Kalaya's Southern Thai Kitchen

Bring the bold, spicy, beautiful world of Southern Thai cooking to your kitchen through 100 recipes and stories from the James Beard Award–winning chef and celebrated ambassador of Thai food in the U.S.

Growing up in the tropical region of Southern Thailand, Nok Suntaranon helped her mother make the fresh curry pastes she would sell at their local market. But decades later she returned home and saw that the food had become sweeter and watered down, victim to shortcuts and appealing to tourists. So, her life mission became clear: to find and preserve the old flavors of Thai food and to show home cooks how delicious and intricately flavored Thai cooking is.

Kalaya's Southern Thai Kitchen is organized so home cooks can master this food with confidence and ease. With suggested recipe pairings featured on each recipe, traditional and modern recipe names, and beginner materials such as the Sauce and Paste or the Foundations of Southern Thai food chapters—Nok is there with you every step of the way in mastering Thai cooking at home.

Nok dispels the stereotypes that Thai food is hard to make, or that it is synonymous with cheap takeout. From fragrant lemongrass and pungent shrimp paste to simple curry pastes, this is the fiery, refined cuisine of her homeland. Through over 100 recipes, you'll find new favorites such as Som Tom (Papaya Salad with Tamarind Paste and Dry Chili), Gaeng Ghai (Southern Style Chicken Curry), Nua Yang (Grilled Beef with Thai Chili Dipping Sauce), and Khao Niew Ma Muang (Mango Sticky Rice). With easy-to-follow visuals, beginner-friendly tips, and stunning on-location photography, Kalaya's Southern Thai Kitchen allows cooks of all experience to bring a piece of Thailand into their homes and kitchens.

About the Author

Nok Suntaranon is the chef and owner of Kalaya, a celebrated Thai restaurant in Philadelphia. Kalaya won Food & Wine’s, Eater Philly’s, and Esquire’s Best New Restaurant. She was a 2023 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic, a finalist in the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in 2020, and Inquirer’s and Eater Philly’s Chef of the Year.

Natalie Jesionka is a journalist who writes about food, community, and social impact. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, Toronto Star, National Post, Canadian Press, and Philadelphia magazine. She served as a Fulbright scholar in Northern Thailand.

Author Residence: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Author Hometown: New Jersey