Keo's Thai Cuisine [Paperback]

Keo Sananikone (Author), Sananikone Keo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1999

The books that ushered in the Thai revolution in kitchens across America is back in a revised edition featuring the classic recipes that earned Keo an international following, along with new recipes fresh from the kitchen of his world-famous restaurant in Hawaii. With over 80,000 books in print, KEO'S THAI CUISINE continues to be the definitive source for home cooks serious about Thai cuisine. Each chapter is structured to allow a beginner to understand the components and philosophy of Thai cuisine, as well as prepare such winning dishes as Keo's Thai Spring Rolls, Evil Jungle Prince with Mixed Vegetables, and Musamen Beef Curry. The fresh new look we've given the revised edition makes the full-color food photography look more enticing than ever.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Born in Laos, Keo and his family immigrated to Hawaii, where he began a dedicated pledge to preparing the best food of the Indochinese region. In 1977 he opened his first restaurant, the Mekong in Honolulu. Since then, Keo has opened three other restaurants, including the Mekong II and Keo's Thai Cuisine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press; Revised edition (May 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580080812
• ISBN-13: 978-1580080811
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.6 x 10.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #589,994 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #62 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > Asian > Thai

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Recipes - Little Background, February 18, 2002

By 

Stephan Bullard "sgbullard" (Hartford, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Keo's Thai Cuisine (Hardcover)

This book would be an excellent addition to the library of an intermediate to advanced Thai chef. Keo's Thai Cuisine is an wonderful resource and contains many excellent recipes. However, it's main draw back is that it provides little cultural context for these recipes. Thus, the book is more or less a "recipe catalog" which would make it difficult for a beginner to get this book and "run with it." I know from experience. This was the first book I bought dealing with Thai cooking. I selected Keo's Thai Cuisine because it was physically very attractive (lots of beautiful color photographs are included) and because it contained many of the recipes I was interested in making. Previously, I had extensive background in cooking Japanese and Chinese cuisine, and I expected that it would be very easy for me to learn Thai. However, although I was successfully able to copy some of the easier recipes, I found myself hard pressed to make some of the more advanced recipes. The problem was that I was unfamiliar with many of the ingredients. Although a short (5 page) glossary is included that lists most Thai ingredients, many of the ingredients go by multiple names (which were not included) which made it difficult for me to find the supplies I needed. After I had read additional books and had about 3 months experience cooking basic Thai foods, I had the background necessary to make the most of the recipes in Keo's. Now Keo's is one of my favorite cookbooks.

Overall, the book contains 96 total recipes, 51 of which are entree-like, all of which are delicious. Color photographs are included for most dishes, although some are somewhat stylized. Although all of the recipes I have tried have been excellent, I have had a very hard time making my dishes look like the photographs. This is a minor point (because they taste great), but I usually don't have this trouble with other cookbooks, and it has always left me wondering if I'm doing things "right," or if the photographs were made using a different recipe.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent recipes and beautiful photographs, April 26, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Keo's Thai Cuisine (Hardcover)

Every dish I have prepared from this cookbook was excellent. My only complaint, was I wanted more one dish recipes. A beautifully photographed coffee table book with unexpectly easy to read recipes.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best Thai food, the simplest recipes, June 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Keo's Thai Cuisine (Paperback)

This is unequivocally the best Thai cookbook you could buy. While in Hawaii I ate at Keo's restaurant and had what was some of the finest Thai food I've ever eaten. I purchased his book at the restaurant as I wasn't thrilled with the other Thai cookbooks I had, which had a tendency to overcomplicate recipes. I wasn't sure this would be better because of the gorgeous photos and complexity of taste in his dishes. However, after using the book and trying a few recipes it became apparent that not only are Keo's recipes better than those in other books, but they are also far simpler to make! Better food, easier to make - a simple equation and one well worth the investment. The book itself is gorgeous with great photos and nice layout, but the real payoff is in Keo's simple and extremely delicious recipes. I find myself constantly looking back at the pages when making a dish and saying to myself "That's it? I'm not missing anything? That's too easy...."