Thai Cookbooks We Like

Published on Friday, May 7, 2010, by The CHOW Editorial Team / Edit Post

Thai Cookbooks We Like

Explore beyond pad thai

We did a lot of research for our pad thai recipe. These three cookbooks were particularly helpful in explaining Thai cuisine, and got us excited to try different Thai recipes. Which is exactly the point of a gateway dish!

Thai Cookbook

Thai Food
By David Thompson
This is no casual Thai cookbook. It’s a comprehensive catalog of Thai history, culture, ingredients, techniques, and equipment—and that’s just the first 200 pages. The following 400 (yes, 400) pages of recipes are an encyclopedia of dishes, with introductions calling out specific techniques, tips, or ingredients and a closing list of good accompaniments. If you’re serious about the art of Thai cooking, this James Beard Award winner is a good investment.

Thai Cookbook

Lemongrass and Sweet Basil: Traditional Thai Cuisine
By Khamtane Signavong
While not an exhaustive gathering of recipes (no sweets are included), Lemongrass and Sweet Basil is a straightforward beginner Thai cookbook that includes iconic dishes like pad thai, papaya salad, and satay. Each recipe serves four people and comes with a spice level rating and a photo (though not a particularly beautiful one). The glossary and basic methods section are helpful for understanding Thai techniques and ingredients. The sections are arranged by region with a personal introduction to each written by the author, who owns and operates Arun Thai Restaurant in Sydney, Australia.

Thai Cookbook

The Food of Thailand
Text by Lulu Grimes and recipes by Oi Cheepchaiissara
When not being used in the kitchen, this beautiful book can preen on the coffee table. Not one page is without gorgeous photographs of everyday Thai life, helpful how-tos, or intriguing ingredients. Comprehensive and informational, with recipes for every course—including a section on street foods—this book is better for those familiar with Thai food, rather than the novice Thai cook.

ALLGateway Dishes
POST A COMMENT |7 Comments

COMMENT

  • For beginners, the Australian Women's Weekly published one of the most excellent, clearly illustrated and accessible cookbooks ever. I cook to Jim Thompson, but started on that; everyone to whom I have recommended it raved about how straightforward it made the process of understanding what is special about the combinations of flavors that distinguish this cuisine.

  • If you enjoyed Thompson's Thai Food you might also enjoy his second book Thai Street Food. Apart from being a sensational set of recipes, visually it is stunning.

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thai-Street-Food-David-Thompson/dp/1840915587

  • msmuffintop: If you get the chance to, try Keo's restaurant in Honolulu. It's quite good (although they do overcook their meat a bit - a tendency I find unfortunately common amongst Thai cooks).

    I also recommended Keo's book in my post. Very well done, and he invented the dish "Evil Jungle Prince", which is excellent.

  • the book I learned to cook on is called "Keo's Thai Cuisine" it includes a photo of every dish. I love that book

  • Sorry... errr... I would never recommend THAI FOOD (Thompson's book) to a Thai novice, not Thai cooking in general :-).

  • I have to agree with Jon Parker. As a Thai food aficionado, the Thompson book is the definitive bible when it comes to Thai cooking.

    This list is a bit short, though. For example, I would never recommend Thai Cooking to a Thai novice; to use this book requires a dedication and willingness to familiarize yourself with and seek out uncommon ingredients, and the dishes are authentically Thai to the...+READ

    I have to agree with Jon Parker. As a Thai food aficionado, the Thompson book is the definitive bible when it comes to Thai cooking.

    This list is a bit short, though. For example, I would never recommend Thai Cooking to a Thai novice; to use this book requires a dedication and willingness to familiarize yourself with and seek out uncommon ingredients, and the dishes are authentically Thai to the point that people familiar with dishes adjusted to accommodate non-Thai palates may even find some of the dishes to be outright inedible at worst, or overwhelming at best.

    In my opinion, it is best to start with a simpler and less intimidating book for the beginner. My first venture into Thai home cooking was through Wandee Young and Brian Ayanoglu's "Simply Thai Cooking", which I bought because I used to frequent Wandee Young's good Thai restaurant, Young Thailand, back when I lived in Toronto. This was definitely not a mistake, as her dishes are designed to be quick, easy to prepare, and offering results that will more than satisfy people who are not Thai purists. I strongly recommend you check out this book, or perhaps Keo's book, or Nancie McDermott's Real Thai. (I assert though, that out of all three, Wandee Young's is still the most user frendly.)

    Kasma Loha-Unchit is also well known amongst serious Thai cooks, and has some fantastic offerings, and with good reason. Unfortunately, though, her books seem perpetually to be out of print and resellers of second hand copies will not hesitate to gouge you to the point of absurdity.-COLLAPSE

  • The Thompson book is "the: book in my house. It's the best cookbook ever written, IMO.