Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Chronicle Books (March 1, 1997)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0811811514
ISBN-13: 978-0811811514
Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 0.8 x 9.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #295,620 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #42 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Asian Cooking > Thai #461 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Special Diet > Vegetarian & Vegan > Non-Vegan Vegetarian #3393 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International
Vegetarians have long bewailed the difficulty of making Thai food: almost every ready-made Thai curry paste available contains shrimp or worse. Now it is possible to concoct your own! McDermott has created an Eastern cookbook with a Western eye, taking the mystery out of this delicious cuisine. Recipes are categorised along familiar lines, exotic ingredients are explained in a glossary and sources listed, unusual techniques (from opening a coconut to roasting chillis) are fully explained. This cookbook is very helpful indeed: there's even a bibliography and a list of menu suggestions, you can alter the amount of heat in a dish to taste (I'm a wimp about chillis and am doing fine), and she is not too snobbish to suggest replacements, such as ginger if galanga is unavailable. The lay-out is clear and easy to follow, and there are several interesting anecdotes about McDermott's travels in Thailand and the traditional Thai way of life.The recipes are imaginative, healthy, straightforward to make, and they work beautifully. Many of them are vegan, and adaptations are usually suggested for those which are not. A "Basic Recipes" section gives recipes for essentials such as the different curry pastes, roasted chilli paste, vegetable stock, and "mushroom mince" (which she has invented to replace minced meat in traditional recipes).Some examples of recipes included are:Crispy spring rolls with sweet and hot garlic sauceGreen papaya saladJasmine rice soup with mushrooms, green onions and crispy garlicRed curry with eggplant and sweet peppersButternut squash in fresh green curryFirecracker broccoliCoconut ice creamThai iced teaTo my surprise, Thai cookery turned out not just to be possible for vegetarians and vegans (an astonishing number of recipes are here, and meat-eaters will certainly not feel deprived), but the ingredients are easy to find, the recipes easy to make, and the results are dazzling.
This book has so many great recepies for just about any palate. Sometimes the recepies can look a little daunting and complicated, but it assumes you're using all fresh ingredients, which you don't always have to. After all, cumin powder is in my opinion just as good as fresh cumin seeds. Or more available anyway. Basically, once you take the time to create a few of the "staple" ingredients in this book (red and green curry paste are essential), you can make just about anything in here quickly and cheaply. And it's GOOD! I'm never going to forget the look on my friends' faces when I came out with an eggplant curry that I'd made from this book. Everyone was amazed. So if you want to do something different, and you're a bit creative, this book is for you.
This is a great cookbook -- I love eating Thai food in restaurants, but it's hard to feel comfortable as a vegetarian, since I know there's often still fish sauce in foods marked 'vegetarian'. Everything I've tried from this cookbook tastes wonderful and authentic. As others have said, it's not for quick meals, especially since many recipes require home-made curry paste.In response to the reviewer who wondered if this cookbook was on the short side because of its vegetarianism -- removing fish paste/fish sauce from Thai food is non-trivial, since it's in almost everything. In some dishes, it mainly adds salt, and soy sauce can (and is) a usual substitute. Others, I'd imagine, just don't taste right without it. That said, I'd love it if this cookbook were longer, since what it includes is wonderful.If you're not vegetarian, the same author has a non-veggie thai cookbook as well. (According to the specs, it's a few pages shorter, but I haven't looked at it.)
I own several Thai cookbooks, but this one is my favorite hands down. Like any Thai cookbook, the recipes require some advance preparation to make the sauces and curry pastes, but once you set aside a few hours to prepare the basic recipes the meals are quick, easy, and delicious. The author's love of Thai food really comes through. I whole heartedly recommend it.
This is a GREAT cookbook. I've just recently turned vegetarian and was worried that in doing so I wouldn't be able to enjoy thai food anymore but his cookbook makes it easy! The recipes are VERY authentic and oh so tasty! I made the satay with grilled vegetables (marinated) with a sweet/sour cucumber salad last night and let me just say YUM! I'm very pleased and glad I have this cookbook in my collection
This is a nice cookbook. All the recipes that I have tried have turned out exactly as I expected (not common for all cookbooks offered for sale). It is very handy that the author gives recipes for 4 different types of curry paste. I also appreciate the glossary of Thai terms.The Fried Cashews with Chilies and Green Onions is a particularly good recipe.If you like Thai food this is a nice cookbook to have in your library. Also, if you like spicy food or Chinese food, I suggest that you give this book a try.
