Customer Reviews

Cracking the Coconut: Classic Thai Home Cooking

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Reply to Mr. Eugene Stiles' review of my book, Cracking the Coconut. Su-Mei Yu, author

Thank you for taking time to read and review my book. Recognizing that cooking and eating is always a subjective experience, I welcome the opportunity to respond to your remarks. 1. In writing a cookbook merging traditional and modern Thai cooking, I chose to focus on recipes that combine basic techniques and staples. Once the basic techniques are mastered, cooking Thai food is less intimidating and time consuming. This is true with the staples used in Thai cooking. Without recipes on how to make these staples such as crispy fried garlic, crispy fried shallot, dried roasted chile in oil, or even coconut milk, the cook will have to repeat the preparation each time it is called for in a recipe. Organizing it in the book in the manner I did makes cooking easier. Besides, it's the way Thai cooks do it. 2. From my point of view, there is no comparison between canned coconut and fresh coconut cream and milk. This is just as true for coconuts purchased here in the United States. It also applies to canned curry paste. Thailand, is, as many nations today, striving to become westernized and has adapted the fast and busy lifestyle. That doesn't mean the food is better! Supermarkets, as well as local markets do sell pre-made chile pastes. Some are better than others. But this does not mean that Thai people have stopped cooking in the way described in my book. On the contrary, as Thai's have became aware of preservatives added to processed food, many have returned to traditional ways of cooking, which includes making coconut cream and milk, and chile paste. To know this you would have to spend time with traditional cooks, not just visiting restaurants.

3. Regarding your claims that Americans are too busy to cook. This may be true for some, but it doesn't hold true for many others who continue to believe that good eating results from good cooking. I believe that cooking and eating are inseparable and speaks for who we are and our cultural heritage. You may wish to cook from canned goods, but there are people like myself who find pleasure in cooking from fresh ingredients. Cooking and eating for me and in traditional Thai philosophy is as much a process and social ritual as a product. Cooking and the time involved for some is pleasurable and a form of relaxation and giving. I am a busy person with a couple of restaurants, writing and engaged in community services and yet I cook everyday for myself and my family. Ultimately, it is a choice of life style. My book is directed at people who seek more from both food preparation, taste and the dining experience. This requires an emotional and time investment. Life, and how we spend our time and to what end and purposes are choices we all make. I am offering an alternative.

4. I encourage you to study Thai recipes closely, or perhaps eat with a more discriminatory palate.

Observations are not the same as merging oneself into the preparation and practices of Thai dining. In almost all Thai recipes, the four ingredients: sea salt, garlic, coriander roots and Thai peppercorn, are part of the recipe, whether combined into a paste or used in combinations with the others. Fresh herbs you mentioned, including lemon grass, Thai basil, galangal, Kaffir (Makrud ) lime and leaves when used, are to add flavor and aroma. Still, without sea salt, garlic, coriander roots, and Thai peppercorn as its foundation, Thai cooking would not be what it is. Fish sauce also does not take the place of sea salt as a primary ingredient, it is added for flavor. My sources on this issue are both my experience as a Thai cook and the traditional cooks who have taught me. Many are introduced in the book.

5. Prikk Thai is a Thai word for Thai pepper. "Prikk Kee Nuu" is a type of bird chile referencing its shape. I maintain, Prikk Thai, rather than Prikk Kee Nuu is the heart of Thai cooking, and revered as such. The chile pepper, as opposed to the indigenous peppercorn, is a recent import, in terms of Thai cooking, from the Americas. While the bird chile stings and burns, the peppercorn warms one's body and spirit.

6. Ancient recipes in the 16th and 17th century, indeed, contained miso, wine, and whiskey, which the Thai adapted from the Japanese, Chinese and the Europeans. To write a Thai cookbook for westerners, where ingredients may not be readily available, substitutes are regrettably a must. The so-called strange ingredients you refer to have been painstakingly tested to closely resemble the original ingredient, in order to preserve the integrity of the recipe. While we may disagree on which substitutions produce the truest authentic flavor, I place my trust in my palate and training and traditional Thai cooks.

Lastly, next time you are in San Diego you are invited to come and eat real Thai food at my home. Kubb Khun Kai.

After looking at maybe 20 Thai cookbooks and buying a few others, I now wish that I bought this one first.

The author grew up in Thailand, and clearly did extensive culinary research in the preparation for the book. In addition to the recipes, she offers some rather specific techniques as well as background on ingredients. In this sense, it is similar in concept to Rick Bayless' cookbooks on Mexican cooking. While I can't claim an extensive experience in Thai cooking and culture to comment on its authenticity, the ingredients and techniques are identical to those I learned at cooking school in Thailand, and the results taste familiar as well.

