Known for its herbal flavors, rustic dishes, fiery dips, and comforting noodles, the food of northern Thailand is both ancient and ever evolving. 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.
Featuring many recipes never before described in English and snapshots into the historic and cultural forces that have shaped this region’s glorious cuisine, this journey may redefine what we think of when we think of Thai food.
Author
Austin Bush
Austin Bush is the author of The Food of Southern Thailand and The Food of Northern Thailand, which was a finalist for the 2019 James Beard Foundation Book Award and shortlisted for the 2019 Art of Eating Prize. Bush speaks, reads, and writes fluent Thai, and has written extensively about Thai food. His writing and photography have appeared in more than twenty books for Lonely Planet, as well media outlets, including the BBC, Bon Appétit, CNN Travel, Condé Nast Traveler, Olive, Monocle, New York Times, Saveur, TIME, Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia, VICE, Wall Street Journal Asia, and Washington Post, among others. He works closely with Andy Ricker and has photographed the New York Times–bestseller Pok Pok and its follow ups, The Drinking Food of Thailand and Pok Pok Noodles. Originally from Oregon, Bush lives in Portugal.
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