Soups

Soups are an institution in Thailand, eaten from breakfast to dinner. However, it is an aspect of the culinary culture that can go largely unnoticed by visitors to the Kingdom, including long-time residents.
 
This is because many varieties of soup are sold by specialised restaurants or stalls. On the one hand, they can be a bit "intimidating" with their menu written exclusively in Thai and, on the other hand, they are sometimes open at times that are not naturally when Westerners eat soups (in the morning, for example).
 
With this book, we wanted to help you discover or rediscover a very rich and interesting part of Thai culinary culture.
 
In the following pages you will find well-known recipes such as spicy-sour soup with prawns (tom yam kung) or coconut soup with galangal and chicken (tom kha kai). You will also discover soups that are extremely popular with the Thai people such as "boat noodles" or "rad na". Finally, you will learn how to make soups from home cooking, whose beauty lies in their simplicity, such as banana blossom soup or fish soup with herbs.
 
These soups require a dizzying number of ingredients. To help you find your way around and make your soups the right way without spending a fortune, the following pages provide information on the main ingredients and how these soups are consumed in the Kingdom. Note that in Thailand, beef is not a very popular meat, so these very traditional soups are made with chicken, pork and seafood.
 
All our books come with personalised advice. If you have any questions about certain recipes or ingredients, write to us and we will reply shortly.
 
Because cooking is a pleasure to share, all the recipes are for two people. They are moderately spicy by Western standards.