A New Book

By on December 2, 2015 in She Rants and Muses, She Uncooks

SheSimmers BookI was at my condo in Bangkok eating grilled giant prawns dipped in palm sugar-tamarind sauce with blanched neem buds when, suddenly and inexplicably, my mind went, “This is my next book.” And next thing I knew I was exuberantly jotting things down on a piece of paper—mid-meal. I still have that piece of paper; it looks really gross with caked-on prawn juices and sticky sauce.

My first book, Simple Thai Food, came out in the spring of 2014, and it was warmly received. What a humbling experience. The process of making the first book has taught me so much; feedback from journalists, critics, fellow writers, and my readers has taught me even more. I was proud of and grateful for what Ten Speed Press and I had created together, and I’m happy to announce that we are teaming up again to bring you another book. Continue Reading →

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Fried Rice with Cured Pork (ข้าวผัดแหนม)

By on November 15, 2015 in She Deglutenizes, She Fries, She Thais, Uncategorized

Fried Rice with Cured Pork
Five years ago, I brought naem to your attention. Since then I’ve shown you how to make a pork rib version and a beef short rib version of it. I’ve sneaked into the kitchen of a restaurant in Chicago that serves a crispy rice salad featuring this cured meat. I’ve dragged my rear end to a street stall in Bangkok in the middle of the night to bring you another version of said rice salad with naem. Most recently, I’ve also shown you how you can add naem to a Thai-style omelet. So I’ll assume you’re familiar with this type of cured pork* that’s heavily consumed in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. If not, please read this post. Continue Reading →

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Gingered Chicken Stew

By on October 23, 2015 in She Deglutenizes, She Simmers, Uncategorized

Gingered Chicken Stew
You know what’s really great about being older? You become much better at seeing right through nonsense. You’ve got good not only at seeing that the emperor has no clothes on but also at being confident enough to say out loud that the dude’s naked. I don’t like the physical part of getting older. But, man, this part, I love.

Years ago when my nonsense detector wasn’t working as well as it is now, I used to think that anything worth your while must be difficult to obtain/attain, difficult to understand, difficult to emulate, long, fussy, complicated, convoluted, mysterious, or out of reach in some way. I’m so through with that kind of thinking; it’s childish and rooted in a lack of self-trust, and it had never served me well.

This change has affected all aspects of my life these days, including how I eat, how I cook, and which cookbooks I buy. I’ve noticed that the older I get, the easier it is for me to part with certain types of book and the more tightly I cling to certain types. I’ve come to treasure cookbooks that are simple, humble, approachable, and highly usable. It’s these cookbooks that have survived the annual pruning of my book collection year after year after year. Continue Reading →

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