I agree with some of the comments above as to the need to some of the somewhat labor intensive preparation of curry pastes she advises. I have made them from scratch (not really that hard, if you have done it a few times and have a strong arm for the mortar and pestle) and used prepared ones, and, while I think the homemade ones are better (more subtle, more complex, more "fresh"), I usually use them only for special occasions. And after the homemade ones have sat in the fridge for a while, the difference is less distinct. But I appreciate a cookbook that at least encourages you to try to make your own paste!

I also agree that the homemade coconut milk exercise is not worth the trouble. The coconuts I can get here in Michigan are just not consistently that good, and I can't tell the difference in the finished product. Still, I was glad that I had a chance to try making it at least once.

Yes, the author does offer substitutions, such as miso for shrimp paste, but she also makes it clear that these are substitutions and describes the rationale for them. In this way, I think she is better than some ethnic cookbook authors who write stuff like: "Don't even consider making this dish unless you have access to the special veal kidney sausages made by my dear friend Pierre Gallimard at his family's boucherie off the Place Vendome....."

My biggest complaint is that there are not enough drawings in the book. The author tries to describe certain techniques (like making sticky rice bundles in banana leaves) that would be much easier to understand with a simple line drawing.

I had some hesitation in purchasing this book because the name didn't seem very thai, (half thai myself and was raised on the "real deal" as well as have been in several towns in thailand for months at a time pre-cooking years, I didn't want an americanized version of thai food) but then I had seen you on the show Cooking Live where your methods were in the same manner my mother cooks, but more of an easier measuring manner as opposed to trying to write down her recipes by watching her and her "eyeing" measurements! I just have to know the measurements before trying to alter it!

I love this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who would want to learn the basics in traditional and not americanized thai cooking, and also who is not wanting to take the lazy way out as that other reviewer was referring. The book is to show you how to make it from scratch, and not looking for a review of canned goods or just out of the can. If all of the ingredients were exactly the same and just in a can, why would a cookbook even be needed?

I don't know of many grocery stores, let alone asian markets, ESPECIALLY in California that wouldn't have fish sauce! I've lived in 4 different parts of the country since leaving home, and haven't ever had any problem in finding the majority of the ingredients shown in this book. From Indianapolis, to Phoenix, to Las Vegas and now a very small town in Michigan, they have their own asian section in the local grocery stores!

Also, such as the other reviewer criticized Pad thai, each creation varies in the preparation per cook as it would in any family, just as I'm sure everyone has a different way to prepare something as simple as meatloaf. I love this book and its a good substitution for moms cooking, but yes every time I'm at home, I do put in my orders for my moms home cooking, just as any other person would with a great cooking mom! Khap Kuhn Ka Su-Mei!

I watched Su-Mei Yu's being interviewed locally here in San Diego. After seeing it, I decided to try her restaurant here. It's a great local Thai noodle restaurant and serves her famous excellent Thai Chicken.

Upon eating there twice, I decide to buy her 2 books. I absolutely love her book. Her dishes optimizes the combination of sweet, salt, sour, spicy that you REALLY can't figure out the breakdown of elements of spices when you eat the food.

After making rounds at the local Asian grocery store to buy all the ingredients one afternoon (couldn't find green peppercorns or Thai white peppercorns), I adventured making her Crying Tiger dish, a Bangkok Chicken dish that they don't serve here in US. It was awesome!! My mouth still salivates when I think of this dish. It's so good that I made it again the next day for dinner.

Can't wait to discover some of her other recipes. Being Asian American, Su-Mei Yu also incorporates some famous Chinese dishes as well!!

Su-Mei Yu's book is tasty and yet informative. Not knowing a lot about Thai culture, I found the chapters breaking down the origins of the food to be most interesting. In one instance she gives a synopsis of how important the coconut is to the Thais but also explains how to prepare the coconut so you will be able to prepare the food authentic Thai-style. The instructions on how to prepare the food are very concise and simple.

Most of the recipes are from scratch, which means if you have limited time, it is not the cookbook for you (on avg it takes me 2 hrs to create one dish including the chopping/pounding of the curries and cooking time). All the curries/chile waters/pad thai involve many ingredients, so unless you have a strong interest in Asian cooking, it might not be worthwhile to purchase the book for one recipe. For example, she talks about creating tamarind juice from soaking tamarind pulp in water and advises against short-cuts such as pre-processed tamarind juice. Unless you have other recipes you want to use this ingredient for, its going to sit in your cupboard. I also found that the recipes call for a huge amount of spicy chiles, so cut down on it if you can't handle the heat.

Also, there are a minimal amount of pictures in the book, if you don't have any idea what certain ingredients look like or haven't had exposure to Thai food, you might have a hard time figuring out what the dishes are supposed to look like. Pictures of the ingredients would be very helpful as well.

Overall, the book is one of my favourites. Well written and entertaining, it is a cookbook for serious (and patient) cooks. The recipes are delicious and the flavours are complex. But for beginners of Asian cooking or for people on the go, you might want to try something simpler.

