Phaidon’s Thailand The Cookbook is a trove of regionally specific Thai delicacies. With trusty tour guides in tow, author Jean-Pierre Gabriel treks all over the elephant-shaped region’s rain forests and rice paddies to bring back savory recipes bursting with peanuts, dried shrimp, bird’s eye chiles, grated coconut flesh, tamarind puree and palm sugar.
In his foreword, he explains that Thai cooks believe that the palate must experience the four main taste areas: spicy, sweet, sour and salty, all in one dish.
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