Real Thai Cooking: Recipes and Stories from a Thai Food Expert

＂I felt like the luckiest person on earth when I not only met Chawadee, but had her as my personal food navigator through Bangkok. We walked, boated, and ate our way through some of the best food I’ve ever had, all thanks to Chawadee, her warmth and expertise. And now you get to have the next best thing: her fantastic book. Enjoy every delicious bite.＂ --Phil Rosenthal (＂Somebody Feed Phil＂)

Learn the secrets of Thai cooking that only local foodies know about!

Real Thai Cooking is a labor of love by Thailand’s leading food blogger and street food expert, Chawadee ＂Chow＂ Nualkhair and Lauren Lulu Taylor who did the recipe testing and editing and provided many of the photographs. Her book presents the full range of iconic Thai recipes together with fascinating back stories that enable you to truly appreciate what you are cooking and eating!

This book presents insider recipes and secrets about Thai food that only local foodies know about:

• Chef Black’s famous Sriracha Sauce recipe (from Blackitch Artisan Kitchen) and the story of how this hot sauce was invented (most people think it is Vietnamese, but it is really 100% Thai!)
• The world’s best Pad Thai and how this dish has come to define Thailand’s national identity
• Minced Chicken Kanom Jeen and the Portuguese Influence on Thai Food
• Mee Krob (Fried Rice Noodles)--the dish that saved Siam from colonization
• And many more delicious recipes and nuggets of Thai food lore!

Chawadee Chow Nualkhair was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and is now married with two kids and lives in Bangkok. She is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College who works as a freelance journalist, mostly writing about food, and the author of the popular Bangkok Glutton blog and the bestselling guide to Thai street food: Thailand’s Best Street Food: The Complete Guide to Streetside Dining in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Other Areas.

Lauren Lulu Taylor is an American photographer and foodpreneur based in Auckland New Zealand. She has lived in the United States, France, London and Italy and in each place became totally immersed in the local culinary scene. She is co-founder of the award-winning artisanal food company Secret Kiwi Kitchen and co-writer of the monthly Foodie Finds review column for Auckland’s Channel Magazine. Beyond her great love of food, Lauren is a professional photographer whose photos have appeared in numerous international publications.

Chef McDang is one of Thailand’s most well-known chefs, having written a host of Thailand language cookbooks, an English-language cookbook (The Principles of Thai Cookery), and weekly food columns in both English- and Thai-language newspapers. He is also the host of the widely-watched McDang Show on Thai television and has made appearances with Gordon Ramsay and Anthony Bourdain. Although best known as Chef McDang, his real name is M.L. Sirichalerm Svasti, the son of M.R. Thanadsri Svasti (Thailand’s most well-known food writer) and a member of the royal family.