Kalaya's Southern Thai Kitchen: A Cookbook

Amazing book from one of the best Thai restaurants. Recipes are not too difficult and it’s very informative. Beware buying on Amazon as both copies I received were damaged and a bit dirty and neither were packed with any type of protection - just thrown in a box. Very sad but I kept the less damaged option and returned the other. (5 stars for the book, 1 star for lack of care from the carrier)

If God decided to cook Thai food, this is the book he would use. Chef Nok takes the complex, deep nature of Southern Thai food and unwraps it beautifully with easy to follow instructions. She takes time to provide the base level knowledge needed to approach her food and carefully walks through each recipe. You’ll learn how to cook her incredible food, her amazing journey, her home, and so much more. The pictures are stunning - your food will be too!

Flavorful colorful and easy to follow. This book makes Thai accessible and the photos are so beautifully framed to share Chef Nok’s story. A great gift for the foodie friend in your life!

In Kalaya's Southern Thai Kitchen, Nok Suntaranon brings us recipes from a combination of Trang, her hometown in Southern Thailand; her family; and her eponymous James Beard award-winning Philadelphia restaurant, Kalaya. Reading the introduction in this cookbook is inspiring and gives a glimpse into how hardships become triumphs and how immigrants help American cities thrive if given the chance. I appreciate Nok's dedication to preserving Southern Thai cuisine influenced by Malay, Chinese, and Indian with spicier, coconut-rich elements. Combining her memory of foods and her experiences, while helping readers along the way, Nok will not lead you, your adventurous spirit, or your taste buds astray. She won't cater to farang (anyone who isn't Thai) palates either. Trust your guide while simultaneously understanding this is a restaurant cookbook. She coaxes reluctant people from their comfort zones and encourages them to try something adjacent to familiar. It's a skill to get people to stretch themselves. Her confidence is admirable, as are the recipes and their results. We can all be so grateful that Nok shares her culture and knowledge. The key is sourcing fresh, authentic ingredients and making underlying recipes that build the flavors. The meals are nuanced with layers of flavor and, as Nok says, "not Westernized by watery flavors or overly sweetened". You will need to find an Asian specialty grocery to locate most ingredients, but fret not; it's worth the effort. If you tap into that resourcefulness, you can find pandan leaves (green coconut rice) in the freezer section. Many recipes at the front of the book will enable you to build your Thai pantry with various condiments, spices, and curry mixes. They are referential, so it is more or less essential that you make many of these recipes to have successful results with subsequent recipes in the book. There are no shortcuts to quality. You most certainly can purchase store-bought elements instead of making your own, but for the sake of authenticity and the integrity of the book and its recipes, I wanted to make things myself as Nok does. They aren't very complicated to make either. The recipes I have made thus far include:Kalaya's House Curry PasteNam Jim Seafood SauceYum Nua (Steak Salad with Toasted Rice Powder)Gaeng Gai Khao Mun (Southern-style chicken curry)Green Coconut RiceKhao Niew Dum (Longan Black Rice Pudding)The results have been outstanding. I was happy to share them with neighbors and friends for comforting meals. Many pack some heat, but this is not Americanized Thai food. Once the basic elements are prepared, it's easy to mix and match them to use in subsequent dishes.That leads me to one of the issues with this cookbook, which isn't particularly unique, but it would be remiss not to address it. Whenever I have a new cookbook (which is often), I try to look at things as a beginner. Perhaps that's presumptive, as this is a restaurant cookbook, but it aims to teach readers authentic nuances of this cuisine. If making an array of condiments, referential recipes, and spice mixes, it would be nice to see other areas where I can use them at a glance rather than flipping through the entire book and trying to find where they pop up again. The user-friendly option would include a chart, listing, or index to denote which recipes use each element. Instead, readers must look through the entire book for each component or accompaniment. That feels unnecessary. Examples would be the Nam Jim (Seafood sauce) on (page 34) and Kalaya's House Curry Paste (page 54), as both are reoccurring throughout the book. For clarity, the Nam Jim (Seafood sauce) is used in a variety of recipes or for serving, including:Khao Mok Ghai (Morning market chicken biryani)Yum Woon Sen Yalay/Moo Saap (Glass noodle salad with shrimp, pork & squid)Yum Nua (Steak salad with toasted rice powder)Goong Chae Nam Pla (Raw white prawns with crunchy vegetables & spicy sauce)Nua Yaang (Grilled beef with Thai chili dipping sauce)Pla Nung Manow (Steamed branzino in spicy broth)Goong Ob Woonsen (My mother's acclaimed baked shrimp with glass noodles)Hoi Mang Phu ob Samun Prai (baked mussels with herbs)The Kalaya's House Curry Paste (page 54) is in the following recipes:Kanom Jeen (Rice noodles with coconut fish curry)Khao Yum Kamin (Southern Thai turmeric rice salad)Gaeng Gai Khao Mun (Southern-style chicken curry)Gaeng Pu (Southern-style crab curry)Nok's Chicken Massaman Curry (Gaeng Massaman)Hor Mok Moo (Steamed pork & crabmeat curry)Chuchee Hoi Shell (dinner party seared scallops & crabmeat in yellow curry sauce)When cross-referenced, it's more approachable and helps home cooks to use excess components. It also inspires me to sort out which recipes overlap so I can make those, too. Please don't be daunted by the referential recipes if you are after restaurant-quality results, but you might want to print out a little chart so you can cross-reference where to use them. It's good to know other applications for the recipes so they don't languish in the back of your refrigerator or pantry. Another problem I have is if the photos don't match the recipe, it can confuse readers or ambitious first-time cooks. The Yum Nua (steak salad with toasted rice powder) pictured on page 93 with Thai eggplant, though it's not listed as an ingredient or mentioned anywhere. It is optional and will not significantly impact the dish for better or for worse, but why include it in the photo and finished dish if it's not written or mentioned in the recipe?These gripes aren't unique to this cookbook, though they appear here. Regardless, they should not overshadow the beauty of the book, the recipes, or the painstaking task of compiling generations of knowledge. I have lived abroad and tried to recreate recipes without the same products or ingredients available. It's no easy feat to recreate flavors and dishes thousands of miles away, but Nok does just that. I have been to Southern Thailand and sampled similar foods to those in this cookbook and they are spot on. If you are dedicated to making flavorful meals with Southern Thai flavors, this is an excellent addition to any cook's shelf. First-time Thai cooks may find some of these recipes challenging, but complete the journey with Nok by your side, and you will also find success. Clarkson Potter provided me with a free copy of this book; the opinions and photos are my own.

Well written and photographed book. A really great variety of Thai dishes. I made both the panang gai and the gaeng pajari, and both were super flavorful and came out great.Clarkson Potter provided me with a free copy of this book; the opinions are my own.

I am truly speechless. This cookbook is incredible, the photos ??? TO DIE FOR. The best book to gift yourself and to gift a friend. So excited to give it to all my friends!!!!!

Beautiful cookbook with a sense of travel and discovery, a great addition to the kitchen for anyone who loves cooking and inspiration.

An amazing journey with Nok and her family! Beautiful recipes and photos! Love this amazing compilation!