Customer Reviews

Dancing Shrimp: Favorite Thai Recipes for Seafood

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

 

 

I love Thai food, in fact, Thai cooking has become a passion of mine now for over ten years. I had the distinct pleasure of being introduced to this incredible cuisine by Kasma Loha-unchit. Over the years I have taken numerous cooking classes from Kasma and have participated in two, month long tours of Thailand with her where I was able to taste and savor the delights of the country's cuisine and be introduced to the rich and varied culture. I particularly enjoy the complexity and variation in Thai cuisine. Having now sampled innumerable dishes, I can still be surprised by a new dish and a new combination of flavors and ingredients. I often anticipate with delight the burst of taste sensations that accompany a well balanced dish. Thai cooking has become a staple of my cooking and I routinely cook Thai dishes at home to the delight of my family and friends.

Unfortunately, it is rare for Americans to taste authentic Thai flavors. Many Thai restaurants erroneously prepare their dishes to satisfy what they believe to be the western palate. The result is that many dishes routinely taste sweet or have little complex flavoring at all. They certainly don't taste like the dishes I have eaten in Thailand or certainly in Kasma's cooking classes. I have found that the difference in a delicious dish and a just so-so dish is in the unique balance of flavors.

I have always enjoyed cooking classes with Kasma because she goes to great length to explain how a dish should taste and what combinations of spices and ingredients will help you balance those flavors in the appropriate way. Carefully following a recipe does not always give you the desired effect because ingredients vary in taste depending on where they are grown or how they are prepared. A sampling of fish sauces, a staple of Thai cooking, of which there are many, demonstrates clearly how each vary in saltiness and flavor. Kasma teaches one how to taste and to make the all important adjustments to achieve the desired balance of flavors.

I have cooked almost every recipe in her first cookbook, It Rains Fishes, and have found that if one follows her guidelines and tips for tasting and adjusting, success is guaranteed. Many recipes provide helpful tips that will assist in preparing other dishes. Her wealth of information about Thai ingredients, how combining them changes their flavors, and Thai culture only add to a better understanding of the cuisine. I was overjoyed to see her new cookbook Dancing Shrimp in bookstores. I had the distinct pleasure of being asked to test some of those recipes before publication and as usual I found them to be easy to follow, creative and the results sensational. Dancing Shrimp has really captured the Thai's best natural resource, seafood. I have traveled in the south of Thailand along the coasts and through the islands, and the wealth and variety of seafood is outstanding. In Dancing Shrimp, Kasma has provided us westerners an opportunity to recreate many of these delightful, mouth watering dishes.

I have been so impressed with the success I have had with Kasma's recipes that I will boldly attest that her recipes consistently produce more interesting dishes and flavor then I have found in most Thai restaurants and, dare I say, even with dishes tasted at some of the best restaurants through my travels in Thailand. I would certainly highly recommend these cookbooks for those who are serious about Thai cuisine and even for the amateur cook who just wants to experiment with a few dishes. Her recipes are easy to follow, directions are clear, there is a wealth of information and success is certainly guaranteed, allowing the true tastes of Thailand to enter your kitchen.

I'm not going to buy ANY Thai cookbooks by other authors until her books come back into print. There is no point in assessing Thai cookbooks if this book and It Rains Fishes are not included in the mix. I can't encourage anyone to pay nearly a hundred dollars each for second hand copies. And who ever heard of cooking from a Palm Pilot ebook? I really mind that old fashioned cooks who as recently as less than five years ago were recognized authorities are now fallen by the wayside because they are not on Food Network. If not for Sara's Secrets, one wouldn't see masters like Jacques Pepin and Madhur Jaffrey outside of PBS reruns. That means our food intellect is shaped by name brands instead of quality earning a brand.

The secondhand prices are outrageous. Since Thai cuisine is now more popular than ever, there are more interested readers who would love to have authentic instruction.

p.s. I contacted the author through her website and received the advisement that there are NO plans to reprint her titles. That's strange that an authentic Thai with superior knowledge is out of print when so many new books are out from fans of Thai cuisine who don't have a comparable foundation in the food culture that they are writing about.

Her books are kind of fantastic. I prefer this book to It Rains Fishes and hope to try the pan seared scallops recipe soon.

Right off, I bought Golden Boy fish sauce from the local Chinese supermarket based on her recommendation and found that is wonderful; no more Thai Kitchen for me.

I am also going to look for her recommended brands for other condiments.

