish saying goes, “A nickel will get you on the subway, but garlic will get you a seat!”

 Fried Pork with Garlic and Pepper (Moo Tod Kratiam Prik Thai)
Ingredients (serves 4)

Peel the garlic, cut it into quarters, and thoroughly smash it. Cut the pork into thin bite sized pieces.

Add the garlic and oil to a wok and heat on high. Fry the garlic until fragrant and slightly golden, being careful not to burn it.

Add the pork and cook stirring frequently until cooked through.

Add the fish sauce, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, black pepper, white pepper, and sugar. Mix the sauces and pork completely and cook for an additional two minutes.

Serve over jasmine rice and garnish with cucumber.

Dimitri Waring