Thai Food

When I first came across this book in the stores, I have to admit I was highly skeptical about the authenticity of the recipes contained in this book....was it by another Westerner who declared himself an expert on Thai food after one or two short vacations to the country? An Australian restaurateur you say? With an award-winning restaurant in London? Was the award judged by Thai people? Thailand has a rich culinary heritage which has, in part, been shaped by foreign influences. Thai food in turn is a highly complex intermingling of tastes: salty, sour, sweet, spicy and umami (a Japanese term to indentify the 5th 'taste'). Furthermore it is a fairly impenetrable cuisine least of all because of the language barrier and the mysterious ingredients. To top things off this book was written by a non-Thai. That said, my initial concerns turned out to be completely unfounded and I am happy to say that this is one book that I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who is serious about real Thai food. Needless to say, the book extends far beyond just Tom Yum Kung and Pad Thai! At the beginning of the book, Thompson gives a brief (but highly informative)introduction to Thailand and its history, religion and regional cuisine which sets the tone for the rest of the book. There is also a whole chapter about the most common cooking techniques as well as ingredients. His recipes are written in a fairly conversational manner, which I really like, and, most importantly, he does not advocate taking shortcuts or making substitutions which the Thais wouldn't normally make/take themselves. Thompson clearly explains in his introduction that his reason for doing this is so that he doesn't compromise his goal of accurately capturing the Thai cuisine. Personally I don't understand the other reviewer's gripes about ingredients being hard to find! Don't bother cooking those recipes then!?! Anyway I digress....the recipes produce highly authentic and tasty results. I have travelled extensively in Thailand and the results I've had with this book match my wonderul dining experiences there. One final point to bear in mind: some recipes are laborious, others less so. However, that is keeping with the true spirit of the Thai cuisine! In short, this is an excellent book well worth the space on your bookshelf. I'll even add that it'll probably become a classic cookbook!

This book is almost 700 pages long and goes into detail about every aspect of Thai cooking. I haven't finished reading it yet -- that may be a few years away! -- but I have read enough to see that it is solid and extremely well-informed. This is NOT an amateur effort. For example, one thing that may seem "backwards" to foreigners is the very idea that when you are eating, you are eating RICE. Those other dishes that go with the rice -- the curries, soups and salads that people rave about -- are generically known as "kab khaaw" -- "with rice." The author gets this point absolutely right. Another point of distinction: where other books may mention sticky rice and jasmine rice, this book has a CHAPTER devoted to the history and cultivation of rice. The only downside is that the recipes can be extraordinarily complex and time-consuming, not such a swell idea if you are cooking for one. On the other hand, if you're a member of the royal family, or simply very rich, you can have it all done for you. It's one of the reasons food is getting simpler these days: you have to do it yourself or pay someone else to do it for you. And is it worth working ten hours to enjoy ten minutes of wonderful food? Still, all this says nothing against this book, which is a flat-out masterpiece. And some of the recipes are so tempting that I'll probably give them a go, sooner or later. At the very least, the author has written down true Thai recipes for future generations, and deserves huge credit for that. The photographs are superb as well. For those who only occasionally aspire to the summit, I still recommend Real Thai: The Best of Thailand's Regional Cooking for everyday use. This would be for people who actually buy their curry pastes ready-made at the market, rather then whomping them up at home. In any case, if you have these two books, it's very hard to go wrong. Highest possible recommendation!

I recommend this book only for serious enthusiasts who are truly passionate about authentic Thai cooking/food and are not looking for quick, adapted recipes! Having enjoyed authentic Thai food during my trips to Thailand, I am repeatedly disappointed with the adapted versions found in most local restaurants here. Since I am an avid cook, I have been experimenting to replicate the dishes I had in Thailand. After some research I found David Thompson's "Thai Food" to be a rare find. Most Thai cook books I have come across provide adapted recipes with shortcuts and suggested substitutes for ingredients! How dreadful! Undoubtedly, Thai food involves much effort and can even be tedious. But the taste is well worth it. More importantly, ingredients in Thai cooking CAN NOT be substituted if the REAL flavor and aroma are to be achieved. For example, if you are going to substitute regular ginger for galangal (Thai ginger), or lime zest for kaffir lime zest, as many books suggest - you may as well not cook Thai food! This is what sets David's book apart from the rest - he sticks to the real stuff! He painstakingly explains all the details of real Thai cooking, discussing each ingredient and various techniques followed by the recipes. While some recipes are quite cumbersome or require ingredients which are not easily available, the book is worth the insight it provides into authentic Thai cuisine. Once you understand the basics, you can be creative by combing basic Thai ingredients with techniques and create your own recipes without straying from the flavors, tastes and aroma of REAL Thai cuisine! One complaint however: where is the recipe for Yum Woon Sen??

This book is an encyclopedic treatise on Thai cookery. It is daunting. Not easily approachable for the impatient. There is no instant gratification to be found within these pages. What you will get: Amazing insight into the culture and history of Thailand and how it has informed the cuisine. The reason why Thai food has evolved as it has with amazing insight into the wherewithal of the techniques involved. This book will teach you how to cook Thai food as the Thai would have you do it. An excellent source of education with which to truly learn what it means to cook in the way of the Thai people.

