Pok Pok: Food and Stories from the Streets, Homes, and Roadside Restaurants of Thailand

A manual for intense, credible Thai cooking from Andy Ricker, the culinary specialist and proprietor of the fiercely well known and broadly commended Pok eateries.

After decades spent going all through Thailand, Andy Ricker needed to bring the nation's popular road food stateside. In 2005 he opened Pok, so named for the sound a pestle makes when it strikes a dirt mortar, in an old shack in a private neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. Ricker's conventional interpretation of Thai food before long drew the notification of the New York Times and Gourmet magazine, building up him as a culinary star. Presently, with his first cookbook, Ricker handles head-on the fantasies that shield individuals from making Thai food at home: that it's excessively zesty for the American sense of taste or too hard to even consider sourcing fixings.

Ricker shares more than fifty of the most famous plans from Thailand and his Pok eateries—running from Khao Soi Kai (Northern Thai curry noodle soup with chicken) to Som Tam Thai (Central Thai–style papaya serving of mixed greens) to Pok's presently great (and fixated on) Fish-Sauce Wings. Be that as it may, Pok is something beyond an assortment of most loved plans: it is additionally an ace course in Thai cooking from one of the most energetic and learned experts regarding the matter. Obviously composed, flawlessly tried plans show you how to source fixings; ace essential Thai cooking methods and aptitudes; comprehend flavor profiles that are novel to Southeast Asian food; and consolidate different dishes to make show-halting, even suppers for loved ones.

Loaded up with insightful, bright articles about Ricker's movements and encounters, Pok isn't just a complete asset for home cooks, yet in addition a festival of the rich history, energetic culture, and unmatched delectability of Thai food.

About the Author
ANDY RICKER is a two time James Beard Award winning chef and owner of Pok Pok Restaurant in Portland, Oregon and several other establishments in Portland and New York, such as Whiskey Soda Lounge, Pok Pok Wing, Pok Pok Noi, Michelin Starred Pok Pok Ny, charcoal company Thaan and a drinking vinegar company called Pok Pok Som. He first visited Thailand as a backpacker in 1987. Since 1993, he has spent several months each year traveling, eating, cooking, and studying the food culture in Thailand. Andy currently splits his time between Portland, New York and Chiang Mai.

This book will take you on an ingredient hunting adventure, but oh my gosh, is it ever worth it! The flavors are to die for! We’re tasting things I’d never seen before in our local Thai restaurants. Nothing’s overly difficult. Wish I’d played in this book sooner. Totally recommend! --Jennifer G.

This is the best cookbook I own. It doesn't get any better. The recipes are so precise that it's impossible to screw them up, and everything I've made so far has been authentic tasting and DELICIOUS. I bought this immediately after returning from a vacation in Thailand because I wanted to make northern Thai dishes like khao soi that weren't featured in the Thai cookbook that I already owned. I took a couple of cooking classes while in Thailand, so I was already familiar with some of the ingredients and preparation techniques, so I don't find anything difficult about the recipes, but then again, most of them are pretty simple anyway. The only difficult part is finding the right ingredients, but if you don't have asian markets in your area, the book includes a list of websites where you can buy them. Another important aspect of this book is that it lists recipe ingredients by weight, and not by quantity or volume. A lot of ingredients in Thailand are very different than they are here. For example, garlic cloves and shallots in Thailand are about half the size that they are here, so its crucial that they are listed by weight in the recipes. --K. Grimey