I’ve been excitedly looking forward to Cooking Thai by Pim Techamuanvivit with Andrea Nguyen ever since I read about it some months ago now. I have had the great good fortune of eating Techamuanvivit’s exquisite food at the Michelin-starred Kin Khao in San Francisco (though I feel I should add that all three of her restaurants have been awarded Michelin stars) and still dream of the lyrically beautiful jams she used to make. I can quite see why her starter-business had to give way to chefdom, but nevertheless I mourn its demise. And I’m a huge fan, too, of Andrea Nguyen, one of the finest recipe-writers around, and the author of the urgently recommended Substack, Pass the Fish Sauce. In short, I knew I’d be in safe hands and, more, that something truly special was in store.
This book is an essential companion and primer for anyone wanting to cook Thai food, but it’s so much more than that, too: a combination of cookbook and memoir, ‘Cooking Thai’ is infused with a rare sensibility and such heart; it bestows confidence as well as imparting technical know-how. And please don’t let mention of Michelin stars lead you to think the recipes will be cheffy and out-of-reach. Despite the accolades, the food in these pages comes from the very soul of a home cook. There’s so much in this book that it’s hard for any shortlist of recipes to show the range of it, but I’ll do my best. After an indispensable guide to ingredients, I fell upon the Beef Tartare Lamb; the Curried Fish Cakes; Baked Chicken Curry Puff; Grilled Shrimp and Lychee Salad; Charred Chilli Pepper Relish; Quickie Roast Duck Red Curry; Massaman Curry with Roasted Sweet Potatoes; Southern Thai Crab Curry; Apothecary Chicken Soup; Caramelised Pork Belly; Charred Cabbage in Caramelised Fish Sauce; Chilli Jam Clams; Crispy Garlic Fried Riblets; Microwave Sticky Rice; Northern Thai Chicken Curry Soup Noodles; and Pandan Madeleines. I don’t know about you but I’m unbearably hungry now! Luckily, we can do something about that, as I am delighted to be sharing with you today Pim's wittily introduced take on a Thai Classic, meat stir-fried with fragrant Holy Basil: her Bougie Pad Gaprao.
Reprinted with permission from Cooking Thai by Pim Techamuanvivit with Andrea Nguyen, copyright © 2026. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.
Photographs copyright © 2026 by Ed Anderson.
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