Vatch's Thai cookbook : 150 recipes with guide to essential ingredients

This book is a journey through the main regions of Thailand, in search of the sauces, herbs and spices which make up the rich taste of Thai cuisine.

The book gives information on recognizing, choosing, preparing and preserving the 39 essential ingredients that lie at the heart of Thai cooking.

From lemon grass to pickled garlic, each ingredient has its own section, with easy-to-follow recipes that highlight its particular flavour.The book's 130 recipes intersperse these ingredients sections, with dishes such as hot and sour soup with prawns and lemon, fried fish with crispy garlic, stuffed hot peppers and steamed mushroom curry with sweet basil.Each chapter begins with an introduction to a different part of the country associated with the particular ingredients that follow, including some of the lesser known parts of Thailand; the North East, the South and the Gulf Islands.

The text is accompanied by colour photographs of the locations visited, the individual ingredients and the finished dishes.