At the beginning of January, we started a new feature that has been a lot of fun. It is called “Cookbook Cookery”.

What is Cookbook Cookery?

• Every month, I choose a new cookbook to focus on over the next 4 weeks
• Each Tuesday, I cook one or more recipes from the chosen cookbook while streaming LIVE
• I do not test the recipes prior to streaming. They are all new to me and I do this so that we can test the ease of the recipe
• At the end of the 4 weeks, I decide whether I would recommend the cookbook

I decided to focus 4 weeks on one cookbook because I think it takes more than one recipe to decide if a cookbook is worth having on the bookshelf.

I still love having actual cookbooks on the shelf – as opposed to digital copies. Thumbing through them is my favourite way to decide what to make. But, cookbooks can be quite expensive. Cookbook Cookery allows me and my followers to dive deeper into each cookbook and then decide if it is worth purchasing.

March’s Focus Cookbook

This month’s book is Pailin Chongchitnant’s Hot Thai Kitchen. I chose this book for a few reasons:

• I am a complete Thai cooking noob, and wanted to test out the books tagline: “Demystifying Thai Cuisine with Authentic Recipes to Make at Home”.
• When flipping through it I noticed the QR codes that were links to videos showing the recipes.
• The images were big and beautiful.

Here is What We Made

1. Stir Fried Rice Noodles with Soy Sauce & Chinese Broccoli
2. Dipping Sauce for Chicken & Fried Foods
3. Pork Satay with Peanut Sauce
4. Fried Egg Salad
5. Fried Bananas
6. Mangos with Sticky Rice
7. 5 Spice Vegetable Stew
8. Pickled Chilies Condiment
9. Chicken Fried Rice
10. Crispy Spring Rolls

My Thoughts

This book actually did something I didn’t think it would: it made me comfortable cooking Thai food. I really did not think that would happen.

I think the main thing that pushed me forward was Pailin’s comforting tone and assurance that making substitutions was perfectly ok. She explained the purpose of each ingredient and allowed me to experiment and explore the flavours and textures.

That is a very big thing for me. So many books include declaratives about being authentic and never deviating from what is deemed acceptable. She even delves into the whole subject of authenticity when cooking. After I felt myself exhale, I knew I was ready to dive into this wonderful book.

Highlights

The things that made this cookbook stand out for me:

• Having links to the videos is fantastic. Being able to go and view them is such a great confidence booster.
• Pailin does an awesome job explaining the elements of Thai cooking in the first half of the book. She even addresses the whole “chopsticks or no chopsticks” confusion. Now I know.
• She spends a bit of time on the ingredients fundamental to Thai cooking. I really like the fact that she explains how to buy and freeze hard to find ingredients.
• The images are beautiful.
• The added notes with each recipe remind me of how the recipe can be altered. This reminder is a wonderful push to explore further.

The only thing I would want from this book is more recipes.

My Favourites

The whole experience was so fun, but my favourites were:

• Stir Fried Rice Noodles with Soy Sauce & Chinese Broccoli (Homemade Rice Noodle)
• Crispy Spring Rolls
• Pork Satay with Peanut Sauce
• Chicken Fried Rice
• Mangos with Sticky Rice

The Verdict