Thai cuisine, once exotic and hard to find in the United States has now become so wildly popular that even people in small town America are regularly chowing down on curries, noodles and other Thai specialties. It's no wonder, the cuisine has become so popular here. Unlike most western cuisine, Thai cooking utilizes all five primary flavors: salty, sweet, sour, hot/spicy/pungent and bitter. The combination results in an astounding explosion of flavor, perfectly balancing the distinctive tastes.

Award winning author Kasma Loha-unchit has been teaching Americans about the joys of Thai cooking for over 15 years in her San Francisco cooking school, her San Jose Mercury News newspaper column and through culinary tours she leads to her native Thailand. In Dancing Shrimp, her second book on Thai cooking, she explores the wide world of seafood in classic Thai recipes as well as her own innovative adaptations of Thai recipes that work well with American fish. In addition, most of the recipes can easily be changed to utilize just about any protein source, such as poultry, pork or beef.

More than just recipes, the book also offers extensive information on where to find ingredients, even going so far to include a listing of Thai/Asian markets across the United States. Background chapters teach the basics of Thai cuisine and acquaint readers with the Thai culture, especially as it pertains to food.

If you're ready to expand your cooking horizons, this is an excellent place to start.