I suggest anyone interested in this book look at a hard copy first before deciding to purchase it. I am giving it a middle of the road rating (3 stars) for the reasons described below. The content is detailed and well-written. The author is passionate about the subject and writes in depth about Thai culture and role of food in the culture. About 150 pages of the 688 pages are dedicated to this subject. I would personally prefer more recipes. How can anyone fault an author for doing a job well-done? Some of the reviews written by other book owners are not true. Virtually all ingredients used in the recipes are obtainable here in the US. A home chef will have more success shopping in South-east Asian markets (Vietnamese, etc.) than Chinese supermarkets. Also bear in mind that some Thai produce is seasonal and available only at certain times of the year. One thing that let me down, I was really hoping for some new and innovative Thai dishes / recipes than the standards served in Thai restaurants or street food. Again, my recommendation is to preview a copy in the library (or of a friend's copy) before making the decision to invest. You can then decide if all the recipes are a "must-try" or just 1 or 2 recipes justify the purchase. For me, I had greater expectations.

"Thai Food," by David Thompson, is a huge and comprehensive 674-page Thai cookbook! The book opens with several pages discussing Thai history, culture, society, and regions of Thailand. If you have not had the pleasure of traveling throughout the "Kingdom," this provides a good baseline to help understand the origins of the many Thai recipes in the book. There are more recipes in this book than I have ever seen in one book. Author David Thompson, provides details of most all of the elements that go into Thai dishes, right down to 15 pages just about rice alone. Names, explanations of ingredients, methods of preparation, and suitable replacements for unavailable ingredients are provided at great length and detail. The instructions for ingredient preparation and steps for cooking/preparing each receipt are clear and concise...some of the best I have found. This is just flat out the best Thai cooking book I have found if you really desire to prepare Thai food properly, authentically, and traditionally. It costs a little more than other Thai cookbooks but if you want to know how to do it right, this is the book to invest in. Simply a 'must have' book for Thai cooking! Happy Thai cooking!

This is the must-have second or third Thai cookbook you should own. It is massive and would be overwhelming as an introduction. But when you want a book that has almost everything Thai - this is the one. The extensive introduction gives an excellent background on what you are eating and where is comes from. This book meets my usual criteria for a good ethnic cook book: 1) It is written for the western reader. Ingredients are identified by English names. Ingredients are possible to obtain - or reasonable substitutes suggested. 2) The writer has extensive in-country experience. Thompson is Australian but spent years in Thailand. 3) I am leery of books written by professional cooks - which are often full of difficult restaurant recipes - good only when you have a staff to help. This book is written for the home cook. I have cooked a number of recipes from this book so far - without issues. I should add that Thompson makes all his curry pastes from scratch. The modern Thai cook does not do that - they buy from the tubs of fresh curry paste available at any market. Unless you have loads of time and a very good Asian store nearby - you should too. Thai curry paste in a number of different styles is available in many Asian markets - and Amazon - although more dear. Take the recipe - and figure out which one he is making - and dip it out of the container. (Full disclosure - I do a lot of ethnic cooking and not much phases me except too long ingredient lists and excessive preparation.)

I've spent a fair amount of time in Thailand, and eating is one of the great delights there. David Thompson's book offers a wealth of information on how to prepare everything I've run across and then some. A lot of books I've looked at have omitted ingredients that are difficult to find in the U.S., but without them, the food is missing the essence of what one gets in a true Thai meal. Thompson provides what I believe are the recipes one might actually enjoy without toning down the flavors or limiting the ingredients to the mundane. The one criticism I have for the book is it's hard to find recipes sometimes as he only provides an English translation of the names in most cases. For instance, if you look for something that sounds like "pla sam lot", you won't find it. You have to look under "fish" and find "in three flavored sauce". Pla sam lot I believe, translates to "fish in five flavored sauce", but what I made with his recipe was wonderful none the less, and similar to what I have eaten in Thailand. I would recommend this book to anyone who has a serious interest in Thai cooking and eating, who is not interested in a lot of pretty pictures, and who won't be overwhelmed by the size of the volume. If you're just getting started or don't know what to expect a dish to look like without a picture, it might be a bit daunting.

The book gives a brief history of Thailand(formerly Siam) and how different foreign influences affected the development of Thai cuisine. Very interesting. The author was taught by older Thai women cooks who rarely followed recipes, but rather went by taste, texture, colour, so the author attempted to dissect what they did and formalize the various nuances. I bought this book to help my Thai daughter-in-law with Thai cooking after her mother goes back to Thailand.

Literalmente es la biblia de la cocina Thai, no tiene demasiadas fotos, pero si muchisima información y recetas bien documentadas. Muy interesante si te gustan los libros de cocina tipo enciclopedia.

wonderful recipes

Si vous lisez l'anglais, c'est vraiment la référence en cuisine Thaï. Il m'a été conseillé par un chef thaï très réputé à Lyon et je ne le regrette pas. Hormis le riche fond de recettes qu'il propose, toute la première partie est consacré à vous faire saisir l'esprit de la cuisine thaï. Cela le rend vraiment différent des autres livres de cuisine thaï et surtout le rend beaucoup plus opérationnel en faisant comprendre l'essence des recettes que la disponibilité des produits en France ne permet souvent pas de prendre au pied de la lettre.

O livro apresenta uma parte histórica, aonde o autor destaca alguns pontos da cultura tailandesa. Também, existe uma parte do livro que fala sobre os utensílios, etc. As receitas estão divididas por tópicos e são em grande número. Só não dei 5 estrelas pois o livro poderia ter um número maior de fotos.