Thailand on a Plate – a review of the cookbook "Thai Home Cooking – 100 Recipes, Techniques and Tips for Cooking Like in Thailand"

There is a way to return to the taste of Bangkok street food or dishes eaten in restaurants overlooking the Andaman Sea without boarding a plane. "Thai Home Cooking - 100 Recipes, Techniques and Tips for Cooking Like in Thailand" by Orathay Souksisavanh is for those who miss Thailand, for those who want to delight guests at a party or for those looking for new flavors. As the author writes, the inspiration for writing the book was the love that was expressed in her family from generation to generation through preparing meals. Thanks to the recipes she passes on, she is able to share this feeling with lovers of Asian flavors.  

So, what can you prepare for a multi-course feast inspired by the flavors of Southeast Asia? To start, serve crispy shrimp doughnuts wrapped in delicate rice flakes, perfect as an appetizer that will whet your guests' appetite. Then, an aromatic shrimp and lemongrass soup will hit the table - light but intense in flavor. The main course can be a creamy, spicy red fish curry or vermicelli fried in a hot wok. And for dessert, to complement the whole of this home-cooked journey through the flavors of Thailand, a velvety pumpkin flan with a light note of spices or a moist, slightly sweet cassava cake. In addition to the ones mentioned in the book, there are recipes for, among others, a homemade soy drink, iced coffee with milk, Thai sausage, pork in caramel, vermicelli in various flavor configurations, as well as a guide on how to make the perfect Thai rice.

The layout of the book is very clear and makes it easy to use. The recipes are divided into several larger chapters: snacks, salads and dips, curries, soups, woks, steamed dishes, oven dishes and others, as well as drinks and desserts. The search for culinary inspiration is made easier by the index with a complete, alphabetical list of ingredients, as well as the table of contents. Lack of experience in Thai cuisine is not an obstacle - at the end of the book there is also a list of accessories, herbs and typical food products, ingredients and spices used in Thai cuisine. Each is accompanied by some useful information along with a short description of their taste, use and suggestions for substitutes - thanks to this, even a novice cook will be able to prepare the best Thai dishes. Child's play? Not really. After all, you need to know how to process banana leaves to make them suitable for consumption. Fortunately, the author took care to describe this activity in detail and provide illustrative photographs. 

The undisputed advantage of "Homemade Thai Cuisine" is that it will fit on any shelf in a home library. It is not heavy, so you can easily hold it in one hand and flip fried fish or add coconut milk to soup in the other. It will be hard to resist snacking on what you have already prepared - especially while cooking. The Thai style of eating places meals as one of the important elements of life, which should be celebrated, i.e. eaten without rushing, family-style and, ideally, sumptuously. This is how, echoing the Author, we recommend enjoying Thai cuisine.