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

From chef James Syhabout of two-Michelin-star restaurant Commis, an Asian-American cookbook like no other--simple recipes for cooking home-style Thai and Lao dishes James Syhabout's hugely popular Hawker Fare restaurant in San Francisco is the product of his unique family history and diverse career experience. Born into two distinct but related Asian cultures--from his mother's ancestral village in Isan, Thailand's northeast region, and his father's home in Pakse, Laos--he and his family landed in Oakland in 1981 in a community of other refugees from the Vietnam War. Syhabout at first turned away from the food of his heritage to work in Europe and become a classically trained chef. After the success of Commis, his fine dining restaurant and the only Michelin-starred eatery in Oakland, Syhabout realized something was missing--and that something was Hawker Fare, and cooking the food of his childhood. The Hawker Fare cookbook immortalizes these widely beloved dishes, which are inspired