[boyde]

Over here in the UK we have an american chef called Bourdain on air on the food channel. He goes everywhere, all over the world. The show is the best cooking show I have seen on the TV. When he was in Thailand, cambodia etc... He visited places were they cooked noodles, the food looked absoloutly stunning, loads of fresh ingredients, what I am after is a good recipe, they seem to have all the ingredients in dishes and add them as they go along. I suppose the hardest part of the noodle soup is making the broth, would like to know how to do this as well, I want a soup that has not too many ingredients and real tasty.

Cheers
Boyde

[Suzanne]

Ah, yes -- Tony is quite the celebrity here in the U.S. Actually, he's a member here on ChefTalk, although he hasn't posted in quite a while , but I'm sure he'd be happy to hear your opinion.

Here I will recommend a book: David Thompson's Thai Food (at least, I think that's the name of it). I don't have it myself, but everyone I know who does says it is THE BEST. And you're right: the broth is the most important part of the dish, but it actually isn't as difficult as you might think. Are you anywhere near an Asian market with fresh meat and produce? You can probably get whatever you will need. And the cooking is not complicated. It's all about good, flavorful ingredients (there I go again ).

[boyde]

Originally Posted by Suzanne

Ah, yes -- Tony is quite the celebrity here in the U.S. Actually, he's a member here on ChefTalk, although he hasn't posted in quite a while , but I'm sure he'd be happy to hear your opinion.

Here I will recommend a book: David Thompson's Thai Food (at least, I think that's the name of it). I don't have it myself, but everyone I know who does says it is THE BEST. And you're right: the broth is the most important part of the dish, but it actually isn't as difficult as you might think. Are you anywhere near an Asian market with fresh meat and produce? You can probably get whatever you will need. And the cooking is not complicated. It's all about good, flavorful ingredients (there I go again ).

Thanks, I have an eye on one on ebay, 673 pages

[Mezzaluna]

Alas, Chef Bourdain has left us. I'm pretty sure he still hangs out at eGullet though.

Hmmm... maybe a chat with him? It'd certainly be interesting! I met Chef Bourdain at a book signing a few years ago. He gave a talk beforehand. I found him a great deal less profane and much more charming than he is on television. He was patient and spent extra time with the young chefs and culinary students.

[MikeLM]

"...more charming than he is on television."

Where is he found on TV? I haven't come across him.

Thanks,

Mike

[Suzanne]

He's had 2 series, iirc. One was on FoodTV (A Cook's Tour?), but more recently he was on Travel Channel. I don't have cable, so I only saw one episode of the Travel Channel show (the first one, on Iceland), which was as much about the place as it was about the food. I also once saw a clip of a show from Britain on which he acted as "kitchen assistant" to Fergus Henderson, a chef in London whom Bourdain has championed here. Not at all the pushy "star" but just a working guy making sure the dishes came out looking good.

I have also met him a few times, and dare I let on that the "bad boy" image is just that. He's really a nice guy. Which is not to say that he doesn't have any of those bad habits. I also have read all of his books (food related memoirs, cookbook, fiction, and a history/biography of Typhoid Mary) and believe me, the guy DOES know how to write.

But to get back to Thai recipes -- a book that I do have and love is Hot Sour Salty Sweet by a Canadian couple, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid. It covers "a culinary journey though southeast asia" and has tons of information and stories. Not sure it there is a version with metric measures, but it's worth seeking out, too.

[MikeLM]

Thanks, Suzanne. I'll look around for him.

Just bought McGee through the Amazon link. Happy birthday to me!

Mike