Noodles, Rice, and Everything Spice: A Thai Comic Book Cookbook

by Christina De Witte and Mallika Kauppinen

“This fun guide to Thai food in comic book form weaves in the history of each dish and lots of cooking tips, plus just enough food photography to keep your mouth watering.”—Epicurious

“This is a winner.”—Esquire, “Best Cookbooks of 2024 (So Far)”

An approachable comic book cookbook tour of Thai culture and cuisine with 50 recipes and stories from the country's main culinary regions

From an exciting all-female, all-Thai team, Noodles, Rice, and Everything Spice combines easy-to-follow comic book panels with pops of vibrant food photography to perfectly capture the bright, colorful flavors and ingredients that are crucial to Thai cuisine.

Noodles, Rice, and Everything Spice showcases real Thai food from the country’s distinct culinary regions. Journey to the northern Lanna region and dine “khan tok”–style with small bowls of chile dips, curries, sticky rice, and vegetables on a gilded pedestal tray for sharing; sit cross-legged on a bamboo mat around a spread of tangy salads and grilled meats in the northeast Isaan region; roam the bustling markets of central Bangkok for iconic street food treats; and lounge on a beach in southern Thailand with dangerously spicy seafood.

With recipes divided into six delectable sections for any meal or mood of the day, discover how to make world-class snacks and starters such as Som Tam (papaya salad) and Satay Gai (grilled chicken skewers), or iconic noodle dishes such as Khao Soi (coconut curry noodle soup) and Pad Kee Mao (drunken noodles), as well as some lesser-known regional favorites to pair with rice such as Pad Sator (stir-fried bitter beans) from the south and Nam Prik Ong (Ong’s spicy pork and tomato chile dip) from the north. The book also teaches helpful cooking and preparation techniques such as how to properly grate a papaya, make sticky rice in the microwave, fry an egg to crispy perfection, and more.

In celebration of the warm, welcoming spirit of Thailand, Noodles, Rice, and Everything Spice shares the secrets to making these dynamic Thai dishes at home, whether as a quick one-plate meal or a showstopping spread of multiple dishes for enjoying communally.

• ISBN10: 1984861603
• ISBN13: 9781984861603
• Publish Date: 7 May 2024
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
• Imprint: Ten Speed Graphic
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 208
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781984861603

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Noodles, Rice, and Everything Spice is an appealing, clever, and useful cookbook in comic form by Christina De Witte and Mallika Kauppinen. Released 7th May 2024 by Penguin Random House on their Ten Speed Press imprint, it's 208 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. 

The art is very simple but appealing and fun, full of energy and whimsy, and at the same time ingredients and prep methods are clear enough to follow easily. The text is direct and unvarnished and the authors have included an intro on their meeting and friendship leading up to this collaborative effort. Despite coming from disparate backgrounds, there's fertile common ground and the "origin story" is well worth a read. 

The recipes themselves are arranged thematically: tools and supplies, ingredients (and a tutorial for shopping at Asian stores which was helpful and fun), snacks & starters, noodles, rice dishes, soups & curries, desserts & drinks, and staples and accompaniments. Most of the standard recipes which readers can think of are included in some form here. 

Recipe ingredients are written in an illustrated bullet list, followed by step by step instructions. Ingredients are given with imperial (American) units, not metric. There's no nutritional info included. Many of the ingredients will be available at any well stocked grocery store in North America, but a significant proportion of the ingredients will require a trip to an Asian market or grocery store. 

Thai food is a brilliant fusion of salt & sweet, spicy & savory; really an explosion of flavor, and this book captures an honestly surprising amount of variety and breadth. Don't let the comic format come in the way, this is a *real* cookbook, made by authors who are familiar with and experienced at cooking the cuisine. 

As an aside, the authors' family histories are fascinating and varied and sensitively told - they've both moved extensively, both live in Europe now, one is from a varied (multi-ethnic) background, the other has a Finnish husband and Finnish/Thai son. The experiences aren't hammered on or waved around, but they are warmly and positively mentioned and representation is important. One reason they connected (giving rise to the cookbook collaboration) is Ms. De Witte's wish to connect to her Thai roots and learn Thai as a young adult (Ms. Kauppinen is a teacher and Thai + Finnish tutor). 

Five stars. A solid cookbook. It would be an excellent choice for public or school library acquisition, home use, and gift giving purposes.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.