The 33 Best Thai Cookbooks [An Enormous Round-up]

Sick of sourdough and maxed out on spicy Thai banana chips? As those of us in the Northern Hemisphere realise we’re about to spend many (many, many) more months indoors, my plan is to cook Thai food pretty much non-stop. Currently, my skills are strictly beginner … but watch this space. Sound good?

Below, find thirty-three superb Thai cookbooks for all skill levels, including four German-language books, plus niche options for noodle-lovers, lazy but greedy people and, fine, vegetarians, too. Why not try your hand at a homemade Thai curry? Enjoy!

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General Thai cookbooks

1. Maenam: A Fresh Approach to Thai Cooking

Maenam: A Fresh Approach to Thai Cooking

Brand new! Just published last August. “More than 100 flavour-driven Thai recipes built on technique, balance, tradition, and innovation from award-winning chef Angus An.” Available in hardback and for Kindle. I bought this cookbook myself and liked it so much I bought another copy for friends. Prepare to amaze yourself – but stock up on fish sauce. And coconut milk. And hungry relatives.

2. Thailand: The Cookbook

Thailand: The Cookbook

“The definitive guide to Thai cuisine, with 500 authentic recipes from every region brought together in one comprehensive and beautifully produced volume.” Available in hardback.

3. Pok Pok

Pok Pok: Food and Stories from the Streets, Homes, and Roadside Restaurants of Thailand [a Cookbook]

“A guide to bold, authentic Thai cooking from Andy Ricker, the chef and owner of the wildly popular and widely lauded Pok Pok restaurants.” Available in hardback and for Kindle.

4. Rosa’s Thai Cafe

Rosa’s Thai Cafe

“Rosa’s Thai Cafe. Born in the East. Raised in the East End. In keeping with its contemporary twist on authentic Thai cuisine (sometimes based on western ingredients), Rosa’s Thai Cafe celebrates traditional Thai cooking techniques and features over 100 recipes, including dishes from the menu at Rosa’s as well as family favourites and regional dishes”. Available in hardback and for Kindle.

5. Simple Thai Food

Simple Thai Food: Classic Recipes from the Thai Home Kitchen

“Thai takeout meets authentic, regional flavours in this collection of 100 recipes for easy, economical, and accessible Thai classics—from the rising star behind the blog She Simmers.” Available in hardback and for Kindle.

6. Quick & Easy Thai

Quick & Easy Thai

Weeknight Thai food, here you come. “100 authentic Thai recipes that can be prepared simply in thirty minutes or fewer by home cooks of all levels”. Available in hardback.

7. Night + Market

Night + Market: Delicious Thai Food to Facilitate Drinking and Fun-having Amongst Friends a Cookbook

“If you love to eat Thai food, but don’t know how to cook it, Kris Yenbamroong wants to solve your problems. His brash style of spicy, sharp Thai party food is created, in part, by stripping down traditional recipes to wring maximum flavor out of minimum hassle. Whether it’s a scorching hot crispy rice salad, lush coconut curries, or a wok-seared pad Thai, it’s all about demystifying the universe of Thai flavors to make them work in your life.” Available in hardback and for Kindle.

8. Baan: Recipes and Stories from My Thai Home

Baan: Recipes and Stories from My Thai Home

“Born and raised in Bangkok, [author] Kay spoke Thai before she spoke English and has spent more than half her life in Thailand. Baan–meaning the hearth, the home, the community, the place where you come from–is a true homage to her childhood, to the delicious recipes that she was raised on, and a cuisine and country that she loves.” Available in hardback and for Kindle.

9. The Better than Takeout Thai Cookbook

The Better than Takeout Thai Cookbook: Favorite Thai Food Recipes Made at Home

“Create the exciting flavors of your favorite Thai meals in your own kitchen―no delivery necessary. The Better-than-Takeout Thai Cookbook reveals the secrets to making iconic dishes and introduces a menu of new options to discover.” Available in paperback and for Kindle.

10. The Principles of Thai Cookery

The Principles of Thai Cookery by Chef Mcdang

“[A] beautifully presented encyclopedia of Thai cuisine. Informative, instructional and inspiring, McDang’s warm narrative takes the reader on an extensive journey through the history, culture and style of Thai food that starts with background on eating habits, regional differences and foreign influences.” Available in hardback.

11. It Rains Fishes

It Rains Fishes: Legends, Traditions and the Joys of Thai Cooking

While this book was published in 1995, the reviews are so glowing it merits inclusion. Such as? “Actually the best book on cooking I’ve read, Period. This isn’t a “cookbook” where you just get a collection of recipes, this is a comprehensive textbook on the theories and history of Thai flavors and cooking.” Available in paperback with secondhand copies also available.

