Thailand

Some people are intimidated by the idea of cooking Thai food, but once you get familiar with a few semiexotic ingredients, Thai soups are easy to improvise.

While European soups get much of their flavor from a basic broth made from meat or fish bones and trimmings, cooks in Southeast Asia rely on a variety of potent flavorings to give character to their soups. An almost universal flavoring is bottled fermented fish sauce, which ends up in practically everything, including meat dishes. Fish sauce is prepared by packing anchovies in barrels and capturing the liquid that runs out over a period of several months. Although to Western ears fish sauce does not sound appealing, you’ll be amazed at how it improves the flavor of Thai and Vietnamese soups.