Monday 11 October 2010

Thai Street Food - finally published!

Following the theme of my last post (i.e banging on about what my boss, David Thompson, is up to) just a quick note to say: David's new book Thai Street Food has just been published in the UK.

We've had a copy in the kitchen at Nahm for 8 months now as it was published almost a year ago in Oz, but the UK release was postponed on account of those naughty bankers causing a recession over here.

I have my copy now, and, not surprisingly it's pretty special. David's been working on it for years and he's not a man who churns out a book a year or does them by halves. It's massive and is packed full of stunning pics - of both general Thai street life & of the vast array of food you find on the street out there.

Plus, of course, there's tonnes of (fascinating, delicious, challenging...) recipes - everything from breakfast stall dishes, to weird n wonderful street snacks, to curries and so on...there are also sections on Kanon jin noodles and the food of Bangkok's Chinatown.

Not all of the recipes are as complex in technique, or characterised by the need for mad ingredients you'll not find unless you happen to be walking round a Bangkok morning market; more than a few are definitely do-able for a home cook.

But even if you don't recon you'll cook a single thing from the book it's a hell of a coffee table number or, best of all, a guide to what delights you ought to be seeking out should you ever find yourself on the streets of Bangkok, Chiang Mai or Hat Yai.

By way of a sneak-peak check out some recipe extracts in this Observer FM article.

3 comments:

Luiz Hara said...

I thought the book is visually stunning and quite different from David's earlier Thai Food book, and the recipes were surprisingly easy to follow, the pumpkin and coconut custard is one of them. I am having a cooking club evening at my house this Saturday with twelve readers of my blog, each person will cook one recipe from one of these two books. I will let you know how we get on...

Luiz @ The London Foodie

Andy said...

Luiz. Hi. That sounds cool, do let me know what you end up cooking and how it went.

BTW you came for dinner a few weeks ago didn't you? How'd you like it?

Andy

Luiz Hara said...

Hi Andy,

It went really well thanks, everyone was so into it and worked hard on their dishes, this was the menu:

Appetizers

- Ma Hor - Minced Pork, Chicken and Prawn Paste with Pineapple and Mandarin (Thai Food - 488) - LUIZ

- Thai Fish Cakes with Cucumber Relish (Thai Food - 494 and 402) - UYEN

Soup

- Mussel and Ginger Soup (Thai Food - 251 -252) - ELIZABETH TRUSS

Salad

- Larp Gai - Spicy Minced Chicken Salad (Thai Food - 372-373) - NICOLA

- Green Papaya Salad with Sweet Crispy Pork (Thai Food - 511-513) - DEBBIE

Curry

- Beef Panaeng (Thai Food - 316-318) - KELLY & BENN

Fish

- Bream Steamed with Ginger, Celery and Pickled Plums (Thai Food - 524) - JANINE

Stir-Fry

- Stir-fried Clams with Chilli Jam and Thai Basil (TSF - 270) - GERALD

Accompaniments

- Steamed Jasmine Rice - GERALD & LUIZ

- Stir-Fried Morning Glory with Shrimp Paste (TSF - 258) - GERALD & LUIZ

Dessert

- Steamed Pumpkin and Coconut Custard (TSF - 322) - ELIZABETH

Indeed I went to Nahm and really enjoyed my meal there. I blogged about it, apologies for the link but you can read it here if you find the time: http://www.thelondonfoodie.co.uk/2010/10/london-restaurant-reviews-nahm.html

Hope all is well!

Luiz @ The London Foodie