World Kitchen Thailand

World Kitchen

by Lulu Grimes

Explores the influences of geography, climate, culture and tradition that have shaped some of the world's most popular cuisines. This title takes the reader into the behind-the-scenes world of growers, artisans and chefs, revealing how their passion for their work helps maintain and re-interpret the traditions and flavours of a nation's cuisine.

Genres: Cookbooks

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Lulu Grimes is currently the managing editor at BBC Good Food. She has wide experience in magazine editorial (olive magazine, Food and Travel and Sainsbury's Magazine), worked as a food editor for Murdoch books in Sydney where she researched and worked on a series of internationally published food and travel books covering China, India, Thailand, Italy and France. She has also written for The Sydney Morning Herald, has taught a course on Food Writing at City University and then at Leith's School of Food and Wine and has published a number of cookbooks. Find Lulu on Instagram @lulugrimes.

Reviews

[Noah Oanh]

I just finished cooking my way through the entire book, and what a journey it’s been! One thing that makes this book even more trustworthy is that the author, Lulu Grimes, is the managing editor at BBC Good Food. And if you know me and my tiramisu, you know that BBC Good Food is always my go-to!

The book is a gem—it’s not just a collection of recipes; it’s an education in balancing those classic Thai flavors: sweet, salty, sour, and spicy. Being Vietnamese myself, I think Thai food is just as good as Viet food, and it has been my savior whenever I couldn't find a good Vietnamese restaurant in town. The instructions are super approachable, making even the more complex recipes feel totally doable. My favorites were the chicken and papaya salad; I’m not really a curry person, but their curry recipes were really great, and their Chiang Mai noodles were lovely.

In terms of sweets, their sticky rice with mango was divine. The banana in coconut cream reminded me of Vietnamese chè, so if I miss sweet soup, I know what to do now! Deep-fried bananas are a classic Thai street food that I love so much.

Cooking Thai food alongside Mexican recipes is an amazing experience—I’ve been taking turns trying new recipes from each cuisine. I found that both countries are very different, of course, but also similar in how they love their sweet and spicy food. The use of coconut in Thailand is quite special, too. As someone who didn't fancy coconut in savory food, I have completely changed my mind. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to try Thai food!