Dancing Shrimp: Favorite Thai Recipes for Seafood
by Kasma Loha-unchit

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Book Reviews of Dancing Shrimp: Favorite Thai Recipes for Seafood

Book Review: Let the True Taste of Thailand enter Your Kitchen
Summary: 5 Stars

Unfortunately, it is rare for Americans to taste authentic Thai flavors. Many Thai restaurants erroneously prepare their dishes to satisfy what they believe to be the western palate. The result is that many dishes routinely taste sweet or have little complex flavoring at all. They certainly don't taste like the dishes I have eaten in Thailand or certainly in Kasma's cooking classes. I have found that the difference in a delicious dish and a just so-so dish is in the unique balance of flavors.

I have always enjoyed cooking classes with Kasma because she goes to great length to explain how a dish should taste and what combinations of spices and ingredients will help you balance those flavors in the appropriate way. Carefully following a recipe does not always give you the desired effect because ingredients vary in taste depending on where they are grown or how they are prepared. A sampling of fish sauces, a staple of Thai cooking, of which there are many, demonstrates clearly how each vary in saltiness and flavor. Kasma teaches one how to taste and to make the all important adjustments to achieve the desired balance of flavors.

I have cooked almost every recipe in her first cookbook, It Rains Fishes, and have found that if one follows her guidelines and tips for tasting and adjusting, success is guaranteed. Many recipes provide helpful tips that will assist in preparing other dishes. Her wealth of information about Thai ingredients, how combining them changes their flavors, and Thai culture only add to a better understanding of the cuisine. I was overjoyed to see her new cookbook Dancing Shrimp in bookstores. I had the distinct pleasure of being asked to test some of those recipes before publication and as usual I found them to be easy to follow, creative and the results sensational. Dancing Shrimp has really captured the Thai's best natural resource, seafood. I have traveled in the south of Thailand along the coasts and through the islands, and the wealth and variety of seafood is outstanding. In Dancing Shrimp, Kasma has provided us westerners an opportunity to recreate many of these delightful, mouth watering dishes.

I have been so impressed with the success I have had with Kasma's recipes that I will boldly attest that her recipes consistently produce more interesting dishes and flavor then I have found in most Thai restaurants and, dare I say, even with dishes tasted at some of the best restaurants through my travels in Thailand. I would certainly highly recommend these cookbooks for those who are serious about Thai cuisine and even for the amateur cook who just wants to experiment with a few dishes. Her recipes are easy to follow, directions are clear, there is a wealth of information and success is certainly guaranteed, allowing the true tastes of Thailand to enter your kitchen.

Summary of Dancing Shrimp: Favorite Thai Recipes for Seafood

Thai cuisine, regarded by many as one of the best in the world, is known for its original combinations of spicy, savory, sweet, and tangy flavors, and its seafood recipes display this culinary artistry to its purest extent. In Dancing Shrimp, Kasma Loha-unchit shares with us her ingenious techniques for preparing all types of fish, mollusks, and shellfish according to the traditions of her native cuisine. The more than 100 recipes in Dancing Shrimp show the full range of the Thai palate, with curries like Salmon Poached in Green Curry Sauce with Baby Eggplants and Thai Basil; stir-fries like Spicy Southern-Style Stir-Fried Squid; salads like Hot-and-Sour Shrimp Salad with Roasted Chilli Sauce, Lemon Grass, and Mint; steamed dishes like Steamed Fillet of Sea Bass with Ginger, Green Onions, and Sesame-Soy Sauce; soups like Spicy "Broken Fish Trap" Soup; and many more. Thai people, as Kasma reminds us, are warm, welcoming, and playful, and this is evident in the food they prepare. While a dish like Shrimp Cooked in Turmeric-Coconut Sauce might taste sweet on the tip of the tongue, you also will be warmed and surprised by the heat that slowly emerges from the chillies. There is also a real reverence for the bounty of the sea and earth; many of the fish recipes call for a whole fish, and the cooking techniques, such as steaming a fish wrapped in a banana leaf or poaching it in a spicy sauce, preserve the full flavor. Along with the recipes, Loha-unchit provides cooking tips, inspirational ideas for adapting the recipes to different techniques or ingredients, and warm, revealing stories of her homeland. With her charming personal tone and detailed cooking instructions, she guides cooks simply and easily through techniques that may involve unfamiliar fishes or herbs but never fail to result in a mouthwatering delight. As every recipe reflects her years of experience in teaching Americans to re-create the exquisite flavors of Thailand on their own, Dancing Shrimp is suitable for beginning and experienced cooks alike.

Many of the recipes feature flavors not common in Western cooking, but Loha-unchit teaches you how to create a savory meal in which the disparate tastes work in harmony. In addition to the recipes, there are chapters on Thailand's seafood culture, how to select and prepare seafood, preserved foods and flavoring ingredients (like fish sauce, a staple item), and techniques and equipment. For those unfamiliar with fish sauce or shrimp paste, she explains how they are made, her favorite brands, and where you can purchase them (there's a store index in the back).

The recipes themselves are mouth-watering: Hot-and-Sour Shrimp Salad with Roasted Chilli Sauce, Lemon Grass, and Mint, Curried Mussels on the Half Shell with Flaked Crab, and Ginger-Tamarind Fish Soup, to name only a few. Though some of the recipes may seem daunting at first, Loha-unchit reminds us that "the wide range of variables makes Thai cooking exciting and Thai food both a simple and complex blend of invigorating flavors." After all, it's hard to resist Garlic-Black Bean Pan-Fried Red Snapper. Be sure to serve with a big pot of sticky white rice. --Dana Van Nest

Seafood Books

• Subjects > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Cooking by Ingredient > Meat, Poultry & Seafood > Seafood
• Regional & International > Asian > Thai