Try a Taste of Thai

I have recently donned my "cooking hands" and dabbled with Thai cooking. I am a great fan of dumplings and chicken satay and was pleased when I received a bamboo steamer for my birthday! Wanting to broaden my horizons, I decided to check out the Thai cookbooks in the library. I enjoyed looking at the Complete Thai Cooking book by Hamlyn so much that I went ahead and purchased a used copy for myself. This book has beautiful full-color illustrations of 90% of the dishes listed in the book---the few pictures that aren't included are mainly of sauces or stocks. The book opens with a nice history of Thai cooking and a description of the equipment needed to make traditional Thai food. Also included is a glossary of "Cook's Terms" that defines many of the ingredients used by Thai chefs. Most of the recipes are on the left page of the book with a picture of the finished item facing it on the right page, and include the number of servings, the preparation time and the cooking time for the recipe. I can't pick out my favorite recipe, but I have decided to try the "Khun Tom's Pumpkin Soup" and the "Mushroom and Snow Pea Stir-fry" as soon as my cookbook is delivered. I really enjoyed exploring the dessert section of this cookbook---the coconut cream custard served in bowls made from banana leaves looks especially wonderful. If this book has made your taste buds salivate, try also Classic Thai Cuisine by David Thompson or The Food of Thailand by Sven Krauss.