Hawker Fare: Stories and Recipes from a Refugee Chef’s Isan Thai & Lao Roots

Syhabout’s outstanding debut is a combination immersive deep dive into authentic Thai and Lao cuisine and personal memoir of Syhabout’s journey to chefdom and owner of the restaurants Commis and Hawker Fare in the San Francisco Bay Area. After arriving in Oakland as refugees from Northern Thailand in 1981, his family opened Wat Phou, a Thai restaurant that leaned heavily toward American tastes. Inspired by trips to Thailand and informed by his formal training at the California Culinary Academy (as well as stints at restaurants such as Masa and El Bulli), Syhabout opened Commis in Oakland in 2009 and later Hawker Fare in San Francisco. Mouthwatering but often labor-intensive recipes dominate, such as tapioca dumplings stuffed with caramel-cooked pork, salted turnips, and peanuts; bamboo shoots stewed in fermented fish sauce; and Lao pork herb sausage with pork skins. Determined cooks looking to entertain will flip to recipes for Lao minced-pork salad; devilishly simple chicken wings in red curry; and Syhabout’s Isan barbecue chicken, which benefits from an overnight brine and marinade infused with lemongrass, curry, coriander, and fish sauce. This is an eye-opening guide to a little-known cuisine. (Jan.)