Much of the information in her books are available on her website so see for yourself why she is good.

I bought this book based on the reviews here and really have to thank the reviewers who gave 5 stars for this book. I am a native Thai and I have to say that Kasma's recipes really give you authentic Thai food. I have tried at least 10 recipes from her book and have enjoyed my home-made cooking with no MSG (that I would mostly get at restaurants). What I like best about her book is the ingredients and tips section where she describes properties of Thai spices and Thai ways of cooking such as steaming, 'yam' salad making, etc.. Reading through her recipes is quite enjoyable since she usually gives a bit of history about the food along the way. The trick to get delicious dishes is to make sure you can acquire all ingredients you need (some are hard to find, but she has a web site that directs you to some online Thai groceries if you can't find the spices from your local stores).

Thai cuisine is known for its spicy, savory flavors and this narrows the focus further to Thai dishes for seafood, taking full advantage of the special relationship between Thai curries and spices and seafood flavors. The result is a fine gathering of favorite seafood recipes ranging from Garlic-Black Bean Pan-Fried Red Snapper to Shrimp Cooked in Turmeric Coconut Sauce. No photos, and access to a good Asian market for ingredients and fresh fish is important.

DANCING SHRIMP is a superb follow up to Kasma's award winning IT RAINS FISHES. I have taken Kasma's cooking classes and also have her first book IT RAINS FISHES. Her recipies and explanations are easy to follow and produce the best Thai food I have had anywhere, including all I have tasted on my four trips to Thailand. Thai food has such complex flavors it would seem like an unattainable task to learn to make it at home, but with DANCING SHRIMP and IT RAINS FISHES, I feel I can prepare Thai food that rivals any (besides Kasma's)that I have tasted. This book is an absolute must for anyone who loves Thai food and wants to make it at home.

At last, a book that truly offers extraordinary recipes combined with someone who can really write very well. I spent over a year in the Kingdom of Thailand and have rarely been able to find any culinary author that could actually bring me back to the sights, sounds and overall sensory assault Thailand delivers on a daily basis. As a working chef myself, I can truly tell you this is one of the finest books you will find on Thailand, no other author goes into the detail of ingredients, cooking processes and traditions that make this cuisine so exquisite. I especially enjoyed the essays on how the staple ingredients are made, fish sauce, oyster sauce, dried fish and seafood, etc.. Can't go wrong here, I'm afraid Im sounding a bit biased, but this book does reign as king among my shelf of Thai cookbooks, looking forward to many more by this author

I just cooked a new recipe from this book and, as usual, It tasted wonderful. I decided that It was time to write a review about this book and for my SURPRISE I got the information that this book is out of print. This is one of the most well written book that I have about thai food (and I have more than 40 thai cookbooks). If you read (or cook from) this book or "It Rains fishes" (the other out of print book from the same author) you will just ask loud: "PLEASE, PRINT THIS BOOK AGAIN".

Unexpectedly picked up this book at a half price store. Did not even realize it was by the author of 'It Rains Fishes', which has been sitting on my wish list for some time.

Full of extensive and practical information re: ingredients and cooking techniques. This I found quite interesting and useful despite not being new to either Asian cooking or ingredients. Also gives sources for ordering things like Kaffir lime trees which I had not been able to find by searching the internet or asking around several Asian supermarkets in Houston.

The anecdotes and descriptions accompanying the recipies betray Ms Loha-Unchit's enthusiasm for and utter joy in food. I cooked 3 recipies out of this book last weekend and found them easy and straightforward in execution as well as restaurant quality taste-wise. surprisingly simple! Highly recommended.

Great recipes, story telling and tips. This book also does an excellent job of reviewing ingredients, cooking tools, and techniques. Very down to earth. I feel this book has improved my understanding of Thai cuisine. It also has given me a greater general understanding of how to work with seafood and fish. Very enjoyable. I highly recommend it.

This is Kasma's 2nd published cookbook, the first, "It Rains Fishes" won an award as best international cookbook in 1996, and Dancing Shrimp continues to deliver a similar experience for anyone, from beginner to expert, who tries the dishes detailed here.

Kasma's skill at providing the background and context of Thai cooking makes her books stand above other cookbooks that are merely recipes.

We teach Thai cooking, and would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to explore cooking their own Thai food, and not just as a seafood cookbook.

Sadly it is likely out of print, but well worth the cost even if you can only find a used copy!