Thai Cooking
I listened to a podcast a couple of years ago with Jet Tila where he discussed his book "101 Thai Dishes You Need to Cook Before You Die" and I just had to get the book. I love Thai cuisine but had never cooked Thai dishes before and I was ready to get started. Jet is a chef who is called the "culinary ambassador" for Thailand and it is an appropriate designation. His book make it seem easy. The pictures are gorgeous and the directions are complete and simple to follow.
In the first section of the book, Jet goes over what you need in your pantry and this section was so helpful! He tells you all about the various pantry staples you will need to create the yummiest dishes. I went to an H Mart grocery store to find my ingredients and was not disappointed. H Mart of course had everything I needed and then some. The produce is amazing and they had a huge variety of sauces and pastes that I needed to get going.
The cookbook sections include soups, noodles, poultry, beef, pork, seafood, salads, sauces, plant-based, and more. It is a great read! I really do read my cookbooks first, cover to cover. I read the descriptions and notes to drink it all in. I love the stories and tips and appreciate the time, effort and love folks put into their cookbooks. Food is love and cookbook bring that love into my kitchen! I usually start by making a list of what dishes I want to try out, a wish list if you will, then I get started. Sometimes my wish list is pretty long!
The Panang Curry Chicken looks amazing! It also looks easy to make. Everyone loves Pad Thai and I am no different. The Classic Pad Thai was great and easy peasy. I also tried the Pineapple Fried Rice as that is a dish I've ordered at more than one Thai restaurant. Again, easy and delish. I have a wok that I love that I bought myself from Milk Street and it made this recipe simple. My husband loved the Thai Cashew Chicken as he's a sucker for anything with nuts of any kind. The Chicken Satay was also great, and the Peanut Sauce is my favorite!
There are more recipes I want to try of course, and this book was a great way to get me started with Thai cooking. Sometimes we stay in our own food lane when cooking at home, but nothing is more fun than making that left turn and trying out a new ethnic cuisine. I love expanding not only my skills but my food knowledge. It not only makes cooking fun, but it also makes traveling fun. We love to travel and when you've taken the time to expand your food experiences, travel takes on new meaning. We love to try local cuisine wherever we are whether its London, Costa Rica or Louisiana. There are regional favorites everywhere you go and you have to be open to trying those local favorites. If you don't expand your base, you might as well stay home! Travel is an amazing way to appreciate our differences as well as recognize our similarities.
This weekend I learned the Jet Tila has a show on Food Network! I was thrilled to see the show, and he is a great host/teacher! So, go get this book and dive into Thai cooking. You won't be disappointed. And your belly will be full! :)
Here's an affiliate link to the book on Amazon if you would like to check out the book.
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