Cooking with "Pok Pok" by Andy Ricker

[zend]

Of the books I have been reading lately - mainly on Asian cuisine - this is by far the friendliest to the impatient cook, and also has a great layout.

http://www.amazon.com/Pok-Stories-Roadside-Restaurants-Thailand/dp/1607742888

In addition to making for interesting reading, the recipes are well explained, with the added bonus of having a Flavor Profile for each of them, such that, should you miss any ingredient (which you will, if you live outside Thailand), you can at least have an idea of how the dish should end up tasting. Each recipe has a nice foodporn pic attached, and several recommendations as to what goes well with it (among the other recipes in the book, of course).

So far, I have cooked Neua Naam Tok (Isaan steak salad, p68), Plaa Neung Manao (Steamed whole fish with lime and chiles, p76) and Phat Phak Ruam Mit (Stir fried mixed vegetables, p98). All of them came out tasting very close to what I had in Thailand.

I will detail the recipes I have cooked over the coming period.