Woodear mushrooms
This flat, dark-coloured, wrinkled mushroom gets its name from its ear shape. It lacks flavour but adds great texture and crunch to dishes.
Tamarind
This unusual fruit comes in the form of a long, curved bean-like pod. Inside is a sticky, moist flesh which can be sweet or sour. Delicious eaten on its own, the seeds and strings can be removed and the flesh can be made into a refreshing drink. The juice is added to Massaman curry, satay sauce and soups.
Vermicelli Noodles
Thin round noodles made from rice flour and sold fresh in the form of wads that look like bird nests.
Lemongrass
This blade-like grass is used to add a fragrant citrus flavour to many dishes. The outer layers and green tops can be bitter and should be removed.
Kaffir lime
Unlike the smooth surface of a regular lime, the kaffir lime has a bumpy, knobbly surface. The fruit itself has very little juice. It is bitter and not very widely used in Thai cooking, but the zest is often used in curry pastes and sauces. The leaves add a great citrus taste to many curries and salads.
Galangal
Looks similar to root ginger and is from the same family but is larger and the skin is thinner paler and tinged with pink. Ginger is warming while galangal is cooling. It has a slightly acidic taste and is added to spicy stir-fry dishes.
Bird’s eye chilli
The smallest and hottest chilli available in the West. They are used to make curry pastes. The green ones are unripe, have a sharper flavour and are hotter than the red ones.
Saba: The Cookbook has a more extensive list of ingredients and is available to buy online
