Hot Thai Kitchen: Demystifying Thai Cuisine with Authentic Recipes to Make at Home: A Cookbook

I was really excited to finally receive my copy of Pailin's book. It's been on pre-order for months and I've long been a fan of her amazing cooking videos for awhile, so today was truly a great day when it finally arrived.What I was really pleased with to see immediately is that Pai did an excellent job at putting a substantial amount of information in the first few chapters of the book that go really far in explaining a lot of the foundation of Thai cooking. As you may know from her videos, she is an excellent teacher in that she communicates really clearly what she is doing, how to do it correctly, and most importantly, WHY she is doing it. (and all with a dose of charm!) Cooking isn't just assembling a bunch of ingredients in a bowl. Knowing how and when to add an ingredient and what that ingredient is contributing to the recipe in terms of flavor and texture is very important. I think that is why Pai can help you make good recipes great when you are actually preparing them.There is a lot of info on the various ingredients, from herbs to sweeteners to all the unique sauces that are used. And yes, we all wish we had a friendly Thai grocer down the street, but for most of us in N. America, that isn't common, so she gives some good tips on finding ingredients or when she believes "Educated substitutions" (good word choice) or even omissions are ok for the sake of the recipe. You should never let a lack of finding a key ingredient keep you from trying to learn these recipes, so she will help you overcome!There is also a section specifically on vegetarian and vegan dishes which is really great as that diet is quite common and Thai food lends itself really well to being easily offered in a veg variation.I see a lot of the great recipes I have already tried from her videos featured in this book, but was also pleased to see even more new ones as well as foundation recipes like curry pastes and stocks. You will see some nice mention of the region of dishes which is good, because I think that's one of the main missing pieces of information that many new to Thai food don't get at first. They don't often get to learn, that the cuisines in the North and South are dramatically different in style from each other and that curries don't just come in green or red. (see JUNGLE curry!)I am sure anyone new or familiar to Thai cooking will really love this book. One other cool feature of the book is that there are QR codes throughout it that allow you to quickly view a video on said topic right on your phone from the Hot Thai Kitchen site as you are reading! Ingenious!Something else that I have not seen before in a cooking book is a small table on each recipe page that shows a "breakdown" on the ingredients in terms of what their role is. (sauce, aromatic, flavor) This is a cool feature and, as Pai says, she wants to help you understand how the recipes are assembled so that you can mix and match your own components to start to make your own dishes! This table really helps to do that in my opinion.Enjoy the recipes, technique and beautiful images that fill this great book!

this is effectively the most authentic Thai cooking book you can find. if you like Thai food, there are no other book better than this one! Palin really knows her trade, and really knows how to teach! the book begins by an introductory section that depicts in detail the common food ingredients and seasonings in authentic Thai cuisine. basically gives you all the ingredients and tools you will come across useful in your cooking. followed by numerous tasty, delicious, carefully developed and tested recipes. I’ve tried several recipes already, they all came out very successfully and beautifully. the best thing I observed about this book, is how simple to follow! I think Palin, as a knowledgeable cook, really put her heart into developing these recipes, so they taste oh so yummy but sweet, short, and simple! anyone can easily make them and cook excellent Thai in under 30 minutes. This book is a must have in your Thai culinary collection! I am also following Palin on her youtube channel Hot Thai Kitchen and Patreon page!

This book is a MUST for anyone who is seriously interested in learning and cooking Thai food at home. I can tell that a considerable amount of time went in to create the contents. I am not sure how could the author sell this book on Amazon for under $17 and make a profit. In my opinion, the book should easily be sold at $35. Not fair for the hard efforts to sell it this cheap!Comments on Part 1. Some may argue that 91 pages of introductory material is too much. Even though my wife and I are familiar with Thai ingredients, food, and culture, I have learned from this part things that I did not know before. These pages are necessary to lay the foundation and basics of Thai cooking. I like the way this part is organized in a very clear and scientific manner. In my opinion, anyone who embarks on Thai cooking should thoroughly be familiar with what the author have presented in this part. To me it is very important to understand the effects of each ingredient on the overall taste of the dish. My rating for Part 1 is 5 stars.Comments on Part 2. The seven sections in this part plus the recipes available on YouTube as well as the author’s webpages, provide a wide range of selections to satisfy any craving for Thai food. The recipes are laid out in a clear and concise manner making it very easy to follow. I like the “Breakdown” paragraph for every recipe. From this part, I made two dishes: Massaman Curry with Lamb Shoulder and Red Curry Stir Fry with Tilapia.The seven sections in Part 2 is stretching it too thin. Some authors devoted a bundle consisting of several books dedicated to Thai cooking. Nonetheless what was presented is outstanding and very easy to follow. My rating for Part 2 is 5 stars.Comments on Part 3. In my opinion, Part 3, is too thin but an excellent part highlighting basic Thai condiments and sauces. I would have liked to see that the author include more condiments in this part, however I realize that it is impossible to include all known Thai sauces in a book. My rating for Part 3 is 4.5 stars.Comments on physical aspects of the book. As I said, the book is a must addition to any person cooking Thai food. I am glad that I acquired a copy of the book. The book is very well made and I like the glossy pages. I love the pictures included. I favor this book over many other Thai cookbooks.