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

“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.

Mallika Kauppinen grew up in a remote area of southern Thailand where cooking was a huge part of her life. She now teaches Finnish and Thai online and has founded her own education company.  

Christina de Witte, also known by her illustrator alias chrostin, is a Thai Belgian cartoonist and the author of The Ultimate Survival Guide to Being a Girl.