Reco request: Thai cookbook

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Trying to up my curry game, I already scratch make terrific green curry paste, I'm trying to find recipes for all the other curries that don't involve (buy paste).

Suggestions or recipes greatly appreciated.
 
I used to have Thompson's book, look for the book with recipes for 'red ant salad'....major drawback is getting the ingredients (like giant red ants), we ditched it but are still looking for something more useful in our region (read; with obtainable ingredients)
 
MarcelNL said:
I used to have Thompson's book, look for the book with recipes for 'red ant salad'....major drawback is getting the ingredients (like giant red ants), we ditched it but are still looking for something more useful in our region (read; with obtainable ingredients)
Click to expand...
Scooped his book just now thank you!
 
I have cooked a handful of dishes from here and they have all been great.
 
My two favorite Thai cookbooks, which to me capture the qualities of the food I ate in Thailand, are:

The Taste of Thailand, by Vatcharin Bhumichitr
Thailand The Cookbook, by Jean-Pierre Gabriel

Don't let the French name put you off the second one. He really did a job of exploring the country and capturing the real-deal cuisine.
 
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Whew...there are a few good Thai cookbooks out there. David Thompson's books are encyclopedic, and are full of obscure recipes. Palin Chongchitnant, aka Pai of the Hot Thai Kitchen website has a very good cookbook called (of course) "Hot Thai Kitchen', which is a good all arounder. Andy Ricker has several books out, "Pok Pok "is his first and also a good all arounder as well. "Bangkok" by Leela Punyaratabandhu is good, and so is her "Simple Thai Food". Her book on SE asian BBQ is wonderful as well. There are some hybrid books out there too, "Pepper Thai" was written by Pepper Tiegen. "Dancing Shrimp" by Karma Loha-Unchit is nice, as well as "Night + Market by Kris Yenbamroong. "Kiin" is northern Thai cuisine by Nuit Regular. "Baan" by Kay Plunkett-Hogge is nice, and so is "Maenam" by Angus An. "True Thai", and Thai Fresh are also both notable Thai cookbooks. A smaller book by Keo Sananikone called "Keo's Thai Cuisine" is my favorite as he is a Hawaii based chef who had a series of restaurants in Honolulu. The recipes are very accessible and easy to make. Pai's Hot Thai Kitchen website is my go to website for Thai recipes and cooking tips on the internet. There are other cookbooks out there too..but these are some in my collection and the ones that I read and cook from.
 
https://www.amazon.com/Food-Thailan...ywords=food+of+thailand&qid=1651643839&sr=8-1
best pictures. This series has the best pictures in a cookbook . . . my favorite english language cookbook series. Soo many pictures. . . pictures are more important just having a recipe. Double page spreads, mini-sections about food culture in the region, . . . . half the book is pictures, and every recipe has a picture or two. The authors have photographs of thailand and thai food. . . they go over to the region with food guides and language guides, and region-food experts / locals and the recipes are from that.
 
reading with interest as I'm on the lookout for a great Thai cookbook too; do the books mentioned follow a logical structure? These days I check cookbooks for a logical structure in prep and cooking, I totally abhor the recipes that you keep reading and reading to figure out what needs to be done...or that the third paragraph of the instructions says 'now take the cooked and totally cooled XYZ and stir fry until crispy' and the recipe never mentioned that part of prep.
(alert; such cookbooks have been known to fly away through my kitchen)
 
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Real Thai by McDermott is our go-to when I don’t want to break out the Thompson encyclopedia. I bought an extra copy we use it so much.
 
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Bush's work is more of a anthropological monograph than a proper cookbook. It is really incredible, beautifully photographed, and nicely done. Not the most practical for a home cook though given the hyper-regionality of some of the dishes. Highly recommend it though for anyone interested in Thai cooking more broadly however.
 
Thai expat here.

Pok Pok is the real deal - recipes are often very involved. This may be a pro or con.

David Thompson had a street food coffee table book, also excellent. What I ate most days is in there. He has other older books that are also good (And have curries with attainable ingredients). Skip the massive bible for now and start here
https://www.amazon.com/Classic-Thai...99-4ec4-af79-946e905e64e7&ref_=aufs_ap_sc_mblOr here
https://www.amazon.com/Thai-Street-...99-4ec4-af79-946e905e64e7&ref_=aufs_ap_sc_mbl
Hot Thai Kitchen (thanks @Michi ) is my go-to YouTube channel.

Many other books I haven't tried, but these all scratch the itch for me.
 
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captaincaed said:
Thai expat here.

Pok Pok is the real deal - recipes are often very involved. This may be a pro or con.

David Thompson had a street food coffee table book, also excellent. What I ate most days is in there. He has other older books that are also good (And have curries with attainable ingredients). Skip the massive bible for now and start here
https://www.amazon.com/Classic-Thai...99-4ec4-af79-946e905e64e7&ref_=aufs_ap_sc_mblOr here
https://www.amazon.com/Thai-Street-...99-4ec4-af79-946e905e64e7&ref_=aufs_ap_sc_mbl
Hot Thai Kitchen (thanks @Michi ) is my go-to YouTube channel.

Many other books I haven't tried, but these all scratch the itch for me.
Click to expand...
I am far from an expert, just an avid home chef who learned to cook Thai food in Thailand ..with a bad cookbook habit. Pailin Chongchitnant who has the Hot Thai Kitchen cooking blog has a wonderful cookbook as well. She does well explaining Thai cooking to western chefs. Leela Punyaratabandhu had a wonderful Thai cooking blog and wrote several Thai cookbooks that are very authentic too.
 
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