To date, all of the reviews here grant four or five stars to this book - and I am no exception. This little red book contains the most delicious selection of vegetarian Thai recipes that I have encountered in my 15 years of cooking vegetarian meals. Not only are the recipes quite easy in preparation, but they also are based on easily available ingredients and are very quick to make. The outcome is almost always exceptional - both in taste and presentation. I can wholeheartedly recommend this book as a valuable addition to anyone's collection of cookbooks. As you can see from the other reviews, I am not alone. So, what are you waiting for? It's rare to find such a unanimously positive opinion about anything.
THAI FOOD - VEGAN THAI RECIPES: VEGAN THAI RECIPES FOR THE SLOW COOKER - FRESH THAI FOOD VEGAN RECIPES FOR THE SLOW COOKER (VEGAN THAI SLOW COOKER - THAI FOOD VEGAN RECIPES Book 1) Vegetarian: High Protein Vegetarian Diet-Low Carb & Low Fat Recipes On A Budget( Crockpot,Slowcooker,Cast Iron) (Vegetarian,Vegetarian Cookbook,Vegetarian ... low carb,Vegetarian low fat) RECIPES:THAI FOOD: VEGE-THAI-RIAN: MOUTHWATERING THAI VEGETARIAN RECIPES (Vegan, Vegetarian Quick Easy Reference): Child Approved Simple Recipes, Fusion ... Special Diet Special Occasions) Vegetarian: Vegetarian Diet For Beginners: 100 Delicious Recipes And 8 Weeks Of Diet Plans (Vegetarian Diet, Vegetarian Diet For Beginners, Vegetarian ... Cookbook, Vegan, Clean Eating, Raw Diet) Thai Cooking: Easy Thai Recipes for Beginners - Simple Asian Recipes for Starters (Thai Food for Dummies - Simple Thai Dishes at Home Book 1) VIETNAMESE VEGETARIAN FOOD - OUR FAMILY VEGETARIAN RECIPES: VEGETARIAN FOOD RECIPES FROM OUR VIETNAMESE HOME - VEGETARIAN FOOD RECIPES VEGAN RECIPES ASIAN ... RECIPES ASIAN VEGAN SERIES Book 1) Vegetarian: 4-Week Vegetarian Nutrition Cookbook for Everyday Lifestyle - 39 Quick & Easy Vegetarian Meal Plans for Beginners (Healthy Low Carb Vegetarian Recipes for Diet and Lifestyle) Simply Vegetarian Thai Cooking: 125 Real Thai Recipes The Ultimate Thai Cookbook: Thai Cuisine Made Easy (Thai Cooking Recipes) Thai Food: Top 50 Most Delicious Thai Recipes [A Thai Cookbook] (Recipe Top 50s Book 130) Traditional Thai Cookbook - 27 Quick and Easy Thai food Recipes: Learn Thai Cooking to Cook Like an Expert Thai Cooking: Cook Easy And Healthy Thai Food At Home With Mouth Watering Thai Recipes Cookbook The Thai Slow Cooker Cookbook: Homemade Thai Cooking with Easy Thai Food Recipes Modern Thai Food: 100 Fabulous Thai Recipes for Contemporary Cooks [Thai Cookbook, 132 Recipes] Vegetarian Quick & Easy - Under 15 Minutes: (100 Simple Natural Food Recipes) (Weight Maintenance & Low Fat Lifestyle) (Vegetarian Weight Loss) (Special ... & Vegetarian Recipes Collection Book 2) Vegetarian: The Beginners Guide to a Vegetarian Lifestyle© with The Top 170+ Healthy Recipes (Includes 8 FULL Weeks FULL Month Meal Plan, Vegetarian Diet Weight Loss Cookbook) Vegetarian: 50 The Best Vegetarian Slow Cooker Recipes-Great, Healthy, Delicious Place To Start With Vegetarian Slow Cooker Real Vegetarian Thai Real Estate: Learn to Succeed the First Time: Real Estate Basics, Home Buying, Real Estate Investment & House Flipping (Real Estate income, investing, Rental Property) Hot Thai Kitchen: Demystifying Thai Cuisine with Authentic Recipes to Make at Home