Nothing can quite prepare you for your first taste of Thai food on its home soil. My own first mouthful of green vegetable curry at a tiny restaurant in Chonburi truly blew me away. At once salty, hot, sweet, sour and aromatic, I have never eaten anything quite so vibrant, stimulating and downright exciting.

Despite its apparent simplicity, the magic of those characteristic mixtures of chillies, mint, basil, lemongrass, lime and fish sauce are surprisingly difficult to replicate at home, and for some time I have been after a cookbook that would allow me to reproduce something approaching the flavours I have experienced in Thailand.

At last we have a true bible of Thai cooking. David Thompson, the Australian chef at Nahm in London's Halkin Hotel and previously owner of the Darley Street Thai in Sydney has spent years writing the definitive Thai cookbook, giving us not just the recipes but the background and history to it all too. Among the coconut-rich soups and crisp, citrus-scented salads you will find the essence of Thai culture. The recipes for fragrant curries and stir fries, fish cakes and noodles are more than enough to please any Thai food lover.

Red curry of scallops
chuu chii hoi shenn

This is an elegant curry: it should not be too thick or intensely flavoured, or the scallops will be overpowered. So, after seasoning the curry, simmer until almost, but not quite, dry - the degree is determined by taste.

If scallops are not available, mussels, clams, prawns or any other seafood make excellent alternatives. This curry can also be made with whole or filleted fish, cooked in the seasoned curry or deep-fried until crisp and crunchy, then added at the end.

2 cups coconut cream
1 tbsp palm sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 cup coconut milk or stock
12-16 small scallops, cleaned - about 200 g in all
4 kaffir lime leaves, shredded
1 tbsp thick coconut cream
a little red chilli, julienned
1 tbsp coriander leaves
paste
5-8 dried long red chillies, deseeded, soaked and drained
large pinch of salt
5 slices galangal
3 tbsp chopped lemongrass
4 tbsp chopped garlic
3 tbsp sliced red shallot
1 tbsp scraped and chopped coriander root
10 white peppercorns
1 rounded tsp shrimp paste (gapi), roasted

First make the paste. Traditionally, curry pastes are made with a pestle and mortar. Individual ingredients are added gradually, in a given order, from the hardest and driest to the softest and wettest, with each being reduced to pulp before the next is added. As the ingredients are pounded they release their fragrance; the balance of the paste can be perceived in this aroma, and is adjusted while being made.

Crack the coconut cream over medium heat, add 3 tablespoons of the paste and fry, stirring regularly, for at least 5 minutes, until fragrant. Season with sugar and fish sauce. Add coconut milk and simmer until reduced, quite thick and separated. Add scallops and half the kaffir lime leaves and continue to simmer briefly, with the scallops immersed, until the flesh is just cooked.

(Alternatively, the scallops can be removed from their shells, cooked in the curry, then returned to their shells and the curry poured over them.) Check seasoning: it should be salty, a little hot and fragrant from the kaffir lime. To serve, arrange scallops on a plate, drizzle over the coconut cream, then sprinkle with the remaining lime leaves, red chilli and coriander.

Salad of pork, young ginger and squid
yam muu gap king orn lae pla meuk

In this salad, each 'principal' ingredient is as important as the other: the steamed pork brings mellowness that is counterbalanced by the bracing ginger, while the squid has a pleasing texture.

50g cleaned squid
50g pork fillet
50g young ginger, cut into batons
4 red shallots, sliced
handful of mixed mint and coriander leaves
1 tbsp deep-fried garlic - optional
dressing
1 coriander root, scraped
pinch of salt
1 garlic clove, peeled
3-4 bird's eye chillies (scuds)
1 tbsp white sugar
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp fish sauce

First, make the dressing, pounding the coriander, garlic and chillies; it should taste hot, salty, sour and just a little sweet.

Score the squid by holding the knife at an angle and making diagonal cuts, taking care not to cut right through. Slice squid into bite-size pieces, then blanch in boiling water. Steam pork for 5-10 minutes, then cut into strips. Combine with the remaining salad ingredients. Dress and serve.

