Ask Evan: Can You Recommend A Good Thai Cookbook for Beginners?

Every week I answer a question from a Good Food listener. You can email me a question, leave one on Facebook or add one in the comments section here. This week’s came from Robin:

I recently moved to a city that is lacking in the Asian restaurant department. I have a lot of cooking experience, and can make a decent Japanese or Korean meal to suit my tastes. However, I don’t know how to make and Thai dishes. I would love your recommendation on a great Thai recipe book for people who aren’t terribly familiar with preparing the dishes.

There are more than a few great Thai cookbooks out there. These are among my favorites. For sheer photographic inspiration try Thailand the Beautiful by Panurat Poladitmontr. It’s incredibly beautiful, intelligently written and with great recipes. For in- depth cultural and historical culinary traditions along with great recipes Kasma Loha-Unchit’s books Dancing Shrimp and It Rains Fishes are wonderful. For actual teaching yourself to cook Thai try David Thompson’s Thai Food. An oldie but goodie for great results is Nancie McDermott’s Real Thai and her Quick and Easy Thai.