Korat - Simple Thai Cooking: Everyday, Healthy, Quick And Easy Thai Food Recipes For Cooking At Home.: Learn How To Cook Real Authentic Thai Dishes In This Cookbook ... Thailand

I grew up in a very large family, mom, dad, brothers, grandmother, aunties, uncles and cousins, altogether about 30 family members, all living and working as farmers on the same area of land. We hardly ever used money because we had everything we needed, we grew all our own rice, vegetables, fruit, herbs and spices, we had cows, pigs, chickens, ducks and we used buffalo to plow the rice fields. Everybody had to work hard but everyone was very happy. This is how a lot Thai people traditional lived and the role of women of the family was to do the cooking I started cooking at 7 years old, my mom and grandmother taught me to do things for myself at a young age. I remember I started with cooking rice which wasnt easy because we used coal for cooking and it took me many attempts to light the fire before I was successful. It wasnt easy for a 7 year old but I did it.

I could make simple dishes such as stir-fried vegetables with eggs and actually it didnt taste too bad because I added sugar, fish sauce, garlic and soy sauce. In 1991, Nakhon Ratchasima suffered a severe drought, and the farm land didn't produce enough to support the whole family. Most of my family had to start new lives and find jobs in the city, most moved to Bangkok and the surrounding areas. I was 12 years old when my mum, dad, older brother, younger brother and I moved to Chonburi city and opened a small restaurant, which is still run my mum and dad today. I went to high school in the day time and in the evening worked in the restaurant, cooking, waiting and clearing tables and washing the dishes. It was hard fitting in at school because I was dark skinned girl from a countryside village and I was different from the city kids.

After I showed my classmates that I was smart, hard working and studied well I was welcomed in their "gang". I studied well throughout high school and then at university. I graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Computer Science. Then I went to work in Bangkok as a Project Coordinator at a Marketing/Events company. Like many people I was not really happy in my job and was just working for the money. In 2008, I met my husband when he came to Thailand for a holiday.

Just like me he wasn't happy with his life in England. After several more visits to Thailand, we decided we wanted to live together and have a serious relationship. We moved to Satun, in the south Thailand, in 2010 and opened our own restaurant, and in 2014 moved to Krabi to open Duen's Thai Cooking School and restaurant. I am very grateful to my mom who taught me a lot of things about cooking and I didnt know back then that it would become such a huge part of my life and business in the future. Now look at me, I have my own restaurant and cooking school here in Krabi, I cook for parties and events, and now here I am writing a cookbook. Cooking is in my soul, I love it.

I feel so happy when I cook and I see people enjoy my food. I have written this cookbook to share my knowledge and what I have learned from my experience with anyone who wants to know and wants to cook Thai food. I write about traditional Thai cooking and use authentic recipes and techniques but you can make these dishes too and its easier than you may think. Occasionally you may have to substitute ingredients if they are hard to find where you live but most will be available. If you want really authentic Thai food you are welcome to come and visit me here in Krabi, Thailand and I will cook for you personally. Have fun, you are going to do a great job and your meals will taste delicious, just follow me step by step and I will also tell you some tips you probably have never heard of before.

If you do have any questions about anything, such as what ingredients you can use for substitutes or recipe requests, no problem, just email me at duennakorat@gmail.com or message me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DuensThaiCookingSchoolKrabi

Common Ingredients

Thai fish sauce known in Thai as Nam Plaa is used in most dishes either as a condiment or main ingredient such as marinade for fish or meat. Good fish sauce is made from fermenting fish for at least 1 year. The best Thai fish sauce is from Thailand and is readily available in supermarkets all over the world but if you want to substitute fish sauce, for any reason, the easiest way is to use light soy sauce. The taste is not exactly the same but you will get the saltiness you get from fish sauce and it has a nice flavor. Curry paste. There is a tutorial in this book if you would like to make your own but many cooks in Thailand buy premade curry paste.

Red varieties made from dried red chilies and green varieties made from fresh green chilies can be found in most supermarkets. Coconut milk is used in curries to give richness, body and smoothness. I recommend Aroy-D 100% coconut milk this coconut milk is the closest one to freshly made coconut milk. Canned coconut milk has lost some of the flavor and doesnt taste like fresh coconut milk. When cooking curries we cook a long time to get the fat to separate away from the coconut milk but this doesnt happen with canned brands. Jasmine rice also known as Thai fragrance rice is long grain rice that comes from Thailand and is available in most cities around the world.