Thai Cooking Made Easy: Delectable Thai Meals in Minutes (Learn to Cook Series) (Spiral-bound)

by Periplus Editors (Editor) "Thai food is one of the world's most exciting cuisines, a work of art that pleases the most discerning taste buds..." (more)
Key Phrases: ground roasted unsalted peanuts, slices fresh galangal root, teaspoon pandanus, Red Curry, Combine the Dressing, Basil Garlic Sauce (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Thai Cooking Made Easy brings over 60 magnificent Thai treats into your kitchen. From fiery hot soups to tangy seafood dishes, this book captures the savory tastes and heavenly flavors of Thai cuisine. Step-by-step recipes show you how to make evergreen Thai dishes such as tom yam soup, pineapple fried rice, and jub chai (mixed vegetables stew). More than 60 full-color photographs bring each dish to life on the page, with flavorful sauces, delicious salads, tempting main dishes and sinful deserts making this the perfect introduction to Thai cuisine. The important elements of this book - the straightforward recipes, careful ingredient listings, and step-by-step instructions - will have you cooking up a Thai culinary storm in no time at all!

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 96 pages
• Publisher: Periplus Editions (April 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0794601561
• ISBN-13: 978-0794601560
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #804,539 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thai cooking made easier, but not easy, May 12, 2006

By	Zack Davisson "All Good Things" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I love cooking, and I love Thai food, but attempts to make my favorite dishes at home always seem to come up short. The flavors aren't quite right, it doesn't look the way it is supposed to, and all the recipes I try don't quite cut it.

Good, authentic Thai cooking is never really that easy, as evidenced by this book. "Thai Cooking Made Easy" does an admirable job making Thai cooking accessible. The directions are easy to follow, the spiral bound format is perfect for the kitchen,, and all of the recipes have great pictures to help you pick your challenge. But...

While it says "delectable Thai meals in minutes," almost every recipe has substantial prep time, with an hour being standard, and several being much longer. Possibly the biggest barricade is the ingredients required by the recipes. You will either need a specialty store, or else a truly excellent supermarket before you attempt these dishes. How many of you have roasted rice powder, galanga root, kaffir lime leaves, tamarind juice and roasted grated coconut in your pantries?

Attempts at shortcutting on ingredients or preparation account for the second-rate dishes that I have been eating. If you want that magical taste, you have to be prepared to work for it! "Thai Cooking Made Easy" is a great guide and a solid cookbook, but don't expect to be whipping up authentic Yum Pla Muk or Tom Som Pla in the same way you would dash off a grilled cheese sandwich.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recipes That Work, July 15, 2005

By	Donald Egger (Portland, Oregon. USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have only made 3 of the recipes from this cookbook, but those i made came out absolutely perfect. The "Thai sweet and Sour shrimp" recipe was the best sweet and sour dish I've ever tasted. I've already made this one a couple of times with other meats. The Fragrant Beef Panang Curry" was delicious. It was the first time I could get this dish to come out as good or better than in a restaurant. There isn't many recipes in this cookbook, but many of the classic Thai recipes can be found here. The author only gives the Thai names for some of the recipes, so if you have a favorite Thai dish and only know it's Thai name you may be out of luck. On the plus side every recipe has a good full page color photo, so you can shop for a dish by browsing through the recipes. The author does give a short introduction to Thai ingredients, but it is incomplete compared to other Thai cookbooks such as "Thai Home-Cooking from Kamolmal's Kitchen".

Don Egger