Hot and sour soup of clams with chillies and lime
dtom yam hoi nahm sai

In Hua Hin, on the gulf coast of southern Thailand, I had a dtom yam of austere simplicity, a clear liquid that highlighted the prime quality of its ingredients. Stock was brought to the boil, a little salt and some freshly caught clams were thrown in, then it was finished with lime juice and a chilli or two. Each ingredient worked with every other one. It was not fiery, as the chilli was used only to add a hint of piquancy.There was no fish sauce - that would have been too strong - just salt. Lime juice was used to define the flavours, not as a strong flavouring in itself. Altogether, it was an exercise of restraint in seasoning. Here is my version of it.

200 g clams, mussels or pipis
4 cups stock
pinch of salt
pinch of white sugar
squeeze of lime juice
a few bird's eye chillies (scuds), bruised
1 tbsp coriander leaves

Scrub the clams. Bring stock to the boil, add salt and sugar to taste, then add clams and simmer until just opened (discard any that remain closed). Season with lime juice and bruised scuds. The soup should taste salty, sour and hot. Serve scattered with coriander.

Relish of garlic and chillies, served with grilled lobster
nahm prik gratian suk

The traditional recipe from which this is derived calls for boiling the garlic in water. However, I have found the relish is greatly improved by gently simmering the garlic in a light syrup with a little lime juice or vinegar. The lime juice imparts a slight bitterness but, I think, pleasantly so. The relish should not be too wet, and it should have quite a tight texture and flavour.

10 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tbsp palm sugar
pinch of salt
dash of lime juice or vinegar - optional
1 cup water
5 dried long red chillies, deseeded, soaked and drained
salt or fish sauce, to taste
1 tbsp tamarind water
a little lime or mandarin juice

Simmer garlic with sugar, salt, lime juice or vinegar, if using, and water in a small pan, covered, for 20 minutes or until soft. Cool.

PurÀe chillies with the cooled garlic, plus a few tablespoons of the garlic-simmering liquid, in a blender. Or, if using a pestle and mortar, pound chillies with garlic until fine and then moisten with some of the liquid. Season with tamarind water and lime or mandarin juice: the relish should be salty, hot, sour and sweet. Serve the relish in a bowl, with a selection of the following on the side:

raw vegetables, such as cabbage, cucumber, 'betel' leaves and witlof (Belgian endive)
sprigs of Thai basil boiled vegetables, especially baby corn
vegetables simmered in coconut milk, especially witlof (Belgian endive)
deep-fried vegetables, ideally Chinese broccoli
pickled vegetables
pla grop (crisp fish)
dried squid

Grilled lobster or prawns
gung mangkorn pao

1/2 lobster or 2-3 king prawns (jumbo shrimp)
2-4 tablespoons coconut cream
2 tbsp fish sauce or light soy sauce
pinch of white sugar

Marinate lobster or prawns in coconut cream, fish sauce or soy sauce and sugar for a few minutes. Chargrill until just cooked.

Stir-fried Siamese watercress with yellow beans, garlic and chillies
pak bung fai dtaeng

This simple dish can be enhanced with a little shrimp paste and a few small prawns, or with roast duck and fermented bean curd. In Phitsanulok, the night markets specialise in this dish, which is served in a memorable way: a waiter armed with a plate crosses the street and the cook tosses the finished dish from the wok, it flies across the street and lands on the plate - mostly.

2 garlic cloves, peeled
pinch of salt
oil for frying
200g Siamese watercress
3 tbsp yellow bean sauce, rinsed
1 long red chilli, crushed
pinch of white sugar
1/2 cup stock
2 tbsp light soy sauce

Crush garlic with salt. Heat a wok, add oil and throw in watercress, garlic, yellow beans, chilli and sugar. When wilted, add stock and season with soy sauce. Serve.

· To order a copy of Thai Food by David Thompson for the special price of £22 plus p&p (published by Pavilion, rrp £25), call the Observer book service on 0870 066 7989.