You'll find peanut sauce to be a common food complement at a vegetarian restaurant in Arizona. It's a common food item you can get in most ethnic sections in the grocery store. Sometimes it will be more Americanized, other times it will be a Thai peanut sauce.

Peanut sauce that you'll find at your average vegetarian restaurant in Arizona is very different from what's served in Thailand. The Thais typically use ground peanuts as a common ingredient in most of their dishes. 3 dishes most Americans recognize that have a sauce with peanuts is tod mun sauce, cubed tofu sauce, and satay sauce. While these are found in dishes in Thailand, the peanuts are coarsely ground so they're more like sand, not peanut butter.

Most Thai cuisine you'll find at a vegetarian restaurant in Arizona will feature the following peanut sauces.

Satay isn't just an appetizer that features chicken that has been marinated in peanut sauce, skewered, grilled and served with a curry like sauce and cucumber salad. When some people think of a Thai peanut sauce they've had at a vegetarian restaurant in Arizona, it's probably the satay... tofu satay.

Fried tofu cubes are typically cooked in a very granular peanut dipping sauce. It makes for a great party dish because it's fast and easy to prepare. People love it, especially those who have never had it before. It has an exotic, tempting but satisfying nutty taste that's hard to resist, whether you serve it at home or enjoy it in a vegetarian restaurant in Arizona.

Tod mun is a spicy fish cake that is served with cucumber sauce consisting of sliced cucumbers, ground fresh chiles, vinegar, sugar and ground peanuts for texture. While peanuts provide a nice nutty texture, cucumber is the main ingredient, which well complements the fish cake.

You'll find there's a big difference between the Thai food in you find in the ethnic section of the grocery store and what you can get at a vegetarian restaurant in Arizona. First of all, realize that Thai food takes a good amount of time to prepare in order to get the seasoning and the spices just right. Also realize there are Americanized versions of Thai food and then there's the real thing. Skip the Americanized peanut sauce and stick to these discussed sauces for a more authentic flavor.

Eating at a vegetarian restaurant in Arizona - especially when it's a Thai restaurant - can be very romantic, especially if you make it an activity that is done as a couple. The food is very sensual and the restaurants are almost always adorned with beautiful plants, art and low lighting.

Next time you're hungry or you want to go out on a date, hit up a vegetarian restaurant in Arizona that features Thai food. It's usually pretty inexpensive to enjoy one of the best tasting meals. The best Thai food is made by those who grew up eating it.