12. Classic Thai Cuisine

Classic Thai Cuisine

From the godfather of Thai cooking, David Thompson. “Contains 100 recipes for such Thai dishes as clams with chilli jam, banana stewed in coconut milk, omelette soup, and larp of pork”. Available in paperback – many used copies are available on Amazon (as you might tell from its cover, the book is indeed a classic). If you then find that you adopt Thompson as your personal kitchen god, don’t miss his encyclopedic ‘Thai Food’. I – a truly terrible cook – can make fried rice I’ll gladly feed to other people thanks to this superb book.

Bangkok-style cookbooks

13. Busaba Bangkok Thai

Bangkok Thai: The Busaba Cookbook

“Bangkok Thai: The Busaba Cookbook takes everything the restaurants legions of fans love about Thai cookery and makes it available to the amateur chef. The book offers 100 recipes ranging from salads and soups to stir-fries, wok noodles, curries and chargrills, as well as Asian-inspired cocktails and desserts.” Available in hardback.

14. Bangkok

Bangkok: Recipes and Stories from the Heart of Thailand [a Cookbook]

“From one of the most respected authorities on Thai cooking comes this beautiful and deeply personal ode to Bangkok, the top-ranked travel destination in the world.” Available in hardback and for Kindle.

15. Bangkok Local

Bangkok Local: Cult Recipes from the Streets That Make the City

“The very best recipes from the Thai city obsessed with food and brimming with vibrant flavors. This beautiful book features seventy recipes for dishes that define Bangkok, so you can capture the city’s magic in your own home.” Available in hardback.

16. Bangkok in 12 Dishes

Bangkok in 12 Dishes: How to Eat like You Live There

“Bangkok In 12 Dishes is structured around iconic dishes you should try at least once while in town. Miang, ob woon sen, hoy tod, mango sticky rice and kao ha moo, for starters. But your food odyssey won’t stop with just the essential 12 eats. Our guide also dives deep into Bangkok’s myriad desserts and curries, guides you to the city s best food markets, IDs sensational tropical fruits, takes an overnighter to Ayutthaya, offers food survival hacks for Chatuchak Market, lists all the best bars and follows a food trail around the city’s scenic waterways.” Available in paperback and for Kindle.

Thai street food cookbooks (and snacks)

17. Thai Street Food

Thai Street Food: Authentic Recipes, Vibrant Traditions [a Cookbook]

We’re back in the supremely expert hands of David Thompson. Part cookbook, part coffee table book. “Thai Street Food transports readers straight into the bustling heart of Thailand’s colorful street stalls and markets–from the predawn rounds of monks fanning out along the aisles to the made-to-order stalls ablaze in neon and jammed with hungry locals after dark. Featuring nearly 100 authentic dishes plus lavish photography accompanying every recipe, this stunning cookbook is the definitive guide to Thailand’s culinary street culture.” Available in hardback and paperback.

18. Pok Pok: The Drinking Food of Thailand

Pok Pok: The Drinking Food of Thailand

“A cookbook featuring 50 recipes for Thai drinking food–an entire subset of Thai cooking that is largely unknown in the United States yet boasts some of most craveable dishes in the Thai canon, inspired by Andy Ricker’s decades in Thailand and his beloved restaurant, Whiskey Soda Lounge.” Available in hardback and for Kindle.

19. Sweet, Savory, Spicy

Sweet, Savory, Spicy: Exciting Street Market Food from Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and More

As with Lemongrass and Lime, mentioned above, this book includes a wide array of Southeast Asian food. “Explore the street food stalls, night markets and hawker centers of Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and more without ever leaving home thanks to chef and Masterchef Australia finalist Sarah Tiong’s satisfying Southeast Asian recipes.”Available in hardback and for Kindle.

Vegetarian Thai cookbooks

20. Rosa’s Thai Cafe (Vegetarian)

Rosa’s Thai Cafe: The Vegetarian Cookbook

“Finding strictly vegetarian food in Thailand can be tricky, where fish sauce is the king of the kitchen. This brilliant book adds a wealth of exciting new recipes to your vegetarian repertoire.” Available in hardback and for Kindle.

Northern Thai cookbooks

21. Kiin: Recipes and Stories from Northern Thailand

Kiin: Recipes and Stories from Northern Thailand

“Kiin, which means “eat” in Thai, transports readers to northern Thailand on a journey to discover the ingredients, markets, and culture that inform all of the recipes.” Available in hardback and for Kindle.