I will probably have to buy a new copy in the next couple of years because the one I currently own is falling apart...especially the sections on making curry pastes. My favorite by far is the Panang Chile Paste. Takes awhile to make, so I usually make several batches at once. I have also substituted chicken, pork, shrimp and white fish for beef in the Panang Neur recipe.

I have used several Thai cookbooks in the last twenty years. This is the only one that has satisfied me. I do wish there were more diagrams and illustrations.

This is the best book on Thai cooking I have come across. I beleive it would be the only book I would like to be a castaway with. I have a great collection of cook books , including all the classics but this is rapidly becoming my favorite. The recipies work, the text is personal and friendly, and the illustrations marvelous. The Thai names for the recipies are funny and authentic but not found in other books. This adds to the fun of cooking the food.
I have just returned from Koh Samui where I had Thai cooking classes and these recipies are right in line with what I learned. The American sustitutions are helpful for cooking here but the book tells how to be authentic too. Actually I have found most of the strange ingredients fresh here in good old Texas.
I hope to visit the author's restaurant someday. A truely wonderful book. Buy it now.

This is a wonderful book on a number of levels. The author has cooked in the US for many years and so does not require impossible ingredients or use foods with strange names without explaining.

The recipes are relatively simple - they do not have 37 ingredients.

The recipes appear authentic - she goes back to Thailand every year and has friends and relatives there.

Every recipe has extensive stories and background to go with it.

The graphics are subtle and wonderful. Too bad the designer Ralph Fowler gets only a mention. But do not be mistaken this is not just another pretty/useless coffee table cookbook.

This is a cookbook to sit down and read cover to cover, but also one to use extensively in the kitchen. No previous experience required.

I have travelled extensively around the world. I have had truly wonderful authentic meals and some horrible ones too.

I own this book and love it. It may not be 100% authentic, but I know that I can not get some of the required ingredients where I live etc. I enjoy attempting the recipes with recommended substitutions. I think that part of the fun of cooking is learning to experiment with different ingredients...even if that means you move away from more traditional or "authentic" ingredients!

I always enjoy reading good cookbooks and "Cracking the Coconut" did not disappoint in the least. I am happy to have added it to my collection, it is well worth the read.

You can travel to many different regions of a country and see the same type of "dish", but it usually does not taste or look quite the same. Why?. Because most people put their own signature to their cooking. Is their cooking then less "authentic" because of it?...No! I would say it is all the more authentic for it.

This is a cookbook well worth owning...even if you do not think it is "authentic". Thank you Su-Mei Yu for putting it to paper :).

Cracking the Coconut is quite interesting in exploring traditional Thai cooking as it was done historically. It is a good read but somewhat less useful as a cookbook. Although the the book claims to dispel the notion that Thai cooking is difficult and to make Thai cooking "accessible to everyone," I found that not to be the case. In too many recipes you are required to leaf to another recipe to find out how to prep an ingredient before you can proceed. (Although the book claims 175 recipes, a large number are really parts of other recipes, so the number of finished dishes is much smaller.)

The author's insistance on the time-consuming process of making coconut milk from scratch makes no sense for a busy person in the U.S. where the coconuts available are neither as fresh nor as mature as those in Thailand: when I've made it here the results were not noticeably better than good brands of canned coconut milk. Likewise preparing all curries and sauces from scratch is simply not practical for many people -- the book would be more useful and make Thai food more accessible if it gave brand name alternatives and recipes that make use of available pastes. Most Thai homecooks, even in Thailand, buy ready-made pastes and sauces from the market. It is often how those store-bought ingredients are used during cooking that make a difference in the final dish.

I also found that the recipes and overall emphasis of the book did not echo my experience of eating Thai food in Thailand over ten visits with my Thai wife. The author says that salt, Thai pepper, garlic, and cilantro root provide "the special essence that is the foundation of Thai food." This might be true historically, however, for me, fresh herbs such as lemongrass, Thai basil, galanga, kaffir lime, etc. really constitute the spirit of Thai cooking and distinguish it from other cuisines. My Thai friends would all name Thai chiles (prik kee noo) as closer to the heart of Thai cooking than peppercorns and not merely a flavoring accent as the author insists. The author's use of salt in nearly every recipe is also different from what I've observed throughout Thailand where Fish Sauce is a more key ingredient.

And for a cookbook that prides itself on being authentic, there are some unneccesarry usages of non-thai ingredients such as olive oil, miso, Chardonnay or Vermouth, and peanut butter. The substitutiton of miso for shrimp paste in a curry paste produces a result tasting neither authentic nor traditional. The author's choice of herbs in some recipes is also odd and not always true to how those dishes are commonly flavored in Thailand.

It is an interesting read but there are a number of other Thai cookbooks just as authentic with recipes that more accurately reflect the exciting flavors of present-day Thai cuisine. It is not "the first time the tastes, techniques, and traditions of Thai home cooking" have been published, as the book's jacket would like us to believe.