22. The Food of Northern Thailand

The Food of Northern Thailand: A Cookbook

A James Beard Award Finalist. “Travel province by province, village by village, and home by home to meet chefs, vendors, professors, and home cooks as they share their recipes for Muslim-style khao soi, a mild coconut beef curry with boiled and crispy fried noodles, or spiced fish steamed in banana leaves to an almost custard-like texture, or the intense, numbingly spiced meat “salads” called laap.” Available in hardback and for Kindle.

23. Hawker Fare

Hawker Fare: Stories & Recipes from a Refugee Chef’s Isan Thai & Lao Roots

“From chef James Syhabout of two–Michelin-star restaurant Commis, an Asian-American cookbook like no other—simple recipes for cooking home-style Thai and Lao dishes”. Available in hardback and for Kindle.

Noodles and soup Thai cookbooks

24. Pok Pok Noodles

Pok Pok Noodles: Recipes from Thailand and Beyond

“From chef and bestselling author Andy Ricker comes this definitive guide to the most delicious and time-honored noodle dishes of Thailand with recipes anyone can make at home.” Available in hardback and for Kindle.

25. The Thai Bowl of Soup Goodness

The Thai Bowl of Soup Goodness: The Most Mouthwatering Thai Soup Recipes for Soup Lovers

“From the world-famous Tom-Yom soup to Thai chicken noodle soup, Thai chicken soup with coconut milk, Thai curry soup, Thai coconut soup and more, you can be certain that you would be on your way to enjoying amazing mouthwatering Thai soups with this cookbook.” Available in paperback and for Kindle.

Specialty Thai cookbooks

26. Lemongrass and Lime

Lemongrass and Lime: Southeast Asian Cooking at Home

Available for pre-order with a late September publish date. “The flavors of Southeast Asia are the star in this collection of recipes from Leah Cohen, the Top Chef alum and restaurateur.” Recipes include dishes from Thailand as well as Vietnam, Myanmar, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Available in hardback and for Kindle.

27. My Thai Cookbook

My Thai Cookbook

“Featuring a range of recipes that explore this beloved cuisine’s four main groups of taste—hot, sweet, salty, sour—author Tom Kim shows how simple it is to prepare authentic Thai dishes in your kitchen.” Available in hardback.

28. Spice I Am

Spice I Am: Home Style Thai Recipes

“In this much-anticipated cookbook Sydney-based Thai chef Sujet Saenkham shares his family recipes for the fresh flavors of regional Thai cooking so you can enjoy authentic Thai food at home”. Available in paperback.

29. Tempting Thai Recipes

Tempting Thai Recipes: A Complete Cookbook of Spicy Asian Dish Ideas!

“30 recipes that will have you creating Thai dishes that are better than takeout!” Available in paperback and for Kindle.

German-language Thai cookbooks

30. Simply Thai (German)

Simply Thai: Das superschnelle Thai-Kochbuch (German)

“Ausgezeichnet mit dem Gourmand Cookbook Award als bestes asiatisches Kochbuch 2020. Thailändisch kochen – schnell, einfach, authentisch!”

31. Thai-Küche (German)

Thai-Küche: Pad Thai, Tom Yum & Co. (German)

“Thailand…Wer einmal dagewesen ist, dem wird das Land neben seinen paradiesischen Strände, der immer freundlichen Bevölkerung und des angenehmen Klimas vor Allem wegen seiner einmaligen Street-Food-Szene in Erinnerung bleiben…”

32. Kochen Wie in Thailand (German)

Kochen Wie in Thailand (German)

“Oft fehlt dieses Gefühl des Streetfood-Genusses in den Thai-Restaurants in Deutschland. Mit dem neuen Kochbuch von Meo Kross kann man jetzt in seiner eigenen Küche ganz authentisch thailändisch kochen – und das sogar als Einsteiger.”

33. Das Thai-Kochbuch

Das Thai-Kochbuch: Bilder Geschichten Rezepte (German)

“Vom Geruch nach gedämpftem Reis und geröstetem Chili in Regensburg, vom Limettensirup in Bangkok und der Oberpfälzer Großmutter erzählt Chainarong Topernpong in einem Essay, als säße man gemeinsam um einen großen Tisch. –Berliner Zeitung”

Favourite Thai cookbooks and more

Love eating? Never stop thinking about food? Double or treble it if you’re talking Thai food. Hopefully these superb Thai cookbooks mean tasty times ahead but, until your Amazon order arrives, don’t miss these:

• “Doctor Pouchy”: Learn how to help Thailand – while treating yourself
• My favourites: From bite-sized jackfruit to blue Thai tea
• Koh Samui: See inside The Koh Samui Guide

P.S. You can find every tip for Thailand food and drink in the archive (both Thai cooking at home as well as restaurant recommendations in Thailand). Or, subscribe by email and get all the details straight to your inbox. Enjoy!

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By a zillion, million miles – THIS is my new favourite snack

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